Yes, let's turn a topic about StingingVelvet not being able to use mouse for prolonged periods of time into gamepad vs mouse+keyboard flamewar. Classy.

Sorry to hear about your health issues -- this seems to be a common issue among people who work with computers on a daily basis. It's probably best to limit your PC ( and gaming ) time, so you can give your wrists some rest. But as you already seem to have realized, this doesn't necessarily mean you have to quite video games entirely. A change of genre(s) and/or input device is quite possibly all you need. There's any number of games which are very casual and slow-paced and often can be controlled entirely with one hand. And a good gamepad can be much more comfortable than mouse & keyboard, too. I know some people don't like using pads in certain genres, such as FPS, but I figure playing them with a little less aim accuracy is better than not being able to play them at all. Anyhow, good luck, and make sure to avoid any excessive strain on your wrists in the future, via PC usage or otherwise.

TBH, I find playing an FPS designed for a pad to be more fun to play with a pad - as weird as it sounds, when a game is designed for slower reactions, fast and pinpoint accuracy can actually serve as a detriment to the overall experience. Bioshock Infinite would be a good example.

Ugh, yeah. This.

Just lern to use your feet like everyone else.

:D I use my pedals (logitech, for racing games) as three extra keys some times, and best yet, they are um.. what you call it, various degress in pressing, so some games you get more out of the pedals.

I have had serveral disabled/handicapped friends, that had to make their own custom controllers/etc. (one of them only had 1 finger on a hand, so there is that)

Since it is only your wrists, perhaps design a new controller/keyboard/whatever, that ONLY uses finger movements.
I'm sure google may help.

Best regards.

I stand by that argument. If you think for a second PC gaming = a game pad, you are on crack. I wish Velvet a full recovery. He's seen me here enough to know I empathize with his condition and I wish him the best.

Ever since I got an official Microsoft pad for my PC, I tend to prefer playing all games with that, as long as they support it. The only exception are some older games, such as currently System Shock 2 ( Oh, hai there Shodan ), either because pads aren't officially supported, or because that's the way I originally played those titles back when they were released. I already spend a lot of time using a mouse or tablet pens when working at the PC, so for my gaming I find pads to be a bit easier on my wrists and finger joints.

In any case, I think we can agree that pad VS. mouse & KB ( or trackball, or touchpad, or touchscreen etc. ) flaming is silly and unnecessary. Everyone should just use whatever they find most comfortable and convenient -- it's largely a matter of personal preferences.
For all I know, most gamepads require little or no wrist movements. It's mostly in the thumbs and a finger or two of each hand. ( With the exception of more recent, motion based controllers, such as the wii-mote. )

And for what it's worth, I guess your friend could still play touchscreen ( or touchpad ) based games, even with one finger. :/

He has s lightly modified mouse basically strapped to his hand, while he controls buttons with his finger.
He does his best, nice person, played a ton of shooters with him years ago.

edit:extra m in MOUSE, darn me

I will enter that discussion, annoying as it may be.

What argument? That you should use KB/M when playing on a PC instead of using whatever control scheme suits you? Do you play flight simulators with KB/M instead of a joystick? Do you play racing games with KB/M instead of a wheel and pedals? Do you play fighting games with KB/M instead of a stick and 6 buttons?

Play XCOM:EU with KB/M, then play it again with a gamepad. Game is the same, both control methods work excellent. One requires you to be closer, the other allows you to be a bit more relaxed. Will you say that playing it with a gamepad subtracts from the experience?

Play Jagged Alliance 2 with KB/M, then play it with a touchscreen and 2 buttons (Stracciatela, JA2 on android ftw). Is the game worse because you are not using KB/M? Or is it the same lovely game?

And don't forget that X-Com: UFO Defense was also a Playstation game. So even the hardcore strategy games can be played, enjoyed and mastered with a gamepad.

Feel free to look down on fellow gamers for wanting to play with a different control scheme. The "glory" of the PC is that you can use whatever scheme you like. If that for you is reason to look down on others, I do pity you.

If you do have an argument other than "Gamepads are not for PC", please elaborate. I don't claim that a gamepad is the best option for every game, but in many cases it is superior to a different one.

I don't give a shit about your argument. Why on earth do you feel compelled to argue my preferences is beyond me, I'm fairly sure I know better than you what I like and dislike, and that's the only basis of recommendation I have.

So, let's look at the situation here: Velvet wants to try out a pad, most people recommend him to try out a pad, and you, for whatever reason, come around and say "Gamepad's terrible when compared to M+K!" ... That was bloody helpful, well done. I hope you feel better about yourself now.

Software like xpadder has shown me that quite a few classics can be enjoyed with a pad too, and it works exceptionally well - it's mostly keyboard-only titles, but as pad doesn't have limitations of most keyboards and has ergonomically layed out keys, you can just do a lot with it. I love playing Duke Nukem, Shadow Warrior and just generally the classic FPS games with it - they're designed to be playable without a mouse regardless, and with just a bit of practice, you can master them with a pad just as well. Of course, classic platformers would be worth mentioning as well.

Then again, old RTS games, night unplayable. Old TBS, due to their clunky interfaces, are far harder to play than the modern ones. But, eh, it just works for the most part, and since even my fairly non-gaming wife has learned to control Heroes of Might and Magic with a pad, everybody can. (the third game actually works exceptionally well - since it has standardized keyboard shortcuts, you can just map those and do a minimal amount of clicking. It's amazing!)

Of course it is a matter of personal preferences, I just don't get people running around, saying "You people don't enjoy what I do so you're doing it wrong!"

It's almost as if certain games require certain control schemes, isn't it? Reality.

True. Some require joysticks, some require wheels, some require gamepads. Most can use KB/M instead. Which is the optimal?

Do notice as well that I say optimal, not required. I cannot recall a game in the last 30 years or so that had a required control scheme, other than [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Steel_Battalion_controllers.jpg]Steel Battalion[/url].

So, can you tell me for which genre the KB/M scheme is the optimal one? And one that you cannot replace with a better scheme?

Funny thing is, people with disabilities try so hard to make up for them, they often end up doing better at something ( such as video games ) than someone without a disability. I seem to remember some TV report about a blind guy who loved playing fighting games with his friends, and he'd kick their ass, even though he only had the sound of the characters to go by.

Considering how much I've used a mouse in my life and still do (both at work and home), I surprised I still don't have issues like that. I have had quite a sporty life which may have helped too, but even that has been less so lately (I haven't been in e.g. gym for ages now), and I am not quite sure if sports really prevent it either, and the only way to overcome is to use mouse less.

However, I know many people with similar problems have just switched hands. Using a mouse with the other hand might feel odd at first, but then it is not like left hand is inactive anyway, and I presume most left-handers still play PC FPS games with their mouse on the right hand due to WASD... or do they?

Also, considering you don't apparently play strategy games, and you play mostly(?) new PC games that also support XBox gamepad... why don't you simply play most of your PC games with a gamepad, like you have also pondered? Yeah it sucks ass to play e.g. FPS games with a gamepad, but then playing the same FPS games on consoles doesn't really change anything (unless the PC version was made actually harder due to mouse controls).

Older PC games are a different thing, they probably are not always playable with gamepads.

I must admit that the shooting gallery challenges were far too easy in PC GTA San Andreas, using a mouse. But then I was happy to get over them ASAP.

Then again, the driving school challenges were quite hard with a keyboard, so I guess it evens out.