Alright – this has gone on long enough. The controversy between inverters and non-inverters has divided the gaming community since the dawn of gaming time, and I want to settle it once and for all. Do you invert? Are you a ‘regular’? Drop in here and drop your votes and we’ll finally find out which is the most popular!
This poll is inspired by the one and only Shigeru Miyamoto, who is attempting to unite inverters and non-inverters through the 3DS Starfox remake. I don’t believe it can be done – but we can settle the argument of which control scheme is the most popular. Vote below and let’s get this thing done!
Adam Ruch
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:02 AMOK Which one is which, just so I know for sure. If I’m flying, I pull the stick towards me, so down, to raise the nose of the plane/ship/Mario.
Is that inverting or not?
Trjn
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:24 AMI believe that would be inverted controls.
Non-inverted controls have the direction of the camera match the movements of the analog stick. You move the stick up, the camera follows it.
Inverted controls are effectively using a lever on the camera. You push down on the stick, pushing the lever down and moving the direction of the camera up.
Now that I think about it, some action/adventure games actually use inverted controls. Really, it all works, you just have to work out what action you are performing on the camera when you move the stick.
syvRaen
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 11:49 AMI always find it weird when people talk about the camera when they really mean the ‘look at’ position.
In any third person game, if you push the stick up, inverted controls will actually move the camera up (around a pivot which will be somewhere around the player or the aiming reticle), and the result will be to look down. In a first person game, the camera is probably more likely to be at the pivot, and not really move at all (just turn), but I like to think that you are still in control of the camera direction as it extends back from that pivot position.
I guess I care so much, because the clarification vindicates my preferred controls to some degree. “Press up, camera up” is inverted, and “press up, look up” is regular controls. If you think of it in this context, both make sense, and neither really deserves to be named “inverted”.
Further down the page, you talk about the stick in the person’s head, which is a pretty great analogy to how I feel!
Trjn
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 12:32 PMI think the hardest thing here is working out the right words to use. For “look at point” I wanted to use the word “focus” but that just isn’t right.
Pivot is a good word though. Explains the whole setup nicely.
If you think that the camera is behind the pivot point, then inverted makes sense (both on X and Y axis). If you think that the camera is in front of the pivot point, non-inverted makes sense.
So for an FPS, my example of a stick jammed in the head works for inverted, whilst non-inverted would be controlling the eyes. Neither is necessarily correct, just a matter of perspective.
This is probably why third person cameras can be such a mess.
syvRaen
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 1:37 PMAll this talk of inverted controls, and I was only really thinking of the Y-axis.
Now that you mention the X-axis, I’ve realised that I’m INCONSISTENT! I want everything to be inverted, except for the X-axis on first person games.
Hmmmmmmmph! *is dissatisfied with self*
In the end it would just be how games have trained us to play them. So I suppose it should be easy enough for me to train away my flaws!
Trjn
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 2:00 PMThe X-axis controls are a complete shambles. Some games invert it, others don’t and most of the time there isn’t an option to correct it.
The way I see it, the reasoning behind inverting the Y-Axis controls can be applied to X-Axis controls, so having inverted Y-Axis and non-inverted X-Axis (in first person at least, although in general it is still rather odd) makes me go cross-eyed.
Cephalxn
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:03 AMINVERT!
And all my friends hate me when we’re passing the controller in some split screen co-op. Usually followed by comments along the lines of “oh for f***’s sake!” as they open the options menu.
Chaz
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:33 AMI share your friend’s pain.
I think that is my standard line in that situation also!
Gladice
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:38 AM-_- You’re one of THOSE people…
Pioneer
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 11:39 AMYeah I hear that chorus thanks to me as well although for some reason I invert everything on pc, but leave as default for console games. I think it’s because with a joy stick I feel like I’m panning a camera, and years of leaning forward to look down and vice versa with a mouse has left me inverted on PC.
A mate of mine is the opposite, inverted on console, default on PC. /shrug
CJ
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 1:11 PMShortly followed by, “Why dont you just learn to play normal”
Martin
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 9:04 PMTry playing FFXII for the first time. It took about 3 hours of gameplay to get used to the inverted x-axis camera position. And there was no option to change the configuration.
Pierre
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:07 AMI can’t remember which I am now, but first I was one and now I’m the other. I think I change from game to game because they both feel as comfortable as the other sometimes. I’m confused.
Lanarama
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 3:15 PMDitto
scree
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 5:32 PMAgreed. It depends on the game. If I was playing a flight sim, I would Expect inverted controls. It really depends on what feels right.
RB
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:07 AMI invert, my history with flight sims is most likely the cause having hardwired my brain this way :)
JTJ
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:11 AMThis. FPSs on PC I invert. Don’t think I do it on consoles though.
Steven Bogos
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:20 AMYou invert PC FPS’s?!?!?!?!? Console games I can understand (as auto-aim does all the work for you anyway) but using an inverted mouse is just… naeseating
JTJ
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 11:56 AMIt makes sense. Read the above posts about the pivot. Pushing the mouse “up” is like leaning forward hence the reticle goes down. Moving the mouse “down” is like pulling/leaning back, so the reticle goes up the screen.
Been doing it that way since the whole WASD/mouse combo came into effect. Its all F-14 Tomcat on the C64 and Wing Commanders fault.
Rupert
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:08 AMI invert for flight sims but not for FPS’s. Shouldn’t your inconsiderate poll accommodate for such options? *GASP* really Mark, really…
Shonks
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:49 AMSame here,
Flying = Inverted, pull down on the stick nose goes up.
FPS = Regular, Pull down on the stick look down.
Parabol
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 11:01 AMMe too, feels wrong controlling a plane/spaceship/whatever without inverted controls. But inverted controls in FPS’ is insane!
Brad
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 11:50 AMSame.
Space Bro
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 12:33 PMThumbstick or mouse – regular. Joystick is inverted, naturally.
El Presidente
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 12:24 PMSame here. Even if the flight and FPS are in the same game.
AgentEarlGray
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 1:30 PMCompletely agree
Invert flight controls
Everything else is normal
Thats the correct way isnt it?
Trjn
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:09 AMA little from column A, a little from column B.
I used to always invert the controls, now I only do it for flight sims. Which I haven’t played in many years.
I think that in first person games, using inverted controls makes it feel like you’re moving their head via a stick jabbed into their brain whilst using non-inverted controls is simply moving the head. As fun as the imagery is, just moving the head makes more sense to me.
At least, it does now. Not really sure what caused me to convert to sanity.
defkon
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:18 AMthis comment has made me want to use inverted controls on all FPS games from now on
bookiegnu
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:23 AM+1
Years of X-Wing etc got me inverting, but now in FPS/third person games, up goes up.
I recently grabbed Freespace 2 from gog.com and set up an XPadder profile to play it with a 360 controller, and it turns out my brain can’t make up go up if I’m in a cockpit, and can’t make down go up if I’m in a head.
Dire Wolf
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:09 AMI can’t stand inverted controls. I like up being up and down being down.
Ass Bandit
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:56 AMYou do realise though that by moving the stick down you’re actually arching your thumb upwards and vice versa? Its the non-inverters that have their logic backwards but love claiming otherwise. I am truly sorry for your retardation.
NotoriousR
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:11 AMI used to, when I was a kid and my brother and I played a heap of games that involved planes (he’s a pilot cadet now). But then when uni started for him, VCE started for me, and the PS3 just came out, so there really wasn’t much to play. But now, now I can play with inverted controls, but it feels a bit weird.
Ynefel
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:11 AMInverter. Have done since the first time I ever used a mouse and keyboard together – Quake on PC, back in ’96? Before that it was all KB for the likes of Doom.
My love of inversion carried over to consoles and still applies 15 years later.
Chuloopa
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:12 AMIFL BABY!!
INVERT FOR LYFE!
haha
If it’s not inverted, i seriously just can’t comprehend anything… :S
Cephalxn
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:19 AMI bought Test Drive Unlimited 2 for the PS3, and took it back 2 hours later when I realised I couldn’t invert the controls for when you are in foot. My brain just turns to mush when I’m forced to use non-inverted controls.
Although on PC I don’t invert on FPS’s, but that’s the only case.
Freeze S. Preston Icequire.
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:46 AMPlease tell me this is or will be one of your shirts!
Chuloopa
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:57 AMWhat a novel idea
thistler
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:12 AMI invert for consoles but I can’t play FPS’s on PC with inverted mouse.
Weebler
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:18 AM^This. Come from a whole family of inverters. I invert, my parents invert, my cousins invert, all my gamer friends invert and my fiancee inverts on a controller. On a mouse though it’s just wrong. Can’t believe how many people seem to prefer it the other way.
Jason Hawkins
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:14 AMNever invert, and curse the Japanese for ‘default inverting’ then making me feel like a noob when I have to select ‘inverted’ to make it normal again!
AkyraStrike
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:15 AMInverted for flight sims / air combat games. Regular for everything else.
Jake
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:15 AMThere is an interesting article on the inversion debate.
http://gamepeople.wordpress.com/2006/11/07/down-is-up/
It reads a little too deeply into the subject, all the same food for thought.
ShiggyNinty
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:17 AMWho the hell inverts? I want my ups up ans
my downs down! Long Live Default!
Steve-O The Deve-O
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:38 AMDEFAULT! DEFAULT! DEFAULT!
Ben H
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:19 AMInverted! Permanently influenced by playing flight sims in my childhood and Goldeneye’s default inverted controls.
RaygunBrown
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:19 AMI INVERT DAT SHIT EVERY DAY SON
Strange
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:20 AMI don’t invert, but there have been some games where it’s the default and you can’t change it where it has then become second nature during the course of the game and when I go to play a normal game again it feels all wrong.
It’s like any control option. You can get used to it even if it doesn’t feel immediately natural.
Tom
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:21 AMRegular. But it always throws me out when I play an FPS with planes or choppers (hello BC2) when I jump in and the controls are the other way around (up has become down). Argh!
Voxdoctor
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:21 AMAnyone who doesn’t invert is clearly wrong.
POOPSIES
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:27 AM+1
Uilt
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:22 AMI’m an invert snob. :)
Speaking of inverting controls, I’ve noticed that some games have ‘Invert X Axis’ option too – as in, left and right. I understand the need to invert the Y Axis (up and down), but side to side? What the hell?? Who out there actually wants to push left to look right? Does ANYONE actually invert their X Axis here?
bookiegnu
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:25 AMMaybe it’s in case you hold your controller like the picture above…
wynstyn
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:39 AMI find i prefer inverted x axis for third person games where shooting is not invovled, ie okami, ffxii off the top of my head. Makes sense in my head to rotate or ‘pull’ the camera around the central character.
warcroft
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:22 AMBack in the day ‘inverted’ was the standard way.
Somewhere along the line it changed.
Push forward on the stick to look down, pull back to look up. Thats how it works in a plane.
Standing up, lean forward to look down, lean back to look up.
To me ‘inverted’ seems like the logical correct way.
I guarantee its more the younger generation which now dont invert.
Strange
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:34 AMAwesome! According to your logic I’m young again. Thank-you!
Note: in case you were wondering, that was not sarcasm, I’m almost 35 and I’ve always felt a bit wrong inverting.
Glib
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 11:08 AMThat is exactly why I invert.. doesn’t matter what type of game it is.
oggob
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 1:04 PMI agree that your logic is correct, and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Ynefel
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 2:14 PM+1
Great explanation!
Shane
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:22 AMMuch prefer to not invert. If my character is on foot and inverted, I seriously cannot figure a thing out.
In flying games though, my controller transforms from being neck and arm muscles into a flight joystick, and then I pretty much do need it to be inverted.
I rarely play games with flight aspects though, so selected non-invert on the poll :)
Marathon
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:23 AMInvert only for Flight Sims etc. FPS it just seems wrong.
McJagger
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:28 AMDon’t understand this at all. Clearly people need ideas straightened out in their head.
[doa]
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 1:53 PMCorrect! After all that’s how real planes fly, but up is still up in an FPS.
Better yet, use a Mouse for FPS games!!!
Beavwa
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:23 AMOption 3: If the default feels wrong I change it to the other one.
Uncle Avvy
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:50 AMThis times a million!