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Old Dude Controller Gap

rickinman
Explorer
Hi.  I'm 61 and I just bought a Rift S.  I'll be down due to medical reasons for a few months and thought VR might help me with going stir-crazy.
My son tells me I may not enjoy it because of the "age gap" with the use of the controllers.  He says that his generation (and later ones) were raised using video game controllers, and both the concepts and the muscle memory has developed over the years to become natural, but that the use of controllers is so foreign to my age bracket that learning to use it will be daunting (last game I played was Wolfenstein on my PC in the 90's using a keyboard)..
Is this true?  Is there a way to work on just learning the controllers quickly?  
BTW, I am a tech geek.  I edit video for a living, build editing computer stations, am addicted to smart-everything, etc.  So I'm not completely tech stupid, however I don't know how well those skills will transfer over to using VR.
Thoughts??
9 REPLIES 9

nalex66
MVP
MVP
I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not crazy about using game pads, but Touch controllers are awesome to play with. The biggest challenge for someone who isn't used to game pads is trying to aim with a thumbstick when playing shooters. This isn't an issue in VR, because you aim by moving your hand like you would in real life.

DK2, CV1, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3.


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gene_cullup
Explorer
I am a little younger than you. Just run the tutorials "first steps". My problem is I sometimes hit the A button while trying to press the B button because they are so close together.

I'm just a little younger than you @rickinman and this is the last console/gamepads I ever used for gaming, I'm not joking!!!
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PC joysticks and mice, no problem but I've never been able to use gamepads properly. I got used to Touch almost instantly though, they just naturally seem to do what you want. I'm sure you'd find the same thing.

TomCgcmfc
MVP
MVP

rickinman said:

Hi.  I'm 61 and I just bought a Rift S.  I'll be down due to medical reasons for a few months and thought VR might help me with going stir-crazy.
My son tells me I may not enjoy it because of the "age gap" with the use of the controllers.  He says that his generation (and later ones) were raised using video game controllers, and both the concepts and the muscle memory has developed over the years to become natural, but that the use of controllers is so foreign to my age bracket that learning to use it will be daunting (last game I played was Wolfenstein on my PC in the 90's using a keyboard)..
Is this true?  Is there a way to work on just learning the controllers quickly?  
BTW, I am a tech geek.  I edit video for a living, build editing computer stations, am addicted to smart-everything, etc.  So I'm not completely tech stupid, however I don't know how well those skills will transfer over to using VR.
Thoughts??

I'm +60 yo and still having a blast in VR (which I got into at ~ your age).  The touch controllers work very well but I would also recommend you purchase a Xbox One wireless controller.  This works better for some VR games and allows you to go retro once in a while.
i9 13900K water cooled, RTX4090, Z790 MB w/wifi6e, 32Gb 6400 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers

Richooal
Consultant
HI, I'm 63 and can't stand game pads. It's not an age thing, it's a console thing. I don't like them either.

It's PC all the way for me, k/board and mouse. From Commander Keen through the entire Carmack trail to VR. Touch controls are a bit like a game pad split in 2, but are easier to use than game pads. I reckon Touch Controllers are the best new control system in decades.

I have one major problem with them though. For the life of me I can't understand why A/B aren't on the Left Controller and X/Y on the Right Controller.

I'd ignore your son's concerns and dive right in.
i5 6600k - GTX1060 - 8GB RAM - Rift CV1 + 3 Sensors - 1 minor problem
Dear Oculus, If it ain't broke, don't fix it, please.

sford52
Heroic Explorer
I'm older than anyone who has yet posted on this thread.  I would tend to disagree with your son. For example, I love "Lone Echo" which is fairly controller intensive. But I will admit that I haven't gotten into "No Mans Sky" yet. Like so many things, this idea of being too old for something is a generality that really doesn't hold up. Have fun with your new toy young man.

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kojack
MVP
MVP

Richooal said:

I have one major problem with them though. For the life of me I can't understand why A/B aren't on the Left Controller and X/Y on the Right Controller.


On the xbox controller, sega dreamcast and most nintendo controllers (joycon, switch pro, classic, snes, etc) X/Y are on the top left and A/B are on the bottom right.


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Richooal
Consultant

kojack said:


Richooal said:

I have one major problem with them though. For the life of me I can't understand why A/B aren't on the Left Controller and X/Y on the Right Controller.


On the xbox controller, sega dreamcast and most nintendo controllers (joycon, switch pro, classic, snes, etc) X/Y are on the top left and A/B are on the bottom right.





Yep, still makes no sense to me, from day 1, A/B should have been on the left side. Like in alphabetical order.
Anyway, doesn't matter, I'm stuck with it I guess. 🙂
i5 6600k - GTX1060 - 8GB RAM - Rift CV1 + 3 Sensors - 1 minor problem
Dear Oculus, If it ain't broke, don't fix it, please.

morsify
Protege

rickinman said:

 So I'm not completely tech stupid, however I don't know how well those skills will transfer over to using VR.
Thoughts??

Get it and enjoy it. Take your time learning the controls, you will not have trouble. Also remind your son that you've had to control more telephones, light switches, radiograms, tvs, binatones, wirelesses, vhs's, Betamax etc, than he's had hot dinners. 
😉


(It will not take you long to get used to, and you can always ask on here or Steam forums for advice with particular games or control problems).
Gigabyte Z390 Gaming X, i7 9770K, 16GB DDR4, EVGA RTX2070XC 8GB Ultra Gaming, AOC 32" monitor, 2 x Inatek PCI USB controllers, Oculus Rift CV1, Windows 10 64 Home