Left-handed PC gaming - The most oppressed class

[Akashic Retard]

I've always just used the computer right-handed like I assume most other lefties do out of convenience. After years of this, it of course felt far more normal to use my right than my left. I realized one day though that while using a mouse with my left hand feels awkward, I could probably train myself to be comfortable with it and the competency ceiling for left handed mouse use would probably be higher because of it being my dominant hand. So for the past couple years I have been using my mouse with my left hand at work and right hand at home to get myself used to it. I feel like I'm finally ready to make the permanent switch.

Like everything else, it's impossible to find good left-handed/ambidextrous mice. That's probably the worst part of this is that I have to stop using the mouse that I prefer and use one that works better in my left hand. I still haven't found a mouse that I'd recommend to left-handed users, if you know of one please let me know.

Then there's keybindings. I realized I would likely have to change just about every keybind that has felt instinctual for years, no WASD, no shift for sprint, no tab for menus or inventory, no space for jump, etc. So I started looking around to see if anyone online had cracked this code yet and I found a novel layout (created by a guy that is right handed but plays PC left handed for some fucking reason) that I think will be interesting to try and could end up being even better than the WASD config. It's absolutely going to be a pain in the ass to change this every time I start playing a new game, but I think it could be worth it.



So, anybody here play left-handed on PC? Thoughts?

 

[Blue Miaplacidus]

Lefty, used to use the very terrible quake 2 arena control scheme for every game, as it worked well for me as a lefty. Though, it got annoying rebinding everything, so I got one of these. problem solved.

https://a.co/d/hYaoBRt

 

[Akashic Retard]

Lefty, used to use the very terrible quake 2 arena control scheme for every game, as it worked well for me as a lefty. Though, it got annoying rebinding everything, so I got one of these. problem solved.

https://a.co/d/hYaoBRt

View attachment 3592458

I have considered these, but I'm a cheap ass and don't really want to spend money on peripherals if I don't have to. I'm also a lazy ass though and rebinding sucks, so I may just get one.

 

[Blue Miaplacidus]

I have considered these, but I'm a cheap ass and don't really want to spend money on peripherals if I don't have to. I'm also a lazy ass though and rebinding sucks, so I may just get one.

There used to be a really cheap one that had thumb buttons for space bar on both sides for left or right, but they don't make them anymore and most modern ones are righty unfortunately. I used it for cs:source religiously.

lmao, just looked and they're on ebay for like 100+ usd, they used to be 19.99

 

[Lone MacReady]

I just try to use a controller whenever possible otherwise I end up doing what I do for certain old roms i.e. Frankensteining keybindings together on any section of the keyboard in whatever feels most comfortable. Some things (like school desks) just suck for leftys in a righty-dominated world.

 

[ChristianKiwi]

Don't mind me gents: I'm just observing and studying what you nerds have to say in this thread so I can apply what posted here after gaming as a righty all my life despite being a lefty.

I always pondered the possibility of a slight improvement if I actually played as God intended.

 

[nah]

It used to be arrow-keys only until Thresh won John Carmack's Ferrari in the 90s and people switched to his keybinds, which is WASD. I used to do arrows, then WASD, and now FEDS (or ESDF), which is essentially WASD shifted over to the right one character so that my pinkie can utilize `1QAZ as independent binds. Rebinding can suck, but if you're on Windows, you can probably use AutoHotKey to capture your input and convert it to the target program's keybinds. As for hardware, I use a keyboard without the numpad and have used Razer/Steelseries for mice since they came out. My current model is the Sensei 310, but doesn't seem to be in production anymore despite being only five years old. However, they have a uniform design, so it fits either hand fine, although it might be a bit small if you have larger hands (I do, but that's never bothered me).

 

[TenMilesWide]

Map everything to keyboard with actions requiring the greatest speed and dexterity under your dominant hand on a game-by-game basis. Game control conventions are largely arbitrary (or worse, holdovers from times when arcade operators wanted to actively fuck with players to milk more quarters) and whatever bullshit the dev thought was natural for his hands to do, likely won't be for you.

 

[MrTroll]

I'm left-handed, but lefty keyboard/controller schemes have never made any sense to me. We live in a right-handed world. These things were just designed for use with a dominant right hand, and you can't retrofit them to work the other way.

 

[Akashic Retard]

I'm left-handed, but lefty keyboard/controller schemes have never made any sense to me. We live in a right-handed world. These things were just designed for use with a dominant right hand, and you can't retrofit them to work the other way.

Keyboards were not designed for gaming and afaik weren’t even designed to be used in conjunction with a mouse.

 

[MrTroll]

Keyboards were not designed for gaming and afaik weren’t even designed to be used in conjunction with a mouse.

They're designed for interpreting analog user input into computer behavior, which is the same basic function whether it's for spreadsheets or gaming.

I say if you can 'reprogram' your brain into using hardware in a different way than it was designed, and it's worth the effort to you to do so, then go for it, but for most of us it just makes more sense to take the path of least resistance.

Right-handed scissors are a bigger irritation to me than mice and keyboards have ever been.

 

[PipTheAlchemist]

Left-handed "people" are subhuman

 

[Foxxo]

I prefer having optimal control of my character's movement over having optimal control of my aim.

 

[Akashic Retard]

They're designed for interpreting analog user input into computer behavior, which is the same basic function whether it's for spreadsheets or gaming.

I say if you can 'reprogram' your brain into using hardware in a different way than it was designed, and it's worth the effort to you to do so, then go for it, but for most of us it just makes more sense to take the path of least resistance.

Right-handed scissors are a bigger irritation to me than mice and keyboards have ever been.

It’s the same basic function for left-handed gaming as well. If you’ve been using something right-handed when you aren’t then you’ve already reprogrammed your mind, you can do the same more easily by switching to your dominant hand. Of course it’s a matter of wanting to switch from what you are familiar with.

 

[BULLY HUNTER_77]

I'm left-handed, but lefty keyboard/controller schemes have never made any sense to me. We live in a right-handed world. These things were just designed for use with a dominant right hand, and you can't retrofit them to work the other way.

My thoughts exactly. I’ve become ambidextrous almost out of necessity. The only thing I really need to exclusively do with my left hand is write.

 

[Hepativore]

I learned very early on how to reverse the mouse buttons on a PC and use the mouse in my left hand.

Usually, I use the arrow keys for movement and the number pad on the right side of the keyboard for various functions in terms of keybindings.

 

[The Penultimate Warrior]

It's the thing that's stopped me getting into a lot of modern PC games. On old ones like Quake it's fine to just use the arrow keys and mouse buttons, but the problem I find with more modern games is that there's so many keys I just can't bind them in a way I can easily reach. Aside from the arrows I can only quickly hit L ctrl, shift, 0 and 1, even with 6 mouse buttons and a wheel it often isn't enough for something fast paced like Doom Eternal.

 

[byuu]

Just rotate your keyboard by 180°

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

Just use I J K L instead of WASD or play the Seth Killian way.

 

[Knud Lavard]

It's the thing that's stopped me getting into a lot of modern PC games. On old ones like Quake it's fine to just use the arrow keys and mouse buttons, but the problem I find with more modern games is that there's so many keys I just can't bind them in a way I can easily reach. Aside from the arrows I can only quickly hit L ctrl, shift, 0 and 1, even with 6 mouse buttons and a wheel it often isn't enough for something fast paced like Doom Eternal.

I don't know your keyboard layout, but the 3x2 block of Insert, Home, etc. has been vital for me. I have the following hand placement:
Thumb on CTRL, pointer on shift, middle finger on the top edge of the left arrow, ring finger- and pinkie on up arrow and right arrow respectively. I find it to be a lot more versatile than the pointer on left arrow, middle finger on up arrow, ring finger on right arrow system that I know many lefties use.
Using this system, you can do the following:

Thumb: Sticks to CTRL
Pointer: Shift, Enter, potentially Delete and "/*
Middle finger: Delete, End
Ring finger: Sticks to up arrow
Pinkie: Numpad 0 and 1, potentially 4 and even 2

It's not a cure-all, but try it out in some low-stakes games where dying is part of the fun. Might click for you like it did for me.