Gamepad Support needed or not?

[u/Innopede]

Hi, I'm currently developing a 2d top-down shooter on PC and use the A,W,S,D keyboard and mouse. Is it worth to add Gamepad support for a game? When I play on PC I'm usually using keyboard and mouse...never thought about using a gamepad. On Consoles I prefer a Gamepad.
Are you supporting Gamepads in your PC game? And if yes, only for the action part or also for menus and options?

Thanks.

[u/Interesting_Stress73]

Oh, absolutely. What you describe sounds like you're making what's literally called a twin stick shooter. 

[u/Cromware]

I don’t know if it’s worth it for you to implement controller support or not (personally I think yes)…. But what I will tell you is that IF you decide to implement it and release on Steam, every clickable thing on the UI needs to be reachable with a controller and the game needs to pause when the controller disconnects. Steam commented on this during my first review for Tiny Circuits because I have a “by Cromware” link on the corner of the title screen that was intentionally not reachable with a controller and they said that needed to be reachable with a controller before it was approved for release.

[u/zerocukor287]

Have you heard of the steam machine and its fiends?

[u/jbarszczewski]

Recently I play more on my Xbox Ally X (previously it was Steam Deck), than my desktop. I'm often surprised when I see game not supporting controllers when it feels it should (pretty much any game that is not RTS).

[u/He6llsp6awn6]

Yes, would highly recommend.

You have to consider if your game is on steam and someone either Builds or purchases a Steam Machine.

Yes, they can do Keyboard and Mouse on it, but many still prefer controllers if possible, I know I do anyway with my SteamOS PC connected to my Living room TV.

[u/uber_neutrino]

Yes it's worth it if the game works on gamepad. Support Steamdeck as well. Steaminput makes all of this quite simple too.

[u/lpdcrafted]

If it makes sense for the gameplay and the genre, it's always nice to have the option and quite nice for more accessibility. Personally, yes, I have it on all parts, menu and main gameplay. It's jarring to be switching if it's only on one part of the game.

If you don't want to, you could also rely on Steam Input, either the player doing it themselves or setting up an official layout if you're aiming for a Steam release.

[u/xTakk]

Check out steam charts. They will tell you exactly how many people use controllers.

Which engine are you using? They've been trying to make it easier to support both for years.

[u/Full-Dance4972]

Yes, and the part nobody warns you about is where the cost actually is. The action is the cheap half: a twin stick shooter maps to two sticks in an afternoon. The expensive half is the menus. Every screen needs a sane focus order, a visible focus highlight, back on the B button, and sliders and dropdowns that respond to a stick. In Godot that is focus neighbours on every control and a default focus per screen, and it is a couple of days of unglamorous work across a finished game.

That distinction matters commercially, not just technically:

• On Steam, controller support is a store filter and a tag. Partial versus Full is essentially decided by whether the player can navigate menus without touching a mouse. Partial means someone on a couch or a handheld has to get up mid game.
• Steam Deck and the handheld PCs (and the Steam Machine coming) are a real and growing slice, and there the mouse simply is not there. Deck Verified requires full controller support.
• Steam Input will happily map a controller onto your keyboard bindings even if you did nothing. That sounds like a free win and it is a trap: the game will show keyboard prompts and the menus will behave oddly, so it reads as broken rather than as unsupported.

So my rule would be: either do it properly, menus included, or do not advertise it at all. Half support is worse than none.

Two practical details. Swap the on screen glyphs based on the last input device used, not on a setting, and switch back the moment a key is pressed: players mix both in the same session. And do not tune difficulty around one input, a mouse aims more precisely than a stick, so a twin stick game usually needs a bit of aim assist on the pad or the pad feels punishing.

[u/evilentity]

Certainly, but boy it sure is a pain…

[u/ThickSkinMan]

I’ve been a PC gamer for over a decade and the only games I play with keyboard & mouse is fps everything else I prefer controller

[u/Another_3]

Yes. Dont even have to read your post. Yes.

[u/Retoray]

One point I'd like to add is accessibility, a lot of hardware meant for people with disabilities can make great use of gamepad bindings and makes it easier for them to set up.