I never thought I'd use this account for anything (I made it to PM Jim of Jimquisition; no response)
But I was just watching a Movie Bob production ringing the death knell for PC gaming. A commenter stated emphatically how important to them keyboard input is. Maybe the commenter does not play games where you control a hominid in 3D and stuff. Anyway I develop PC games. And I've played PC games with WASD in the past. Many FPS games when I was a kid. And I played Doom 3 for old time's sake. And I played an MMORPG (Megami Tensei Imagine) because I thought I owed it to myself to do that once in a lifetime.
I can't remember how WASD felt to me in those games. But I can't help but think that it must have felt very anachronistic. I don't understand how gamers can defend keyboards in this day and age. Especially when "gaming laptops" ship with keyboards built into them that can't process more than two or three keys pressed down at once.
Still as a developer I would like to be able to satisfy keyboard gamers. I use a keyboard and mouse to test a game I am working on when I am not to be bothered to reach for a controller. But I can't imagine why anyone would want to actually spend time playing a game with a keyboard.
If keypads were analog I might change my tune, but I am not sure it would work. Analog buttons don't seem to be good for anything more than disambiguating a tap versus a hold slightly faster. You can't base game mechanics on analog buttons in a serious game. Therefor my guess is analog keys would not work. Much less for typing.
I don't believe PC gaming is dead for an instant. If anything consoles you'd expect to be on the way out. If only because PCs are cheap, open platforms. Mentally I associate them with work, but I can slap a nettop behind a television and its at least as good as a console. The future lies in controllers I think. Make a better DualShock like controller, priority to the sticks, make it in more than one size, make the sticks adjustable. Make it so you can hold it without your hand cramping. And standardize it. Like USB. Feedback in the sticks. I'd pay good money for that.
I provide Caps Lock so keyboard players can access sneaking and jogging gaits with their keyboard. But I just haven't found the time to try to experience a current PC gaming experience for myself. So I thought I would ask...
Do you expect to move at a constant rate? Do you tap the keys to go faster and slower? Is there acceleration when the key is first pressed. If so for how long? You do realize joysticks have been around for decades? Thumbsticks to :)