Any gamers here with limited/no use of their dominant arm?

[eShirl]

(in my case, from lymphedema as a complication of mastectomy)

What kind of equipment/adaptations do you use to keep gaming? What kinds of games work well for you?
Looking to do more "pew-pew," less "QQ."

[stonecutter357]

1. I hope this helps.

http://www.disabled-world.com/entertainment/games/gaming-controls.php

Disabled gamer James Mannhalter of Alabama said,

"Video games became a way for me to escape the pain of my injuries, the grueling horror of my recovery, and the depression that sometimes comes with a life long disability...Gaming can be very important for someone like me."

[eShirl]

2. thank you ///update: appears to be discontinued

[Decoy of Fenris]

3. Sorry for the delayed response. Are you talking console or PC? n/t

[eShirl]

4. sorry -- PC

[independentpiney]

5. First person shooters and non-pause-able real time strategy are out for me

anything requiring fast and repetitive clicking and mouse movements. I've switched to mostly turn based strategy games so i can give my hand, arm and brain a rest when needed. I still love flight sims and use them regularly, but would never try to compete online anymore.

[retrowire]

6. So you want to play shooters? That's what I'm getting from this.

I'm racking my brain to think of something for you right now. But I can think of other games that I play that literally only require me to use the mouse and give me time to react and such.

Those are: Armello, a turn based strategy board game with cards. Think DnD but with animals.

And 8 Bit Armies is new and fun. It's alot like Command and Conquer, real time strategy genre.

OOH, speaking of shooters, have you heard of SUPERHOT? It's a strategic shooter, where everything only moves when you move. You can take your time and plan out the scenes as you live them.

[Decoy of Fenris]

7. So eShirl, let's see.

I don't have an arm with limited mobility or such, so please take what I say with some grains of salt; what works for me, or for my friends, may not work for you.


While I don't suffer from a lack of mobility, one of my longtime squadmates in one of the varied games I play (World of Tanks) has lost an arm and a leg in various military actions. What works for him is a keyboard-mouse; it took him some getting used to, but something similar to this may work for you if you spend the time to rebind the keys:

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Just Google "gaming mouse" and you'll encounter many variants similar to this. Even if you don't get the full range of motion, you can individually set the sensitivity to high so even the smallest movement shifts the mouse considerably. Likewise, by using a mouse similar to this, you can build your ideal mousekey configuration through most Keybindings in a game's Setting menu. While it's certainly not ideal in certain circumstances (i.e., circlestrafing while simultaneously scoping in and firing), it will at least give you shortcuts that you can use to bypass some limitations with your arm.

Can you describe any potential issues that you might forsee arising from using a mouse like this? I might be able to help you find some other variants more suited to your situation, as I'd wager there's not going to be a "catchall" mouse that will work for every eventuality.


Also, apologies for the delayed response. I was on vacation for a while.