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A new custom controller that uses your feet is making waves on Kickstarter, smashing (or should I say punting) its funding goal in just 40 minutes. At the time of writing, GLYDR's Analog Dual Foot Controller has $26,390 in contributions from its backers, with an initial goal of $10,000.
The main thing that sets the GLYDR apart from other feet-activated input devices is that it's built to play complement your setup for all types of games, not just racing, flying, and rhythm games.
"While other foot pedals on the market are either designed for one thing, or do a single digital action, GLYDR is designed for versatility across all genres and across all configurations," the company says in a trailer.
The GLYDR allows you to move around a 3D space in every direction using 16 configurable actions, with the intention of reducing strain and improving skill by letting your feet take some of the load off your hands. The goal, or at least judging from what I've gleaned from the trailer and Kickstarter campaign, is to allow your hands to focus on precision-based actions by delegating movement to your feet.
The way it works sounds pretty simple. The device can be connected to your PC via USB (provided) or Bluetooth, and from there you just open up the provided software and choose from a bunch of pre-made profiles. If you don't find one that works for you, you can also create your own custom profile and share it with others. The customizer also lets you make individual deadzones for each pedal, which ideally will make the hardware as accessible as possible.
GLYDR says its foot-based controller is compatible with "your entire PC library," noting that it hasn't played every single one of the "tens of thousands of PC games" out there and thus can't definitively say there won't be issues with some of them. The makers say it's also a natural fit for VR, and it should be able to sync up with your headset via Bluetooth just like a PC.
As for consoles, GLYDR is designed to work with some console games, but there's a pretty big caveat at the moment: they have to offer mouse and keyboard controls to map out a control profile. However, "more official compatibility with consoles is a priority for our team, as is MacOS and mobile compatibility moving forward."
Notably, the GLYDR isn't currently specifically marketed for accessibility, but in the Kickstarter's comments section, the creators say they're "working on getting this in front of folks in adaptive gaming spaces for sure!" For now, they hope the kit will be helpful to "folks with upper body disabilities and fatigue."
Here's hoping the GLYDR succeeds in making the best PC games even more fun, and accessible, to play.
