Why is it WASD and not ESDF?

[KTMDirtFace]

Whoever originally used WASD probably suffered from tiny bitch hands. They most likley use an iPhone currently because of it.

 

who cares? just remap them.

[R_Golden]

Alright, but there is no reason ctrl has to be used. with ESDF you've got extra buttons to the left: w, q,a,z,x etc. no need for ctrl or tab.

I'm not saying I dislike WASD, just wondering why it became the default and not ESDF which is more natural in terms of being at the home typing position. Did it start with a specific game? I think it was right around the time of Quake, Unreal, Duke Nukem 3D etc. If I remember correctly, Doom was played using the arrow keys.

Tab and Ctrl are better than normal keys because they are different shapes, making them easy to distinguish. I think WASD started with games that absolutely needed a mouse like quake 3 or UT 99. Before the mouse was just a optional thing and you used the arrow keys and Ctrl and keys around there.

[CostcoSamples]

Tab and Ctrl are better than normal keys because they are different shapes, making them easy to distinguish. I think WASD started with games that absolutely needed a mouse like quake 3 or UT 99. Before the mouse was just a optional thing and you used the arrow keys and Ctrl and keys around there.

yeah I see what you mean.  Like I said, I have no problem with it, just curious and like to discuss such things.

 

Quake and UT were probably the first FPS games to really incorporate the vertical axis into games in a big way.  before that, there was no need to aim up and down, so like you said, the mouse was not needed.  Wolfenstein for example was keyboard only, and I think Doom was arrow keys plus mouse (correct me if I'm wrong, its been many years).  There was some vertical movement in Doom, but not that much, not like Quake and Unreal.

[typographie]

Wolfenstein for example was keyboard only, and I think Doom was arrow keys plus mouse (correct me if I'm wrong, its been many years).  There was some vertical movement in Doom, but not that much, not like Quake and Unreal.

 

As I recall Doom had some mouse control but I never used it. I used the keyboard, with basically the same key bindings as Wolfenstein. Doom had a system of contextual vertical aiming, where your weapons would automatically fire vertically if you aimed horizontally at an enemy above or below you.

 

Personally, Unreal Tournament was the first game I played where I kept my right hand on the mouse and left hand on WASD (well, my left hand was on the arrow keys for a bit—old habits died hard).

[R_Golden]

yeah I see what you mean. Like I said, I have no problem with it, just curious and like to discuss such things.

Quake and UT were probably the first FPS games to really incorporate the vertical axis into games in a big way. before that, there was no need to aim up and down, so like you said, the mouse was not needed. Wolfenstein for example was keyboard only, and I think Doom was arrow keys plus mouse (correct me if I'm wrong, its been many years). There was some vertical movement in Doom, but not that much, not like Quake and Unreal.

Wolfenstein and Doom both had mouse movement if I'm not mistaken, the mouse would only look left and right though, due to the way both games used a fake 3d. Most people just used keyboard only on both games.

[moderategamer]

well?

would be good as f has the touch type bump making it easier to find you place.

[CostcoSamples]

would be good as f has the touch type bump making it easier to find you place.

Indeed.

 

I really like my Corsair K70 keyboard because it has special textured WASD key caps which make it easy to find.

[GrimNeo]

Easier to reach left shift and 123 keys are right above it?

yes to answer your question

[armycombatvet7]

Wow....I remap all mine to ESDF everytime! Haha, cool someone asked.

[Wing821]

The first one who came up with WASD is a genus.

It is simple when we look back by now, but how hard is it to come up with it. :rolleyes:

[Silyy097]

well?

Why not push your keyboard 20cm to the left and use numpad 8456? Plenty of other buttons in reach.

[CostcoSamples]

Why not push your keyboard 20cm to the left and use numpad 8456? Plenty of other buttons in reach.

haha yes, and so many things in computer tech is very arbitrary, or only remains as is because it became the standard, whether by accident or some obsolete technology that started it all.  

[Hydroin]

There are a few reasons.

1. Modifier keys (tab alt ctrl windows)

2. The position of the keys nowadays has a slight offset, and WASD happens to line up with the shape of a left hand on a keyboard

3. Arrow keys just feel awkward to use b/c you don't have access you the other 95% of the keyboard,

4. People that dislike WASD just rebind keys or buy a "gamepad" basically just pay razer for an orbweaver or the logitek equivalent.

5. For some reason people no long only type on a keyboard. The WASD keys happen to be located and sharing the asdf home keys for typing. This encourages social activity in games (mmo's)

6. Would you rather get a floor pedal like the stinky?

7. Have you ever tried using the numpad for WASD functionality with the same buttons for your game rebound? It's basically awful if you want to use your right hand on the mouse.

[ericssin]

It became mainstream becasue it was used on a successful game, some say competitive Quake and QuakeWorld, others talk about other games on the same era or older games, some claim it's more ergonomic, I think it's a mix of all of the above