One handed Wiimote/nunchuck?

skyhopper88 · Post by **skyhopper88** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 5:13 pm

This is pretty much a copy of what I just sent Ben, but I figured I'd see what kind of responses I'd get here as well.

I was very impressed with the 360 controller mod. I have been gaming one handed almost as long as I can remember. Because of cerebral palsy I have limited use of my left hand. So limited that I exclusively use my right hand on any controller I have come across since the NES. With conventional controllers I lay my right hand on the controller horizontally fingers pointed left - thumb for face buttons/right analogue, middle finger for left shoulders, pinky for right shoulders, pointer for left analogue/dpad. The only controller I have ever had problems with is the Wii.

With the Wii, I cannot play any games that require button presses or analogue movement on the nunchuck due to my CP, but I am able to do the motions rather well. Even though it is tiring, I'm finding it to be therapeutic. In fact, Wii boxing has improved the range of motion in my left hand as well as well as endurance. It's more fun than therapy, that's for sure. My main hindrance to playing Wii games now are the buttons and analogue stick located on the nunchuck itself. I emailed Nintendo about my predicament and they referred me to several 3rd party companies:

Access to Recreation
PO Box 5072-430
Thousand Oaks CA 91359
1-800-634-4351
www.accesstr.com

Mas Systems
1116-1/2 North Harbor Blvd Toll Free Orders Only:
Santa Ana, CA. 92703 877-214-4346 or
(714) 554-3898 / Fax: (714) 554-3882 888-440-5389
www.massystems.com

I have yet to contact them, but I remembered about coming across this site and thought that perhaps someone might be interested in something like this. I was brainstorming and thought that if the A button on the remote was a clickable analogue nub like the playstation, that would take care of my biggest problem. As for C and Z, I guess they could be put on the remote somewhere. Or heck, maybe someone can try to make a power glove that doesn't...suck. If anyone wants to bounce some ideas around, feel free, I'm all ears.

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 5:28 pm

So you can move the nunchuck, you just can't use the buttons on it? You could maybe move its analog and trigger to the main controller, so you can use them with your good hand. Thats about all I can help with, since I've never played a Wii so I'm clueless to what would be best.

skyhopper88 · Post by **skyhopper88** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 5:56 pm

Correct, and that was my general idea as well. I have no engineering experience myself though. This could be a chore if a lot of peripherals come out for it aside from the nunchuck too.

Post by **Skyone** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:02 pm

What about the motion sensor in the nunchuck?

Kurt_ · Post by **Kurt_** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:02 pm

Well your main obstacle will be the D-pad and Joystick on one hand. Perhaps if you had the Joystick for your thumb, the D-pad for your index finger, and the four buttons (A, B, C, Z) for your 3 remaining fingers, that would work.

I'm not sure how important 1 and 2 are in game play, as I don't own a Wii yet.

Also, if you do make a miraculous recovery due to the Wii's unique controller style, you should send your story to everywhere. Not only will it send a message to others with the same disability, (sorry if "disability" isn't the right term) but it will be good publicity for Nintendo, and we all love Nintendo (because I do. See "Everyone Hates Sony")

skyhopper88 · Post by **skyhopper88** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:41 pm

Skyone wrote:What about the motion sensor in the nunchuck?

That I can move with my left hand, I'm just unable to use any buttons/joysticks on it. Ideally, I would have a custom Wiimote with the buttons and joysticks of the chuck on the remote itself and I would just waggle the chuck when needed.

Kurt_ wrote:Well your main obstacle will be the D-pad and Joystick on one hand. Perhaps if you had the Joystick for your thumb, the D-pad for your index finger, and the four buttons (A, B, C, Z) for your 3 remaining fingers, that would work.

I'm not sure how important 1 and 2 are in game play, as I don't own a Wii yet.

Also, if you do make a miraculous recovery due to the Wii's unique controller style, you should send your story to everywhere. Not only will it send a message to others with the same disability, (sorry if "disability" isn't the right term) but it will be good publicity for Nintendo, and we all love Nintendo (because I do. See "Everyone Hates Sony")

I think it wouldn't be too much of a problem to stick to much of the original design of the remote itself. I figure the A button could be replaced by an analogue PSP-like nub, click for A. The stick on the chuck doesn't act as its own button so that seems probable. That way my thumb can be used for both, I don't think many games require both at once (like a dual analogue/face button thing). And so far every game using the chuck has you pointing the remote like a the screen so C and Z could be relocated to the left side for easy access with middle/ring/pinky.

Post by **Skyone** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:20 pm

Oh, I see now.

I'd love to make one for you if I got the supplies, sounds like an interesting project.

I think I'll draw a mock-up just to make sure we're on the same page.

skyhopper88 · Post by **skyhopper88** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:37 pm

Thanks, Rekarp and I were messaging and came up with a pretty good idea.

First he suggested something like this.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/ ... nchuck.jpg

Then we decided to switch the dpad and A put the analogue stick on top of A, keeping C and Z on the side. I would say to have them a bit higher, one in line with the speaker and the other lined between 1 an 2.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/ ... cation.jpg

Post by **Skyone** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:45 pm

You also have to consider where to place the nunchuck guts. You might have to put them where the battery compartment is and get a small internal battery pack. Or, if you went with what Rekarp suggested first, you could squeeze them on the side with the thumbstick.

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:07 pm

This is beginning to evolve into something really neat.
If I had case modding skills, I would do this for you if you supplied the wiimote and ~$20 to cover misc stuff and shipping. I don't think I could make it look good though, but I bet I could make it work.

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 3:09 pm

foot pedals ftw! (seriously). if i knew more about electronics i would try to make you foot petals for C and Z and toss another analog on the wiimote...