Several people have asked, how high off the ground should my control panel be? What angle should I have it inclined at? I've looked at the past threads on this topic, and I wasn't really happy with the answers.
In terms of arcade authenticity, there is no right answer. Donkey Kong had its control panel about 35" above the floor. Defender had its CP about 42" high. (I'm measuring from the center of the panel wherever possible, or the base of the joysticks.) These really are the extremes, and they both worked -- obviously they were both highly successful games.
Nintendo have always skewed their games toward a younger audience, so it only makes sense that they'd prefer a lower CP height. Defender was the first game Williams made, and my guess is that whoever designed the cabinet -- most likely an adult male -- made it comfortable for himself. Defender was also an intense, difficult and intimidating game. It's not a little kiddie game, so I have to assume it appealed to older players.
It appears that as years went by the trend was toward less variation and CPs in the 36-38" height range.
I have an old HotRod controller here, so I decided to experiment with it and determine what height is most comfortable to me. For reference, I am right about 5' 10" tall in my stocking feet.
First I set up the HotRod at 35", like Donkey Kong. This is definitely low. I'm reaching down, but it's not really uncomfortable. Playing in this posture gives me a relaxed feeling that I think is well-suited to slow-paced games and leisurely waggling of the joystick, such as in Pac Man or (surprise!) Donkey Kong. One thing I definitely cannot do is rest my palms on the control panel. The HotRod has a palm rest, but it's useless with the CP sitting so low. I would have to squat lower, in a very uncomfortable way, to do that. It's all fingertip action on the controls.
Next I raised it to 37" high. At this height it's still comfortable to use with my fingertips. It's becoming possible to rest my palms on the palm rest, but it feels awkward to my wrists, and I don't think it would be comfortable for extended gameplay.
Incidentally, the HotRod has a CP slope of about 10 degrees. If I prop the front up a bit and change it to 5 degrees or less, it becomes a bit less uncomfortable to keep my palms on the palm rest.
At 39" high the HotRod becomes more comfortable for me, both using my fingertips and using the palm rest -- and there's less difference, the hand positions are getting closer together. It still feels more comfortable to use the palm rest with the CP propped at a 5-degree angle, rather than the default 10 degrees.
At 41" we're getting close to Defender height. Now the controls are right up in front of me, which feels good. It's hard to describe, but this posture feels more direct, more exciting, more suited to fast-action games like Asteroids or (surprise!) Defender. The palm rest on the HotRod is really useful now, and it's comfortable to rest my hands on it. It's working well at the 10-degree slope, but 5 degrees still feels perhaps slightly better.
So here are my conclusions. . .
Most classic arcade games had relatively shallow (front-to-back) control panels without any palm rest. (Asteroids is a notable exception, and I'm sure there are others.) They didn't encourage the player to rest his palms on the machine while playing. When you are playing in this posture, touching the controls only with your fingers, then the height and angle of the control panel is much less critical. A CP positioned relatively low then makes the machine accessible to a wide range of people including children.
Supporting your hands on a palm rest is not a bad thing. If the palm rest is positioned well, it could make long game sessions more comfortable. It also could allow more precise joystick control, as you can directly feel with your hand how the stick is moving relative to the panel. For this to work, the height and angle of the CP become important. The CP needs to be positioned fairly high (depending of course on how tall you are), and the CP angle should be in the 5-10 degree range. The angle and height are interrelated -- the higher the CP, the more slope is preferred. Someone short may have a problem with this design, having to reach upward awkwardly to the controls, and the palm rest possibly getting in their way.
The requirements of a MAME cabinet are not the same as those for a commercial arcade game. With a commercial game you have to accommodate the widest range of players that you can. With a MAME cabinet you have to first of all please yourself. I know my MAME machine is going to be played the vast majority of the time by . . . me!
The other factor is that with a MAME cabinet in your home, you can fashion a step and keep it nearby. If somebody shorter wants to play, it should only take seconds to put the four-or-five inch high step in front of the machine and let them go at it. One could even imagine a pull-out step built into the cabinet, or concealed under it.
I hope I don't come across as an ergonomics expert laying the law down to everyone. I'm no expert. This is all my opinion based on some brief experiments, so it's all subject to debate and revision. However. . . Based on what I've observed so far, I'm aiming for the higher position on my own project.
Just to add a little confusion. . . The height the CP can also interact with the height and angle of the monitor display. Maybe I'll experiment with that next.
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Topic: panel height & angle -- a simple experiment (Read 11598 times)
