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Best way to position 6 buttons on control panel?

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ammitz:

Hi again

I'm building/designing a bartop mame arcade, and right now I'm at the control panel. Have allready ordered 2 U360 + 2x8 buttons. And that all there is going in to my CP. I plan to have no more than 8 buttons pr joystick in total.

1 button in eack side panel so i could play pinball, and it'll be used as shift button or some kind of admin function
1 button on CP for each player, 1 and 2 player button.

Then there is the 6 buttons left for each player. Been surfing around and found 4 different possibilities for layout, they are quite similar, but with some minor differences, and I would like to hear your feedback on it.

Which one would you prefer and why?

Straight

Curved close

Curved wide

Curved straight


Beretta:

i vote for straight a number of reasons.

1. it's how i remember playing most games, including street fighter.. so it's familiar.

2. i think it would be easier to hit the buttons.. i think the curved design might lead to more accidental or mistaken butto presses.

3. i think the straight layout would be easier to actually produce, and i also think it looks better.

DaveMMR:

I always believed this topic to be unnecessarily over-analyzed.  Truth is, there's not a right or wrong way to do it as long as it's consistent and doesn't look "random".  It's a matter of preference, not ergonomics.  If the majority of games you're playing fall into the classics category (one, two... maybe three buttons), it matters even less.   I invite you to try all three out on cardboard and use the one you like best.  I can tell you now you're not going to find conclusive agreement on this matter.

Just for the record: Personally, I'm with Beretta.  Straight buttons replicate the SFII layout (I've been accused of being a purist when feasible) and are easier to keep consistent during construction of the panel.

syph007:

I prefer straight as well, however the right answer and the one you might not want to here, is that you have to mock them ALL up and try them.  Its the only way to know.

ammitz:

Like the argument that straight would be easier to produce!



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