When you push the right controller stick forwards, do you expect a game camera to move up or down? Whether players use “normal” or “inverted” camera controls has long been a point of debate.
Now, though, it’s part of a scientific study. As reported by The Guardian, Dr Jennifer Corbett and Dr Jaap Munneke at Brunel University London initiated a study during lockdown into the neuroscience of human-computer interactions using remote subjects, speaking with players to research controller inversion.
The duo have now published their findings in their paper “Why axis inversion? Optimising interactions between users, interfaces, and visual displays in 3D environments”. And the results are all about how your brain perceives objects in 3D space.
“Many people told us that playing a flight simulator, using a certain type of console, or the first game they played were the reasons they preferred to invert or not,” said Corbett. “Many also said they switched preferences over time. We added a whole new section to the study based on all this feedback.”
Participants were given a questionnaire and tasked with experiments around spatial awareness. “They had to mentally rotate random shapes, take on the perspective of an ‘avatar’ object in a picture, determine which way something was tilted in differently tilted backgrounds, and overcome the typical ‘Simon effect’ where it’s harder to respond when a target is on the opposite v the same side of the screen as the response button,” Corbett explained.
“It turns out the most predictive out of all the factors we measured was how quickly gamers could mentally rotate things and overcome the Simon effect. The faster they were, the less likely they were to invert.”
Yet while inverted players were the slowest on the tasks, they were also more accurate.
Ultimately, while players think they choose controls based on their first exposure, it’s more likely due to your brain’s perception of objects in 3D space.
Corbett even suggested players should try the opposite way to what they’re used to. “The most surprising finding for gamers [who don’t invert] is that they might perform better if they practised with an inverted control scheme,” said Corbett. “Maybe not, but given our findings, it’s definitely worth a shot because it could dramatically improve competitive game play!”
What’s more, the research could have implications outside of gaming. “This work opened our eyes to the huge potential that optimising inversion settings has for advancing human-machine teaming,” says Corbett. “So many technologies are pairing humans with AI and other machines to augment what we can do alone. Understanding how a given individual best performs with a certain setup (controller configuration, screen placement, whether they are trying to hit a target or avoid an obstacle) can allow for much smoother interactions between humans and machines in lots of scenarios from partnering with an AI player to defeat a boss, to preventing damage to delicate internal tissue while performing a complicated laparoscopic surgery.”
Personally, inverting camera controls is the first thing I do when booting up a new game. I always presumed it’s because that’s how I learned to play as a kid – just as Corbett said – but perhaps it’s actually my brain after all.
Are you an inverter or non-inverter for gaming controls? Let us know in the comments.
