Inverted vs Normal

There is a very talented YouTube video director called Freddie Wong. Most of his videos are gaming related and inspired. The quality of the stuff he comes up with week after week is scary, and he even gets some celebrities to join in on the fun. I suggest you have a look at his YouTube channel and subscribe to it for your weekly dose of classic gaming satire.

A few weeks ago he posted a Public Service Announcement named Inverted. Before I continue you need to watch it. So go ahead, have a look:

How often has this happened to you? You play on a friend’s Xbox and realise that his controls are set up completely wrong! And then the inevitable argument starts over which way is the right way? Normal or inverted? Obviously it is ‘normal,’ hence it is named that way! Or inverted, if you are any sort of self-respecting first-person shooter player!

In my in-depth studies into the human psyche (just my own as I am kind of human), I have discovered that there are two ways to look at the control scheme dilemma that could threaten the safety of our children! The most obvious one is that the naming convention needs to change. Normal is simply not normal. Which means inverted is by definition not an inversion of the normal, which is not normal. See, it can be confusing!

The old Normal

The normal control scheme should be changed to the ‘Cursor’ or ‘Reticule’ control scheme. In this mode you play the game as if the reticule (that little crosshair that tells the bullets where to go) is in fact a mouse cursor on the screen. If you want it to go up you move the mouse up or push the control stick up. It makes sense for people who are used to working on PCs with a mouse. “I want that aim thing to go up like I want my mouse cursor to go up.” And it certainly works well for a lot of people.

But among my friends this is simply not the normal control scheme. So let’s change the name to something more appropriate please. In the fairness and politically correct world we live in a name like ‘Crosshair’ control should be fine.

The New Normal

People who play Inverted have their brain wired a little differently, and in my opinion a little bit more logically. Let’s do a little experiment - get a friend to sit on a chair. Stand behind your friend with your hand on his (or her) head. Now make your friend look down. And then make your friend look up. The movement you make with your hand should reflect your control scheme.

For those without a friend willing to be manhandled like that I will tell you what happens: if you want your friend to look down you push their head forwards. If this was a controller you would push the stick up. This feels very natural when standing behind a friend, and should feel natural when playing a game.

In the interest of keeping the naming convention neutral, I will not rename this scheme to the ‘Natural’ control scheme, but rather the ‘Head’ control scheme.

All in the name

So we have two schools of thought regarding what control scheme works best. The only thing we can really agree on is that the naming convention should change. Every time I have to change my controls to ‘Inverted’ I feel like I am not normal, that I am some kind of freak for being logical. I think it is time for me to start an online petition to have these control schemes renamed. Maybe someone will now try to use a more natural way of controlling your character if the name is not so demeaning.

As for myself, I will stick to the most natural and best control scheme, also known as the Head Control Scheme. Which one works best for you? Tell us in the comments!