Why we use WASD instead of arrow keys?

[Hanasato_Yuka]

I mean, why is WASD not other keys

[hi friends]

引用自 Parrhesiastes：

I think it's because that's how the earliest games were being done, and everyone else copied them.

WASD isn't objectively superior, it just is.

At this point, there are generations of gamers who know and expect it to work that way.

Societal inertia is powerful. There are superior keyboards, languages... anything you can think of really, but people tend to stick with what they know because it comforts them.

But it is just superior, you only need to imagine changing the state of character movement using any key that is close by to arrow key.... on most keyboard. Social inertia is indeed a thing, but this isn't really one of them... because you know, it did change from arrow key to wasd, cuz its just damn superior.

[[N]ebsun]

Used to use arrow keys since Quake 1, can't remember if that was default or if I re-mapped them but that set me up for a very long time using arrow keys.. was difficult, but I switched to wsad out of annoyance with remapping all the keys for every single game I played - so now I use mostly default keys for games.

wsad allows you to save some keyboard space, since you can spread arms wider without pushing the keyboard out, it seems faster to press keys that are closer, but also seems more clumsy in that I could easily press the wrong key by mistake - but it is more comfortable

[A&A]

Drakan: Order of the flame

*** Basic Movements and Controls *** (default keys)

Running/ - Use the Forward (E or Up Arrow) and Backward (D or Down
Flying Arrow) keys to run forwards and backwards, respectively.
When riding Arokh you'll fly forwards and backwards.

Jumping/ - The Jump (T or Right Shift) button allows you to leap into
Ascending the air and travel over small chasms and obstacles. The Jump
button can be combined with the directional buttons to leap
into different directions in a Lara-esque manner. On Arokh
this button will make Arokh rise up into the air.

Ducking/ - Hold down the Crouch (G or Right Control) button to go down
Descending on one knee and strike low at the enemy. In this mode, the
movement buttons will cause you to roll in that direction. If
you hold down the Sneak button then you'll drag along the
ground slowly. On Arokh you can use this button to descend
and land.

Strafing - Use the (S or Left) arrow button and the (F or Right) arrow
button to "strafe" or "side step" in that direction.


Maybe l will have to use this combination again.

[AROCK!!!]

引用自 Pierce Dalton：

A long time ago some PC games used the arrow keys by default, instead of WASD.

I remember those days, and it's the main reasonI still use the arrow keys, well, that and I find it to me more comfortable.

引用自 Lemonfed：

there are much more keys close to your wasd then your arrow keys.

If I remeber right this setting became popular since the late 90's because of the FPS competition scenes.

There are a minimum of 15 keys i can use surrounding the arrow keys (and an additional 8 on my mouse) and I don't have to worry about ghosting or accidentally pushing the wrong key....it's also more comfortable....slide the KB to the left, rotate it a bit, and then your arm is in a much more relaxed position.

It changed because of the mouse getting more use in games.

引用自 hi friends：

引用自 Parrhesiastes：

I think it's because that's how the earliest games were being done, and everyone else copied them.

WASD isn't objectively superior, it just is.

At this point, there are generations of gamers who know and expect it to work that way.

Societal inertia is powerful. There are superior keyboards, languages... anything you can think of really, but people tend to stick with what they know because it comforts them.

But it is just superior, you only need to imagine changing the state of character movement using any key that is close by to arrow key.... on most keyboard. Social inertia is indeed a thing, but this isn't really one of them... because you know, it did change from arrow key to wasd, cuz its just damn superior.

It changed because of the mouse getting more use in games.

Once the mouse became something people started using WASD was chosen simply because it was the left most key configuration, and most gamers are right handed, not because WASD was better.

Back in my MP days I was top ranked in CS, Ghost Recon, Delta Force and a few other games, and I was the "guy that uses arrow keys"....so no, WASD is not "superior".


Control setup is determined by what the player prefers, and there are a lot more "arrow users" than you think.

[metamec]

There was a big shift from the arrow keys to WASD (well, ZQSD on my keyboard) during the 1990s because games were becoming more complex with more required key mappings, and (more importantly) there were more surrounding keys on that side of the keyboard and they were more predictably located.

Arrow keys are surrounded by gaps on most keyboard layouts, and it's not uncommon for them to be a completely different size and even at a different location on more compact keyboards and laptops. That makes it harder to design intuitive mappings for most users. That is never going to be an issue with WASD and its localised variants. The surrounding keys will always be in the same place.

[White Knight]

引用自 hi friends：

... because you know, it did change from arrow key to wasd, cuz its just damn superior.

I was here at the beginning, like picking my nose before there were computers available for purchase. I don't remember ever using "arrow keys".

Not in the text-only games that existed before the world heard about IBM, not even in the Olympic Games variations we had on Commodore 64.

I don't really get what that whole part of the keyboard is for... I've never done those sorts of jobs.

[AROCK!!!]

引用自 metamec：

There was a big shift from the arrow keys to WASD (well, ZQSD on my keyboard) during the 1990s because games were becoming more complex with more required key mappings, and (more importantly) there were more surrounding keys on that side of the keyboard and they were more predictably located.

Arrow keys are surrounded by gaps on most keyboard layouts, and it's not uncommon for them to be a completely different size and even at a different location on more compact keyboards and laptops. That makes it harder to design intuitive mappings for most users. That is never going to be an issue with WASD and its localised variants. The surrounding keys will always be in the same place.

Lol...pretty much all of this is bogus

I've been PC gaming since the 80s, and in all that time, not once have I had a keyboard, be it laptop or desktop, be so different that it threw my game off.

As I said in a previous post, there are a minimum of of 15 keys (11 if there is no num pad) surrounding the arrow keys

Again...the keys changed because of the mouse, and WASD was chosen simply because it was the "left most" layout.

https://www.pcgamer.com/how-wasd-became-the-standard-pc-control-scheme/

[metamec]

引用自 ÁROCK!!!：

Lol...pretty much all of this is bogus

Again...it changed because of the mouse, and WASD was chosen simply because it was the "left most" layout.

https://www.pcgamer.com/how-wasd-became-the-standard-pc-control-scheme/

The only thing I omitted was the relevance of the mouse. The article confirms pretty much the fundamentals of what I said. That there was a big shift during the 1990s. That keymappings were all over the place. That WASD offered better access to predictably located keys (shift and space, etc).

Control schemes such as this ultimately become mainstream convention for a complex array of reasons, but it's not hard to appreciate why ergonomics and the unpredictable location, key size and functionality of cursor keys would factor into that. On some keyboards the cursors keys needed a modifier key (similar to shift) to be pressed. On other keyboards they were missing altogether. They still are on some keyboards and laptops. That is never going to be an issue with WASD, so it made sense for developers to always support WASD if they didn't want to shut out a portion of the audience.

Thanks for posting the article. It was a very interesting read.

ETA: I can't keep up with your edits and I can't keep replying due to time constraints, but again, thanks for your perspective.

[linis]

引用自 Pierce Dalton：

A long time ago some PC games used the arrow keys by default, instead of WASD.

Pretty much this. I used to use the arrow keys for games that made it default. Now it's mostly WASD. Beyond that I also use ZXASQW for a few other games.

[SMIFFY]

Ergonomics are better. WASD gives you access to keys that perform basic actions you'll use all the time in most FPS games without having to move your hand, Q and E for leaning, R for reload, F for using items, SPACE for jumping, CTRL for crouch, SHIFT for walk/sprint, TAB for map or inventory.

Arrow Keys can only just about utilise your little finger for one or two additional actions and even then it's awkward.

[Tristin]

引用自 isomorphic_projection：

引用自 =(^ ^)=：

Because most of the people are right hands. Left hands do actually use arrow keys.

Cause of the mouse.

Precisely. Using left hand for WASD and to also allow other key presses. If left hand were to use arrow keys instead of WASD, it would be limiting factor to pressing other keys next to it.

[Dawido]

引用自 Huydeeptry：

I mean, why is WASD not other keys

It because one of players that was master in Quake was using WASD and people started to also use it

[Not Big Surprise]

people use keys on the left hand side because it's easier to use the mouse to aim when your right hand isn't occupied, and similar logic applies to left-handed people

as for the specifics of wasd, apparently it became standard after an esports player used it

[Faster With Feeling]

That's funny in driving games A and D are used for left and right turns but that doesn't work for me. I use W and S for accelerating and braking and the left and right arrow keys for steering, and for me that works well.

[Acetyl]

Mouse is on the right side, you'd have to move the keyboard way over. There are no keys around the arrows for use, reload, whatever.