OneTouch Controller
04.2025
Instinctual Gaming
Electronics
Brief
Sports are complex, action based games. Translating those real life, dynamic actions to a button layout for video games can complicate the experience and decrease immersion. We aimed to elevate sports gaming by providing an experience more akin to real-life sports.
Team
Industrial Design — Kush Vakharia
Experience Design — Yiwen Zhao 🔗
Understanding
The reality is sports gaming controls haven’t evolved much—they are still locked in a world of buttons and sticks for what should be fast, physical, and intuitive. What we found is that sports are dynamic and three-dimensional, but gaming controls remain flat and button-based. As games add complexity to mimic real sports, controls become overwhelming, reducing immersion and intuitiveness. So, we did what we could with what we had. Using LEGO bricks and cardboard controller faces, we tested different sports game actions with users to see which control systems they felt were most immersive and intuitive.
Embodying
The project revolved around the theme of play, and to fully explore that, my process evolved to embrace playful methods of iteration. It became about getting into the right mindset. By using clay models, rapid physical and digital prototyping, and even LEGO bricks, I was able to quickly iterate toward a solution that felt comfortable, usable, and intuitive.
Detailing
To bring the design to life, I combined emerging technology with hands-on techniques. I used 3D scanning and printing to iterate on form and fit, while also sculpting with clay and refining details through traditional sketching. This hybrid approach allowed me to quickly test ideas, adjust proportions, and make human-centered decisions grounded in both digital precision and tactile intuition.
