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Why do some gamers invert their controls? Scientists now have answers, but they’re not what you think

⁨147⁩ ⁨likes⁩

Submitted ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Frazala1@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨games@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2025/sep/18/why-do-some-gamers-invert-their-controls-scientists-now-have-answers-but-theyre-not-what-you-think

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Comments

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  • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I clicked it, so you don’t have to:

    After testing random people with various computer programs that asked them to rotate objects, they found that some people were able to complete the tasks with inverted or non inverted controls, despite the fact that they had claimed to prefer the opposite. The researchers claim that some people’s brains are just wired to perform better one way or the other despite how they originally learned.

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    • slazer2au@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Makes sense. Some controls work better when inverted.

      I always use inverted when flying but anything ground based is non inverted.

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      • Korhaka@sopuli.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Not even sure what counts as inverted for flying, push the stick forwards = dive, pull it back = climb. Pretty sure that is normal for flight sims though because that is how you fly a plane. Space sims end up going with the same kind of input usually.

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      • Professorozone@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Well that’s nice for dynamic people like you, but for dolts like me it will just mess me up trying to switch back and forth.

        You people would have an aneurysm if you saw what I did with the rest of the controls to maintain consistency.

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      • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I always use inverted.

        I first played flying simulators as a kid, and inverted makes a ton of sense. 3D shooters weren’t really a thing yet, so when they became a thing, I kept using inverted controls and it was comfortable.

        I can switch, but it takes some getting used to, and my error rate is higher.

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  • Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Invert Y-axis gang unite!

    Make Y-axis INVERTED Default Again

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    • muhyb@programming.dev ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Also hate “natural” scroll on PC.

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      • MaggiWuerze@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        With a mouse, yes. With a trackpad? No

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    • kittenspronkles@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I used to play inverted then started gaming on pc. Now when I use a controller its like neither is good for me - my brain will sometimes think inverted and other times non-inverted mid play session

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      • wellbudyweek@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I find that for me this happens especially often in 3rd person camera control. And I think it has to do with the distance between the camera and the controlled actor.

        Think driving a car, and the camera moving up close to the car when you’re under something like a bridge which would otherwise clip the camera. At that point my preference for camera controll switches from ‘orbit object’ mode to ‘aim’ mode so to say.

        Does that make sense?

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    • moobythegoldensock@infosec.pub ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Seriously, on older games pushing up to look forward was the default. It was only later that they decided to call it inverted.

      I just don’t get why anyone would use non-inverted. Why would I tilt my head forward to look up?

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      • aliceblossom@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I think the core of this dispute is the intuition of each person of what exactly they’re moving and how they’re moving it.

        Like I have never once considered, until just now by reading your comment, that the stick could controlling my characters head. I’ve always intuitively thought that I’m controlling “the point in space that my character is looking at.”

        Changing this makes one way make more sense than the other. Like, despite my preference for non inversion, I would fully concede that if I were to imagine the stick controlling the head directly that inversion makes plenty of sense.

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    • Jax@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Ah, so make things worse — just like MAGA

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    • pm_me_your_puppies@infosec.pub ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Invert Y-axis gang!

      There’s fewer and fewer people who use inverted controls, I’ve found. Makes sense, I’m old and it just became muscle memory for me after playing Goldeneye til my thumbs bled back in the day. It’s more of a pain in the ass now, since non-inverted seems to be the norm and I always have to hunt to change it any time I fire up a game with camera controls.

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    • FigMcLargeHuge@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      For me it’s from flying remote control airplanes and it has a name - Mode 2.

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    • lazynooblet@lazysoci.al ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I wish Genshin Impact supported invert :(

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  • Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Fascinating read.
    I liked learning about the “Simon effect”, only knew about similar, non-spatial ones (colours)…
    And I might give non-inverted controls a try, although being a die-hard inverter.
    At least it will be some brain stimulus to keep me from cognitive aging to fast. Like changing the mouse hand from right to left and back again once in a while.

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  • capuccino@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Why do they mean by "inverted controls? I remember that in some SNES games you could literally invert your controls and play with ABXY as if it were your D-Pad, and your D-Pad as yours ABXY buttons.

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    • Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Usually it refers to joystick directions being reversed (common for flight simulators) or the “Southpaw” control methods on console controllers (designed for lefty users).

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      • Hawke@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I’ve never see a flight sim with reversed controls. They all work like a real plane joystick from what I’ve seen.

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    • Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      In an fps:

      Inverted: push thumbstick forward to look down

      Non Inverted: push thumbstick forward to look up

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      • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Third person games as well.

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