This DIY Controller Lets You Play Games with Just Head Movements

Even from the earliest days of video games, joysticks, directional pads, and buttons have been the controls of choice. Every gamer can immediately name their favorite controller — Nintendo 64, obviously — and well-made models are very satisfying to use. But, not everyone has full motor control of their hands, and that can make gaming virtually impossible. That’s why innovative designs like YouTuber Carson Kompon’s head controller are so interesting.

Kompon’s controller can be placed on a hat, and uses an accelerometer to track head movement — similar to a virtual reality headset. With a typical VR headset, that’s used in place of what’s usually a controller’s right joystick, so that head movement translates to the camera control. Kompon’s design uses the accelerometer in place of the left joystick, which most often controls the player’s directional movement. That means that it can be used to play any video game that relies purely on movement, such as Super Monkey Ball or Marble Madness.

Kompon used a Teensy 3.1 to monitor the accelerometer, and to act as an HID (Human Interface Device). When connected to a computer, it will show up as a game controller joystick. Tilting the accelerometer has the same effect as pushing a left joystick. Then, to make it work with Steam, Kompon used a lightweight utility that makes it appear like that joystick movement is coming from an Xbox controller. With a little bit of practice, simple games can be played with head movement just like they would with a traditional controller.