> I’m an inverted player, assumed it was because of MS Flight Sim (1st game)

Yeah, me too, I've also always assumed that's why I prefer "inverted" as well (never heard the term before the article).

Certainly seems like a much simpler explanation...

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satvikpendem 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

You've never heard of the term inverted before the article? Don't most games ask if you want normal or inverted controls in the settings, so do you not play games often?

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Izkata 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

When I was a kid, all the controls by default were what is now called "inverted Y-axis" and rarely had an option to change it. I think it flipped around the 2010s, I remember being confused when I bought my Switch and got back into gaming.

	▲	satvikpendem 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		That's right, I do remember that, and I think that's how I got into using inverted in the first place.

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jcalvinowens 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I've seen what the article seems to think is normal described as "reversed" more often.

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jasonwatkinspdx 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Yeah, back in the day there's games I'd play with a joystick vs those with a mouse, and I always invert/airplane for joystick controls and non invert for mouse. Anecdotally that was common in my cohort.

	▲	BolexNOLA 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Same. Inverted is strictly for flight.

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tass 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Same. My first FPS-style games were all flight sims.

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dwh452 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

i wonder why planes are designed this way?

	▲	somat 2 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I think it is because your lever to control the plane does not go up or down but forward and back. and then you pitch the lever the same way you want to pitch the plane. forward to pitch forward and back to pitch back. Same reason throttles are pushed forward to go faster and backwards to go slower. Except on bulldozers, which have a deaccelerator for some reason. and game controller shoulder levers for ergonomic reasons. I think if the lever were mounted up and down they(the wright brothers) probably would have wired it to pitch the plane up and down. I am not sure why it was not mounted up and down, probably a combination of arm strength, ergonomics of movement and simplicity of mechanical design.
	▲	saltcured a day ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I think a big part of it, historically, is that this control scheme provides negative feedback, which may help stabilize the controls. Think about the inertia of the pilot and their limbs inside the plane, acting on the controls. A sudden acceleration/jerk in the direction of the control signal will bias the operator's body to input the opposite control signal unless they are tensed up and prepared to maintain it in spite of the forces they experience. If the nose pitches up suddenly, you're likely to push the yoke forward. If it pitches down suddenly, you're likely to pull back a bit. Similarly, if the plane (or boat) jerks forward, you are more likely to pull back on the throttle than push it forward. A sudden airplane roll will bias you to input the opposite aileron signal. Even in a car, if you are holding the top half of the wheel as in the classic 10-and-2 grip, a sudden turn will cause you to counter steer a bit as you experience the centripetal force effect pulling you towards the outside of the turn. If the controls were inverted, all these default inputs would instead cause positive feedback and seem more likely to send a vehicle out of control.