Introduction

As a passionate gamer, I have been fascinated by the unique features and design of the PlayStation 5 (PS5) controller, which has transformed my gameplay experience like never before. The PS5 controller allows players to interact with games and enhances the gaming experience with certain sensory feedback mechanisms.

The PlayStation controllers have evolved in numerous ways. The first PlayStation controller was made in 1994 and was designed by Teiyu Goto, who was inspired by Super Nintendo’s controller (Bankhurst, 2022). This PlayStation controller consisted of basic arrow buttons for movement and buttons with shape symbols representing actions. The controller has only improved in its range of buttons and features throughout the years for more immersive gaming. The next controllers would have analog sticks (joysticks), triggers, rumble vibrations, and many changes to their shape and weight (Bankhurst, 2022). The latest controller released is the PlayStation 5 DualSense wireless controller.

 

Exterior Parts

Front: To use any part of the front of the controller, the thumbs are used. The left side of the controller has directional arrow buttons, which are for movement and navigation through different elements and screens going left, right, up, and down. Above these arrow buttons is the create button, which allows one to capture moments by taking screenshots or recordings of them. The right side of the controller has the triangle, circle, square, and X buttons, which are used to perform different actions within games. Above these sets of action buttons is the options button, allowing one to pause during games and access a list for adjusting settings, saving games, quitting games, and more.

Taking up the top center of the controller is the touchpad. The touchpad can be pressed down or glided across for additional gameplay actions, such as drawing a picture or accessing a map. Surrounding the sides of the touchpad is the light bar, which is a visual feedback mechanism in that it changes color based on gameplay. For instance, if one is low in health or nearing death in a game, the light bar would flash red. The light bar along the bottom of the touchpad serves as a player indicator. For instance, if I am the only player on the PS console, one tiny light will shine indicating that I am the first player using the console. If 3 other people were connected to my console and playing alongside me, everyone would have a certain number of lights dependent on who connected to the console first. If I connected to the console last in this scenario, my player indicator would have 4 small lights shining along the bottom edge of the touchpad, signifying that I am the fourth player. Although these light features seem minor, it adds much more organization and immersion to the gaming experience and is especially useful for gaming in the dark!

The bottom half of the controller has analog sticks taking in the input of the player when moved in up to 8 directions, allowing a full range of motion for camera angles and player movements to go north, east, south, west, northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest. These sticks can also be pressed down the middle (R3 and L3 buttons) for additional gameplay actions. Right in between the analog sticks is the speaker that outputs specific game audio or voices of online players when headphones aren’t used. Below the speaker is the PS button which must be pressed to turn on the PlayStation and controller and is used for reaching the PlayStation home screen during gameplay. Below the PS button is the mute and unmute button, and under this is a microphone for speaking with other players in multiplayer modes. Between the microphone is the headset jack which serves as a port for connecting headphones into it.

Top: To use the top parts of the PS5 controller, the pointers are used while the remaining 3 fingers are used to grip the handles of the controller. In between the top of the controller is a USB-C connector for charging the controller and connecting the controller to use on other devices such as a laptop or PC. These devices can also be connected wirelessly through Bluetooth as well. A fascinating fun fact is that the gripping areas of the controller are textured with 40,000 tiny triangles, squares, and circles (Hollister, 2021). Not only is this a fascinating easter egg by Sony, but it also provides a stronger grip for gaming (Hollister, 2021). On either side of the top area of the controller are the R1 and L1 buttons and below this are the R2 and L2 buttons. The R1 and L1 buttons are pressed to switch through tabs of menus, loadouts, and more. An example of this is being able to switch between different weapons or tabs of a settings menu.

 

Interior Parts

Underneath the PS5 controller frame is the motherboard with a large battery behind it. Taking out the motherboard reveals that the analog sticks are attached to it. The touchpad can also be removed and underneath the frame of this reveals another motherboard. At the bottom of both grip sides is the haptic motor that creates vibrations and is connected to the main motherboard to do so throughout certain game events.

Adaptive Triggers System: The adaptive triggers are part of the pressable R2 and L2 buttons that vary in resistance throughout gameplay, located right below the R1 and L1 buttons. For instance, you could feel the tension of drawing a bow or pushing a heavy door in a game as pressing the R2 and L2 buttons requires more force to do so. These buttons gain resistance when the motor allows the plastic spiral to turn a gear (Porter, 2020, 9:36). This allows the angle of the piece beside the gear and behind the buttons to decrease, leaving less room to push the buttons back completely and more pressure in doing so (Porter, 2020, 9:45).

Haptic Feedback Mechanism: The haptic motor creates vibrations as a sensory stimulant when interacting with objects throughout gameplay. This motor receives vibrating signals through wires connected to the motherboard chip and is located at the bottom ends of each controller grip side (Porter, 2020, 9:05).

 

Conclusion

The PlayStation 5 DualSense controller has definitely attributed to advancing immersive gaming experiences to new heights. With many changes throughout the years, the PlayStation controllers are continuously being integrated with technologies that allow players to feel that hey are within games and can interact with in-game objects. This definitely brings to question what new improvements would be made in the next models of PlayStation controllers and how gamers can have even more of an engaging experience.

 

 

Self-Reflection

I didn’t have much difficulty finding a topic because there were many examples provided in class about what can be chosen for a topic. I had the PS5 controller, a blender, and a microwave as specific topics I wanted to focus on. I narrowed it down to the PS5 controller because of how well-versed I am in using the parts of this controller because of using it so much in games.

This was my first time writing a technical description, and I ran into many challenges. One of them included being able to describe each part of the product as if the reader was getting to know these parts for the first time. I used many articles, read my peer’s writing, and tried to remember the first time I used a controller to grasp the initial reactions and understandings I had of using the PlayStation controller. A minor challenge I had was incorporating properly annotated pictures and structuring my writing, but I referred to Purdue Owl and the textbook chapters to caption and cite images efficiently as well as planning out my thoughts with the table of contents as an outline first. I decided to structure my writing by delving deeper into interior and exterior parts, as well as additional mechanisms that allow the PS5 controller to function the way it does.

The main revisions I have included consist of properly citing images, adding a contents page, and adding more to my introduction and conclusion. My peers felt that I had thoroughly explained every part of the PS5 in much detail and gained much insight on how to improve their own writing too. I also benefited from peer review as I had a better idea of how to incorporate the aspects that were lacking in my writing. I also had much practice in critiquing my peer’s writing as they had vague subjects and/or descriptions for each part of them too.

Compared to the last paper, I had much more fun writing this one because I learned so much through dissecting controllers and I was able to write about a topic of my interest too. I hope that anyone reading this had a better understanding of PlayStation controllers as they are much more than what they seem to be on the surface. Gaming has never been as exciting as it was before the PS5 controller was made!

Works Cited

1. Porter, S. (2020, November 1). PS5 DualSense Controller Teardown – A Repairability Perspective. YouTube. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rNITneXnCo
2. Bankhurst, A. (2022, August 24). The Evolution of the PlayStation Controller. IGN. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.ign.com/articles/the-evolution-of-the-playstation-controller
3. SONY. (n.d.). DualSense wireless controller part names. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://controller.dl.playstation.net/controller/lang/en/DS_partnames.html
4. Hollister, S. (2021, February 7). How Sony designed the PS5’s Ultimate Easter Egg. The Verge. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2021/2/7/22269634/how-sony-designed-ps5-dualsense-playstation-symbol-microtexture