At a gaming convention a few years ago, I happened upon a Razer booth, and the experience is one that I will never forget. Razer had a number of personal computers set up to showcase its assortment of mouse and keyboard accessories. This, by itself, was not particularly noteworthy. The fact that the company had decided to display only Rocket League as a game was something that threw me off. A video game that I had exclusively used a controller to play. I couldn't resist giving it a shot, so I did.
What I went through was, to put it bluntly, pretty awful to say the least. This was probably due to my lack of experience with using a keyboard and mouse, as well as the fact that I was determined to play using a controller. Regardless of the outcome, as I was leaving that show, I couldn't help but think about how much determination it takes to play with a keyboard and mouse.
It's been a few years since that peculiar experience, and in that time, Rocket League has grown into a much more formidable creature than I ever could have envisioned it becoming. There are competitions taking place all over the world with prize pools in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Since the game went free-to-play in approximately September of the previous year, it has consistently maintained a concurrent monthly community of approximately 100,000 players. This coincidentally corresponds to the time period in which the game has been in existence.
The choice between using a controller or playing with a mouse, keyboard, and other input devices is one of the most contentious issues in the Rocket League community. Now, obviously, the vast majority of players use some sort of controller, but there is a vocal community of players who insist on only ever playing with a mouse and keyboard. Let's talk about the positive aspects of each one, shall we?
Rocket League: Controllers vs. Those Playing with a Keyboard and Mouse
Now, in the end, the debate over whether to use a controller or a keyboard and mouse comes down to individual preference
Psyonix established the community by drawing inspiration from the history of the first PS4 game's release
It should therefore come as no surprise to learn that the majority of people who play video games online do so with a controller
Rocket League was designed with the intention that players would use controllers, and the developers of the game even recommend to players that they do so
On the other hand, you can play Rocket League perfectly well with just a mouse and a keyboard; in fact, there are even a few professional players who compete using this method of control
First things first, let's address the glaringly obvious point. In the end, the controller described on paper is superior. Because of the analog stick, in particular, as the primary motivating factor. The WASD movement buttons on a keyboard and mouse can only ever provide a total of eight different possible directions in which to move at any given time. An analog stick gives you a great deal more control over the direction your car is going, which is an important consideration for aerials. This is typically one of the first points of contention brought up in discussions about the two different playing styles that take place online.
One of the most significant benefits offered by a keyboard and mouse is the ability to be customized. PC players of Rocket League now have a wider variety of inputs to choose from, making it possible for them to create a customized controller profile that is ideally suited to them. Because there are so many options, it is possible that players who prefer to play with a keyboard and mouse will be able to find a control scheme that they enjoy playing with more than using a controller.
Gamersrdy. com maintains an excellent blog that delves into the topic of how various professional gamers tailor their control scheme to their playing style. Rocket League is played with a mouse and keyboard, and Torsos, who recently won first place in several regional competitions for the ESL Oceanic Championship, is an expert player. The modification that Torso made to his playstyle that moved the jump button from the right mouse button to the space bar is what makes it interesting to watch him play. It's possible that he just prefers doing things this way on a personal level because the default control for jumping in most content games is the space bar. Torsos continues to do well in competitions despite the change, and as a result, he has amassed approximately $108,000 in earnings from playing in competitions.
Not only Torsos, but fellow professional Rocket League player Yukeo also utilizes a control scheme that reverses the traditional relationship between the keyboard and mouse. It's interesting to note that Yukeo performs air rolls by using the thumb mouse buttons on his right hand, which means that the majority of his movement occurs within the mouse. Yukeo has had a great deal of success in the Rocket League esports scene, earning an estimated $135,000 as a result of his accomplishments.
It all comes down to personal taste..."
In spite of the fact that the controller has a few distinct advantages over using the mouse and keyboard, it is challenging to determine which method is superior. It frequently comes down to the decision that you made when you were first getting started playing the game. When I began playing Rocket League for the first time on the PlayStation 4, I opted to use the controller. However, for some people, the first time they played the game, they did so using a keyboard and mouse.
I reached out to people on Twitter to see if I could locate any Rocket League players who use a mouse and keyboard to play the game. To my good fortune, I received contact from someone. Twitter user @flyingcarparts began his gaming experience by using a keyboard and mouse because he did not own a controller at the time.
When I asked him if he believes there are any significant differences between the methods of playing, he responded by saying, "I would say half flips are probably easier on keyboard and mouse, but I've played so little with a controller that it's truly hard to say."
After observing how many professional players play using a keyboard and mouse, I couldn't help but wonder if they participated in ranked play and, if so, what their placement was. "I play a lot of ranked," one of the players responded. "I'm in the top 100."I'm currently at Grand Champion 1, but that only came about after playing for more than 4,000 hours."
When asked about the difficulty of the learning curve associated with playing with a mouse and keyboard and the fact that some people view this as a drawback, flyingcarparts provided a response that demonstrated their self-assurance. They stated, "I don't believe the learning curve is harder at all, and in the end, it's a matter of preference."To tell you the truth, using a keyboard and mouse is not nearly as much of a drawback as many people believe it to be.
To tell you the truth, I kind of ignored the mouse and keyboard until I started writing about them. As I mentioned at the beginning of this section, I found it really strange when I saw Razer promoting their peripherals through the use of Rocket League. After conducting additional research, it became clear that there are players who are thriving using only a keyboard and mouse.
