W
e’velonghadacceleratorandbrake
pedalsforracinggames,and
rudderpedalsforflightsims,
butfootpedalshavebeen
sadlyneglectedinthewidergaming
world.Whilewe’reallusedtokeyboards
andmicefestoonedwithextrabuttons,
we’vebeenleavinga wholeextrasetofinput
devicesidle– ourfeet.Arefootpedalsthenext
revolutioninthegamingperipheralworld?
Wedida littlediggingtofindout.WhydoI needa gamingpedal?
Theideaandoverallbenefitofusingyourfeet
toaddmorecontroltoyourcomputershouldn’t
takemuchexplaining:youcanperformtwo
ormorefunctionswithyourfeet,freeing
upyourhandsandfingersforothertasks.
Addingpedalstoa racingorflightsimsetup
maymakeit feelmoreauthentic,butmore
importantly,it justmakesit easiertouse.
LookoutsidetheworldofgamingandPCs,and
weseethisaddedutilityusedinallsortsofwalks
oflife.Therearesewingmachinespeedpedals,
guitareffectspedals,thepedalkeysofanorgan,
kickdrumpedals– thelistgoesonandon.Heck,
evensomesoftwarecomeswithpedalcontrol.FEATURE/ ANALYSIS
EdwardChesterinvestigateshow
tofreeupyourfingersbyaddinga
gamingfootpedaltoyoursetupPerform a quick search online for PC foot
pedals and one of the most common results
is pedals designed specifically for use with
dictation software. The question shouldn’t really
be why do you need a gaming pedal, but why
on earth do we not all already have them?
The list of possible uses is near endless.
Even a single pedal that replicates a single
key press could allow you to trigger push-
to-talk on your favourite gaming chat app,
or bring up your in-game inventory.
Double up on the number of pedals and
you could offload the run and crouch keys
or use them to lean left and right.Racing and rudder
pedals have been
around for years, but
other games have
been left in the cold