Valve will be unwrapping its prototype of the updated Steam Controller during the upcoming Game Developers Conference happening March 17 to 21 in San Francisco. Before the big event, the manufacturer has decided to give gamers a peek of what it has done so far.
Busy hand-building its controller, Valve showed off the latest version of the Steam Controller without the touch screen seen on its older version. Instead, it incorporated a home button, select, and start buttons. There are also several buttons resembling the configuration of the Xbox. It retains the circular trackpads that can be used similar to a mouse or as replacement to analog sticks.
Oddly, the much-awaited controller of the gaming community has a good semblance to a flattened face of Darth Vader with the circular trackpads as his eyes, the grips as his flared head gear, and the buttons as perforations of his mask. Maybe Wall-E? No, we will not go that far.
"These prototypes incorporate much of the testing feedback we have received so far and the changes that were announced at Steam Dev Days... Even though our limited internal play testing has been going really well, we're excited to get some feedback from our customers on these latest changes," the company announced on its blog.
On the center of the controller-- just underneath home, select and start-- are two groups of controllers positioned in a diamond pattern. On the right side are buttons labeled A, X, B, and Y while on the left is a group of directional buttons. All of these buttons are analog according to Valve.
With all the changes implemented by Valve, aside from looking like Darth Vader, it cannot distinguish the prototype from controllers of other game consoles. The trackpad is still considered by many as innovative but the touch-screen would have sealed the verdict.
The team is building at least 10 prototypes of the Steam Controller that it needs to bring to the 2014 GDC. The company promised to keep fans posted about possible refinements and latest developments about the controller. It also asked for continuous feedback to help it tweak the gadget.
The ValveSteam Machines are purported to disrupt the gaming industry. During the International CES in January, the company announced partnership with hardware manufacturers to produce the much-awaited gaming console. While taking the form of a console, the technical specifications of the device is very much like a PC gaming rig using Nvidia GPUs, Intel processors, among others.
In December, the company handed out 300 units to beta testers in the United States.
While the Steam Controller is not "your father," update you about cool controller, we will.
