I was interested in developing a game that I would release for the PC but could support console controllers (on the PC). I'd leverage BSD licensed libraries out there that can support console controllers (wii, xbox360, ps3) - my question is that type of thing legal? Or in what instances would it be legal? Would I have to develop the game for PC inputs keyboard+mouse and then release the console controller code as a free plugin? Or does this depend on advertising? by not advertising compatibility with console controllers but offering a free DLC patch to support those things, could I work around any legal muck *if* I inform the consumer properly?

Quote: Original post by ct_
I'd leverage BSD licensed libraries out there that can support console controllers (wii, xbox360, ps3) - my question is that type of thing legal?

Prob'ly. Copyright law has historically and recently given a wide berth to interoperability. Also, I'm not aware of any hardware manufacturers going after people producing alternate-OS drivers for their products... generally they're happy about it. (There's an exception for peripherals like wreless cards, where the driver itself contains a significant amount of IP that basically needs to be copied to the new driver.)

Quote: Would I have to develop the game for PC inputs keyboard+mouse and then release the console controller code as a free plugin?

Or does this depend on advertising? by not advertising compatibility with console controllers but offering a free DLC patch to support those things, could I work around any legal muck *if* I inform the consumer properly?

None of that crap has anything to do with anything.

interesting, i was curious b/c i never see anyone trying to attempt this sort of thing.

i would think if you wanted to get a port of your game onto a console, eventually, it'd be nice to have that type of feature support in there just as a "proof of concept".

are there any examples out there of indie games that do that type of thing?

Lots of developers support console controllers in their PC games. It makes testing easier as you can play test your console version, using console controls on your PC. I think the reason that the use of controllers isn't that widespread is simply because PCs don't ship with a controller.

The PS3 Sixaxis/DualShock 3 controller is a standard USB one, it works out of the box on Linux, and with little mess on Windows. It can be accessed using what native Joystick API your OS has.

Quote: Original post by ct_
I was interested in developing a game that I would release for the PC but could support console controllers (on the PC).

I'd leverage BSD licensed libraries out there that can support console controllers (wii, xbox360, ps3) - my question is that type of thing legal? Or in what instances would it be legal?

Would I have to develop the game for PC inputs keyboard+mouse and then release the console controller code as a free plugin?

Or does this depend on advertising? by not advertising compatibility with console controllers but offering a free DLC patch to support those things, could I work around any legal muck *if* I inform the consumer properly?

Most controllers these days work as standard gamepads on a PC and will work out of the box with for example DirectInput or other GamePad/Joystick APIs.

Microsoft has a newer API for xbox 360 controllers called XInput which has support for additional features (DirectInput is fairly old and doesn't support all the features available on modern controllers), a description of the differences are available here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb173051(VS.85).aspx

As far as PS3 and Wii controllers go however i do not know for sure, there are drivers available for both of them, none of them seem to be official though.

My recommendation is to simply use DirectInput and/or XInput on Windows and let your user worry about installing the appropriate drivers for his controller, If you also allow your user to customize his controls (I.E select what button to use to fire etc) you don't have to worry about the exact type of controller used either.

Quote: Original post by ct_
interesting, i was curious b/c i never see anyone trying to attempt this sort of thing.

You don't seem to have been looking very hard. Support for game controllers is an expected feature for many, if not most, high-profile computer games.

Oh, I understand that "standard" joystick I/O is something that is robustly supported by a number of APIs out there...

I probably should have specified the wiimote as an example of a controller that "lacks" PC support.

Things like vibration effects in the xbox360/ps3 controller - that type of thing is what I was particularly interested in getting access/control to.