One of the hardest obstacles to overcome when migrating from a console like the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3 to a PC is familiarizing yourself with the WASD layout of a computer keyboard. Most gamers grew up using a controller and because of this they are often wary about making the switch despite the fact that using a mouse and keyboard setup can greatly enhance accuracy and response time. For those on the fence, there is another option. Both the Xbox 360 controller and the Playstation Dualshock 3 controller can be set up to work on a PC. However due to Microsoft's influence, support for the Xbox 360 controller is being built in to more and more PC games and is becoming the unofficial standard controller for PC gaming. While many games support this controller, controller support is not built into every game. Also you might prefer the Dualshock 3 or another controller entirely. Using a simple program called Xpadder it is possible to enable controller support in any PC game and to do so using any controller you please. However, Xpadder is not just for gaming. It can also be used in a media center setup or even to take the place of your mouse and keyboard in Windows.
Xpadder is a simple program that after being set up runs in the background and allows your controller to communicate with Windows. It does this by enabling you to assign any key on the keyboard to the available buttons on your controller. While a gamer may choose to assign the keys W,A,S,D to the left joystick and the functions of their mouse to the right joystick, all of the keys on the keyboard are at your disposal including the function keys and the media control buttons. A setup that takes advantage of the media keys is perfect for a media center PC running either Windows Media Center or XBMC. You could also use the controller in place of a mouse if you wanted to save space while traveling and only bring one peripheral instead of two. Almost any setup you can think of can be accomplished using Xpadder.
To get started using Xpadder you should download the program from either of the links posted at the bottom of this post. You might notice that there are two different links. One is for the free version of Xpadder and the other is for the original version of Xpadder which costs ten dollars. While the free version is definitely tempting I suggest you give it a try first and then if you like it purchase the program from its official website. The reason I suggest buying the program is that it was designed and written by a one man team. Once you have installed the program all you need to do is visit the official forum, look under controller images, and find the image of the controller which you would like to use. From there you can begin mapping your keyboard keys to the buttons of your controller and configuring the speed at which the mouse cursor moves. Make sure to save your configuration so that it will be available next time you use the program. Another nice thing about Xpadder is that it allows for multiple configurations for the same controller so that for example you could have a gaming profile and a media center profile if you chose. Overall Xpadder is a remarkable utility and well worth the price. Whether you are transitioning from console gaming to PC gaming or are just looking for a way to use a device you already have as a media center control, Xpadder is a great choice.
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