Gaming mice: what is it and do they exist at all?

Computer games have long become a part of modern culture, and if everything is clear for console gaming with devices, gamepads are the same for each platform (the Xbox has its own, PS its) and over time only their size evolves, since the average age of the player is constantly increasing . But with the device for the PC is not so clear.

Very often, people are “led” by marketing and acquire, supposedly, things meant for comfortable play, and get a non-functional cat in a bag. The market has long been a situation in which manufacturers are trying to play on the ignorance of the user's own needs.
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The mouse is an essential attribute of any PC game, with the exception of racing and airplane simulators, and one cannot do without it. And here the imagination of designers is amazing. Why designers? Because the presented products often have little in common with the products, in the creation of which the gamer or, at least, a sensible engineer participated.

It should immediately be said that within the gaming industry, specialized mice can be divided, conditionally, into two categories: MMO mice and all others. Distinctive features of any gaming mouse from the usual can be called better materials, powerful stuffing and, of course, marketing.

MMO mice

Very often, the IMO mouse is confused with the mouse, for example, shooters, which looks extremely ridiculous, since the tasks set for them are completely different.


Typical modern MMO mouse from Razer

Specifically, in the annex to the MMO, such a number of programmable keys makes sense, although, in my opinion, they could be safely reduced to 4-8. The task of this mouse is to remove the load from the left hand lying on the keyboard and transfer part of the load to controlling the character — using skills and spells — to the right hand, which is basic for most people.

Can you call MMO mouse gaming?

In fact - only partially, because its functionality is applicable to a specific, narrow area, and even then, in places, it is doubtful.

But the average consumer falls into the trap of delusion “more buttons are better,” although he does not play MMOs, which ultimately leads to the fact that after a couple of months he would gladly change these twelve small buttons for two large ones, perhaps even on different sides of the mouse, not on one.

Mouse for shooters

There is no standard mouse for shooters, however, you can highlight key requirements:

• High sensor accuracy - guarantees a clear interpretation of your actions without “smearing” and jerking.
• Adjustable resolution (DPI) allows you to "twist" in one click the sensitivity of the mouse, for example, for different types of weapons
• Fast and soft scrolling - ensures fast switching to another weapon without pressing buttons on the keyboard. This is true for moments when you can’t take your finger off one of the buttons that controls your character’s movement.
• Clear and easy click - any delay in shooting can be fatal. Therefore, a clear, but at the same time, an easy click with a small step can help you shoot the enemy before he knocks your brains out.
• Acceptable size is an exclusively individual parameter, but in recent years, manufacturers have been striving for a certain unification of the dimensions of mice, potential buyers of which can be shooter players. Why? There are two different types of "mouse grip": "full" and the so-called "claw". It is used, approximately, 50/50 among players and if a person with full grip can somehow adapt to a not too bulky device, then claw grip fans will never get finger contact with the table on too massive mice.
• And, as another controversial point - the weight. This is a critical parameter for gamers who play at low sensitivity, since they have increased the load on the right hand due to the greater number of mouse movements and large distances. Also, besides fatigue, the high weight of the mouse at small levels of sensitivity threatens to "smear" and the inertia of the cursor during aiming.

Now you can remember with a smile "GAMING MOUSE x7" from a4tech. For their time, they were actually quite good, but quickly became morally obsolete. For example, the famous double-click and triple-click button, which, according to the developers of this particular line, as well as many other mid-end zero devices, should have given an advantage over the enemy in shooting.

In fact, these buttons were absolutely useless and inconvenient to use, at least in the shooters for which they supposedly were created. But it was very convenient to hire a large number of troops in the "Cossacks" .

Some may ask why I'm talking about the accuracy and "lubrication" of the sensor?

This problem is most clearly manifested when playing at a low sensitivity of the mouse, when a player tries to target a particular slot / pixel. Mice with a low-end iron often do not react to movement at all, or vice versa, with minimal touch (just by moving your fingers), the cursor can move down to several fatal pixels, or else it is easy to twitch at all.

Specifically, a “shooter” mouse can be called quite a lot of models without unnecessary “whistles”: Zowie ec2 Evo, SS sensei, ss kana v2, Razer Diamondback 2015, Roccat Lua, and the ergonomic version of the Razer DeathAdder 3500 may also appeal to someone. Why these? Obviously, neither has a huge advantage in the form of a simple form and the presence of a wired connection .

Let's talk about RAT separately

Maybe they’ll throw me tomatoes at the moment, but I almost don’t take MadCatz products, specifically the RAT line, like mice in general. And now I will explain why.

When you look at the RAT mouse, initially you feel delighted with the question “what are you?” .

Since MadCatz is a rather young producer, they chose the most aggressive policy of promoting “more functionality to the functional god!”. Yes, the mouse of this company can be adjusted to your hand, change weight with the help of weights, remove or add a stand for your fingers. Specifically, because of this, RAT mice turn into a "universal tool", almost like a Swiss knife. It seems that it has everything, but there is nothing outstanding.

I was holding many different mice in my hands, ranging from a ball and ending with the same RAT, and I can say: the complexity of the design is not the best option.

Because the user overpays primarily for the design, whereas in what is required of the mouse in the first place - a clear transfer of hand movements, MadCatz products do not differ from others and sometimes even lose.

Maybe someone is willing to give a lot of money to hold a mouse in your hands, looking at which you want to scream “transform!”, And there is nothing bad in it, but objectively 70% of what is in it will never be useful . And there is no sense in having a functional just for the sake of having, rather than using, tritely. Because behind all these “constructors”, “coasters” and size spreads, what really could be useful is lost: for example, a large reliable side button that can be used to turn on voice chat.

Conclusion

For games, if you seriously enjoy them, anything can approach, even an office Logitech. But if you are going to buy something "gaming", with enhanced functionality and more comfortable for you to play, you should always ask yourself the question: "what will I play?". And based on this it is worth picking up the device by hand.

The only thing that can be immediately excluded from the "gaming clan" is a wireless mouse. Just if only because she can sit down in an online game, not to mention a small, but sensitive in some cases, delay.

With additional buttons and functions, everything is also quite simple: if in 30-60 seconds you cannot immediately name the role of a button in the future, then you will hardly ever be able to figure out how to use it. Therefore, you should not chase after universality and other “whistles” that you do not need, because the mouse, it’s like shoes, should be comfortable and fit.