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Most fightsticks look like the model above, but David "UltraDavid" Graham is improving on the classic arcade stick to create something functional, comfortable and accessible for fighting games.
As the fighting game community has transitioned from arcades to home consoles, competitors have had to contend with the issue of how to play them on new platforms. This usually means grabbing an arcade stick that works on modern consoles, but some players have had to develop their own peripherals for various reasons.
While most of the community knows David “UltraDavid” Graham as a commentator, he has a long history as a competitor. When physical issues began to crop up and make playing with a regular arcade stick difficult, Graham took matters into his own hands and developed a two-piece controller that has vastly improved his quality of life.
“I have an impinged nerve in my neck that causes pain, spasms, numbness and loss of control in my upper back, arms and hands; tearing rotator cuffs in both shoulders; tennis elbow in my right forearm; a surgically repaired left wrist; and Reynaud's syndrome causing poor blood flow, cold feeling and numbness in my hands,” Graham told me. “As a result of all this, it's hard for me to find a comfortable position, and when I do it never lasts long.”
Although he used to make his own arcade sticks, the fighting game community’s expansion in 2009 brought with it a number of companies willing to develop these intricate controllers for competitive use. But as his symptoms worsened, these arcade sticks became unwieldy. Graham had the idea to develop what he calls a "splitbox" after purchasing an ergonomic keyboard, which divides the keys into two separate areas to facilitate a more comfortable working environment.
The result is a clean product that’s an amalgamation of the button-only Hitbox and Graham’s own design. His splitbox can be played as a single unit or separated to find a more agreeable playing position. What started as a basic 3D model was iterated until Graham was happy with the design and then sent off to be laser cut out of wood. Now, with a second version ready for competition, Graham is finally able to play fighting games comfortably.
“I'm constantly on the search for a comfortable position, even while sleeping, and traditional sticks require only one position,” he explained. “The splitbox lets me position my hands with almost as much freedom as a Switch controller when it's split into halves. One of the most comfortable positions for me is to lie on my back with my hands at my sides, and that works great with the splitbox.”
Of course, even transitioning to the most efficient setup comes with a few learning curves, and Graham is starting to realize just how much of his fighting game knowledge is tied to muscle memory. In replacing the typical arcade stick with the buttons of the Hitbox and now his own splitbox, Graham has found himself making “different and worse decisions” while competing. “I'm being confronted with the fact that my inputs are determined in part by my outputs and that is a very strange experience,” he said, adding that it should be worth the extra work in the end.
As for whether or not his splitbox would be helpful for folks in the same position, Graham recommended new fighting game players try to pick up a pad at first due to the range of motion it provides. Due to his veteran experience, the shift from arcade stick to pad wasn’t optimal, but someone without the years of muscle memory will likely find regular pads enough to assuage similar physical ailments. That said, he believes the splitbox is a good alternative.
“I think it's pretty handy!” he added. “Building a stick isn't all that difficult nowadays. I didn't need to cut any wood or solder any connections; I just stuck the box pieces together with regular wood glue, used mounting tape for the internal stuff, screw terminals and quick disconnects for the wires, etc. I'm thinking about putting its constituent parts on sale for people to put together themselves.”
So if the splitbox caught your eye? You know who to talk to.
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