Proteus Gaming Controller Hands-On: A Unique Twist for Gamers With Disabilities

Pros

• Can hot swap or rearrange modules
• Downloadable files for 3D printing parts
• Fun to use

Cons

• Expensive
• May be tough to put together for some people
• Can take some getting used to
• Pieces only connect in one direction
• No headphone jack

The Proteus wireless controller is one of the most novel gaming controllers I've ever seen. It's completely modular, created so you can connect any of its spherical-cuboid pieces to fit your specific needs. I've been playing around with it for a couple weeks, and not only do I think this is a great controller for players with disabilities, I think it would be a great controller for anyone.

ByoWave is announcing more details at Gamescom in Germany, going on now, but the controller is available for preorder now for $268 (the price will rise to $300).

Watch this: Proteus: One of the Most Unique Controllers Ever

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Proteus was developed by Irish company, ByoWave, and I spoke on camera with the CEO, Brandon Blacoe, and CXO, Eibhlin O'Riordan, about their journey to bring the concept to life. Eibhlin has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a group of connective tissue disorders; in her case, it means she can't use a standard controller without experiencing pain. The Proteus is intended for people with all sorts of issues, though, such as various forms of arthritis, missing digits, missing limbs, hemiplegia, quadriplegia and more. They stressed that working with their community was integral to bringing Proteus to life and recommend joining the Discord channel if you want to get involved.

ByoWave partnered with Microsoft, so it's a Designed For Xbox peripheral. Xbox has its own longstanding accessibility-focused controller already, the Xbox Adaptive Controller, but it has a radically different design from both standard controllers and the Proteus. 

Putting the Proteus together is kind of like building something out of Lego. You insert the gear-like sides into the corresponding slot and then slide the locking mechanism into place, holding the two parts together. By design, they're meant to be able to connect at any angle. The attachments range from analog sticks to face buttons to triggers. Pretty much everything you'd find on a normal Xbox controller can be found here, and there are bonus accessories that can be connected to make inputting specific commands easier. 

All of these pieces can be moved to different locations and rotated. This includes the side paddles that sit against your palms, the face buttons, D-pad, menu buttons and so forth. ByoWave has an app that connects to the controller to allow you to remap any of the buttons. For example, if you need an extra jump button placed somewhere specific, you can connect an additional input and map it accordingly. This goes for any of the three analog sticks included as well. 

The final attachments are smooth, colorful semicircles, designed to cover any open ports once you've finished building your controller. This helps preserve the connectivity of the ports while also preventing your hand from pressing up against the pointy gears.

The Proteus does come with some configurations intended to give people a familiar setup to start from, including a one-handed layout.

Proteus works via a proprietary Bluetooth receiver you plug into an Xbox or PC. Two of the cubes have power buttons to turn it on, and the spheres' LEDs light up to indicate it's connected. A single power cube is rated for 13 hours of battery life, working out to around 5-10 hours when multiple cubes are connected in what ByoWave refers to as an average configuration. The cubes are charged by connecting a USB-C accessory to the controller: Proteus can be used while charging.

One very cool aspect is that you can reconfigure it while gaming and it won't have any connection issues, a capability ByoWave calls auto synchronization. 

There are some limits, though. For example, it can't split into two pieces the way you can use Joy-Cons individually with a Nintendo Switch. Nor will you find a headphone jack, and there's no rumble or haptics.

Also, the spheres can only connect in one direction. It would have been nice if the package contained a double-sided gear attachment or other mechanic to connect the spheres in any orientation I wanted. Another issue I encountered is that it takes some real focus and effort to fully connect and lock everything into place -- and that's from the perspective of someone without any motor difficulties. I wouldn't be surprised if some people need help from a friend to set everything up.

ByoWave plans to expand the number of attachments in the future, though. As of right now, the majority of input options are what you'd find on a standard controller. The company also provides the STL files on its website so you can download and 3D print your own additional accessories. Looking at what's available for the Xbox Adaptive controller, we can assume some of the more unique control interfaces, such as hand-size buttons or levers, might be on the horizon.

Using the Proteus takes some getting used to. If you're like me, a lifetime gamer, your hands have built up muscle memory for standard controllers, and learning something new will take time. That's especially true for people like me who don't have problems with a standard controller, but if you've been using workarounds or other accessibility-focused controllers it may apply as well. 

The app wasn't finished when I was testing, so I couldn't get the full experience. But it still made an impression. I can easily envision players without disabilities opting to use the Proteus, too. Ergonomic keyboards and mice exist to rotate your wrists slightly, relieving some of the stress traditional designs place. This controller can be built in a similar fashion. In fact, it seems like everyone has their own design of what the perfect controller should be and this device caters to that. And building and customizing this controller is almost as fun as playing a game with it.