We can get a list of connected controllers by using arcade.get_controllers().

controllers = arcade.get_controllers()
if controllers:
    self.controller = controllers[0]
    self.controller.open()
else:
    print("There are no controllers.")
    self.controller = None

To simplify hot-plugging of Controllers, the ControllerManager class is available. To use a ControllerManager, first create an instance:

manager = arcade.input.ControllerManager()

To handle controller connections, attach handlers to the following methods:

@manager.event
def on_connect(controller):
    print(f"Connected:  {controller}")

@manager.event
def on_disconnect(controller):
    print(f"Disconnected:  {controller}")

The controllers values can be obtained by using self.controller.x and self.controller.y. This can be used to update the current positon of an object.

def update(self, delta_time):
      # Update the position according to the game controller
      if self.controller:
          print(self.controller.leftx, self.controller.lefty)

          self.object.change_leftx = self.controller.leftx
          self.object.change_lefty = -self.controller.lefty

Controllers have a strictly defined set of inputs. These inputs are the following:

An event is dispatched when any of the values of the buttons are changed. These events can be handle like this:

@controller.event
def on_button_press(controller, button_name):
    if button_name == 'a':
        # start firing
    elif button_name == 'b':
        # do something else
@controller.event
def on_button_press(controller, button_name):
    if button_name == 'a':
        # start firing
    elif button_name == 'b':
        # do something else

• The values will be between -1 and +1, with 0 being a centered joystick.
• The x-axis numbers will be negative if the stick goes left, positive for right.
• The y-axis numbers will be opposite of what you might expect. Negative for up, positive for down.

A centered controller might have a value not at 0, but at 0.0001 or some small number. This will make for a small “drift” on a person’s character. We often counteract this by having a “dead zone” where if the number is below a certain value, we just assume it is zero to eliminate the drift.

How we take care of the dead zone:

After

import arcade

add the following line at the top of the code to define a constant DEAD_ZONE :

DEAD_ZONE = 0.02

and adding the following code to the update:

def update(self, delta_time):

        # Update the position according to the game controller
        if self.controller:

            # Set a "dead zone" to prevent drive from a centered controller
            if abs(self.controller.x) < DEAD_ZONE:
                self.object.change_x = 0
            else:
                self.object.change_x = self.controller.x * MOVEMENT_SPEED

            # Set a "dead zone" to prevent drive from a centered controller
            if abs(self.controller.y) < DEAD_ZONE:
                self.object.change_y = 0
            else:
                self.object.change_y = -self.controller.y * MOVEMENT_SPEED

Some types of controllers:

1. Joystick hats: the directional pads on game controller. It allows you to move in eight directions (up, down, left, right and the diagonals).
2. Xbox controller: This is a popular gamepad used with Xbox consoles and Windows PCs. It has two thumbsticks, a directional pad, and various buttons.
3. PlayStation controller: This is the gamepad used with PlayStation consoles. It has two thumbsticks, a directional pad, and various buttons.
4. Nintendo Switch controller: This is the gamepad used with Nintendo Switch consoles. It has two detachable Joy-Con controllers, each with a joystick, buttons, and motion sensors.