2d ago

What game(s) would you use to introduce someone to WASD/Mouse controls?

My partner is interested in learning some of the games I play, so I'm trying to find some introductory games to get her used to the common control schemes.

Off the top of my head, it'd probably have to be games that...

Have few inputs beyond the basics
Are not difficult or punishing
Are approachable mechanically (So as not to overwhelm them when they're focus on learning basic controls)
2D is probably preferable, since its easier to understand and process whats happening at a glance.
Multiplayer would probably also be a strong bonus, but also not required

The only game that particularly comes to mind is Portal, but hopefully others will have some better ideas.

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The Stanley Parable, and similar "walking simulator" type games.
- This is probably the best choice. There is basically no failure state, so there is no impetus to act under pressure, which is probably the biggest demotivator if someone is at that stage of learning how to play video games.
- Second this genre, one of my favorite is What remains of Edith Finch

I was gonna say portal but you already had that idea hah
The other option is start her off with dark souls and tell her it's one of the easy games, to really test the strength of your relationship /j
- Oh and minecraft if you own that :3
  That's also pretty simple controls wise.. just play on peaceful to start
  Edit:
  Oh maybe something like stardew valley too, though that does have combat in the mines which may be a challenge :3
  I suddenly remembered all the games only after making my first comment hah x3
  
  Minecraft is pretty mechanically complex if you're at the "need to learn how to move in a video game" stage
- Yeah, Portal really seems like the perfect choice for this

I used to always use Minecrat for this. Sure, they can't do everything immediately, but I put the game on peaceful and let them explore at their own pace.
I say "used to" because Luanti (formerly MineTest, an open source Minecraft Clone*) is finished and free.
(Okay, Luanti is a lot more than a Minecraft clone. But for this discussion that's all one needs to know.)

Slime Rancher would probably be a good introduction to fps controls.
- Great suggestion. Great game. Very chill.
  
  It is a great game but shame there is no multiplayer.

Minecraft.
- Nice. Minecraft used to be my go to answer for a first WASD game, too.
  Lately, I recommend Mineclonia on Luanti, because it's free and has stronger optimizations supporting weak laptops and big multiplayer servers. (It's a popular Free Open Source Minecraft Clone).

Son wanted to play Minecraft, here's your mouse and keyboard

DOOM (1996)
- Doom 2 is 1994, Doom 64 is 1997...
  
  DOOM (1969)

minecraft

The various valve games would probably be ideal.
Portal 2's co-op mode perhaps.
Fortnite's Lego mode would probably work very well. Since it's targeted towards younger kids that are still learning how games work.
Serious Sam franchise would be fun too.

Portal maybe

Stardew Valley.
It's 2D, co-op, not difficult or punishing, has few inputs, and is approachable mechanically.

Firewatch

My SO went from learning the controller with Fall Guys to Minecraft WASD. I think Fall Guys is was close to perfect, low amount of inputs, high amount of engagement.

Some particular reasons why I’d recommend Minecraft for this:
it’s very easy to get started, but there’s a lot of depth if you get into it
its pretty slow-paced
its a multiplayer game where someone of a much higher skill level and someone of a much lower skill level can play together without the noob player feeling that they are holding the advanced player back
if you set the difficulty to peaceful it’s hard to die, and it’s impossible to fully “lose”. You can also turn on keepinventory.
it’s a very open-ended game where you can come up with your own goals, which makes it something that everybody can find fun in their own way
if they do get into it, it’s a good segue into a wide variety of other games. Just figure out what part of Minecraft they enjoy. You can also extend Minecraft by playing with mods.

Is she familiar with Animal Crossing? If so check out Dinkum. Other suggestions: Terraria, Core Keeper, Minecraft, and there is always classic FPS games lol. I learned WSAD in Quake

Minetest.
- renamed to Luanti ~5 months ago!

I'd consider what kind of game she finds fun and compelling--that's more likely to engage her to become familiar with the mouse/keyboard combo.
That being said, Minecraft on peaceful mode would fit and is generally approachable. Stardew Valley is pretty relaxed as well, though I don't remember whether it uses WASD specifically.
- Oh! And if she's into puzzles, look at Islands of Insight. First person with puzzle solving as the main mechanic, but also some exploration and a bit of mystery to it.

I'd go down the route of so called 'Walking Simulators'* though I use the term First Person Experiances, such as Dear Esther, Gone Home or maybe even Firewatch. Games were you can take you time and practice the feeling of movement. From there if you are looking to get into shooter style games go for something Co-Op. My wife and I started on Time-Splitters where she basically stayed back as a sniper whilst I ran in. (This was back in 98/99) From there we ended up going through Halo, Gears and eventually Borderlands as they came out. Anything where you have a bleed out / respawn mechanic is great.
*For me a walking simulator would be more like Octodad where you actually have to work at the walking! :D

Modded Skyrim (to make is very easy, or even invincible). How best to learn to move in a 3D world than by giving them the best game world to discover.

2D: Survivors/Bullet Heaven type games. Most are WASD to move, mouse to aim (if at all).
3D: Vampire Hunters. Since it auto shoots the focus is on movement: strafing, aiming, and avoiding getting hit by mobs. Dying early is expected, so no pressure on getting a perfect run.

This might sound weird but the first game that came to my mind was cod. If the goal is only to familiarize her with the controls then you don't even need to play online. Just load up in a private lobby alone and learn how to walk while looking around, add in sprinting and jumping, then figure out how to aim and shoot at stuff (stationary if necessary). I imagine that if she's able to get comfortable with all that then she'll be fine with literally anything else.
Other than that just play games that you're both interested in and the controls will come with it

I always use controller but I recently played Oxenfree and it was much easier with keyboard and mouse.

Pineapple on Pizza is a short one shot game, it's cutesy with a twisted ending. Uses WASD and Mouse

I learned how to play with keyboard and mouse with World of Warcraft. Current retail WoW is terrible in my opinion but plenty of good private servers exist. Turtle WoW is great. MMOs do use more than just the basic wasd keys, but aside from those and the 1-0 keys, there is no rush to mash keys quickly. The rest of the keyboard is basically just hot keys to open up windows and menus. It helped me learn to be versatile with keyboard/mouse without being punishing when starting out.

What game would you try to insist a particular control style on?
You can teach them how to play whatever game, but it's more or less up to them to set up their control settings.
- Its going to be a lot harder to play Deep Rock Galactic or Portal 2 together if she sticks with her current perfered movement method: click and drag with the mouse.

Go basic Doom, it's not terribly hard on the easy levels.

GTA/RDR? Shooter where you're not pressured to do much, explore at your own pace, shooting but without the "stress" of doom or something similar. And no need for quick aiming or whatever. Pretty chill game to learn controls in, imo.

Terraria on Journey or Classic mode fits all of those

Have a look at Razbuten’s “non-gamer” playlist on YouTube. He makes some interesting observations. Several of the games being suggested here are also used there, and prove more difficult than some would expect.

I taught my wife to use WASD+mouse on Final Fantasy XV. Nice and beginner-friendly in the beginning.

My wife is really into the sims and oddly enough 'House Flipper was a really goof intro to wasd co trols in something she was interested in. She can play most anything these days.

Are not difficult or punishing
Oh. So, not Noita...

...any of the traditional action platformers.
Portal, Spyro etc.

Maybe Valheim? You could turn the settings to peaceful mode if you don't want to deal with combat quite yet - although combat at the beginning isn't super in-depth - but it doesn't have a ton of buttons and the start of the game is a lot of basic "walk around and find things to interact with."

Halo CE

Minecraft

There is Portal: Flash, a browser-based Flash game, if you can run it. Tons of fun. Also Minecraft (BUT maybe use version 1.13 or earlier in order to cut out some harassment, Illagers and raids might deter new players. Mainly they just piss me off. Go 1.12 or earlier to avoid Drowned and Ocean Monuments/Guardians) and The Room 1-4

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