Fourplay: Q and You

Let's kick this off with an exercise. I'm going to list a bunch of common video game actions, and I want you to name what key you would instinctively press to make it happen.

Oh, if you haven't figured it out already, I'm talking about keyboard controls. You can set the controller aside for this one.

Ready? Press a key to:

• Open a door
• Pick up an object from the ground
• Search a downed enemy
• Flip a switch
• Press a button
• Talk to someone
• Examine an item

So, what did you hit? E, right? The E key is the action button, the 'use' key, the go-to input for interaction between the player and the environment. If you're not shooting it, punching it, or blowing it up, you're pressing E to manipulate it in some way. Now, this fact alone could spur endless debate in terms of game design and interactivity, but that's not where I'm taking this. No, I bring it up simply to point out that E is far and away the key you're using most to do things (movement notwithstanding, naysayer in the back).

Why does this matter? Quite simply, E is the go-to because of where it sits on your keyboard. In a WASD position, there are few keys easier to hit than E. Yet, even with all these things we map to E, an equally viable key is nearly ignored when it comes time to set controls. Yeah, you know the one...

Or maybe you don't.

Exercise number two. Hunt down your five most played games on PC. Steam should let you sort that, but if not, or heaven forbid you aren't using Steam, just use your best judgement. Got your five? Now, tell me what happens in those games when you hit Q. It's ok. Take your time. Hell, I'm writing this damn thing and it still took me a minute to remember what it did in two games.

If E is the key we're using most, why isn't Q the key we're using second-most? I cannot, for the life of me, make heads or tails of it. Does it stem from decades past PC design where Q was used to quit programs? Maybe. I really don't know. Whatever the reason, Q is underutilized, which makes it a great place to start when messing with your keybindings.

Believe it or not, re-mapping Q can salvage what may otherwise be an unplayable or frustrating game. Take Borderlands. Melee attacks can be life-or-death in a clutch, but are difficult to pull off on the fly when a physical disability prevents rapid shifting of hand positions. To go from movement-by-touch with the left thumb to hunting down V (the default key) and back again is a nightmare. You have to stop moving, which is a naughty no-no in shooters. Re-map melee attacks to Q, and see how it changes things. I rush with W, and simply slide my thumb left to strike. I don't even need to let off W. All well and good, but what do we do with Q's old mapping? In this case, absolutely nothing. Borderlands doesn't map anything to Q. It's prime real estate completely ignored.

So, what should you be mapping to Q? Anything, really. Q is a great key for actions that pair well with movement. If you can comfortably stop in a game while hunting down the key, what you're looking to do probably doesn't need to be on Q. For me, I tend to play with default controls for a bit til I identify the single key I repeatedly find myself fishing for. If it's more useful to me than what Q is doing, I swap them. A lot of it is trial-and-error.

I was gun-shy about changing keybindings at first, but found Q to be a great, safe place to start. Even for the able-bodied of you out there, consider using Q as a stepping stone toward becoming comfortable with switching up controls. You may be of the mindset that 'developer knows best,' but that is a fallacy. The simple truth is you will always know better. Don't be afraid to wreck up the place once you find yourself comfortable with switching things around. You can always change them back if you take it too far.

Don't let E have all the fun. Make Q work for you. You'd be surprised how much fun you can salvage from frustration.