Building Arcade Controls for my PC Part 3 — Plan

I never made a formal plan. I cut out pieces of paper with the same size and shape as the footprints of the controls, then moved them around a large piece of paper until I got what I wanted. I transferred this to a sheet of wood and started cutting!

What I ended up with (pictures below) filled these needs:

• One joystick on each side of the button cluster–some games work better with the buttons on a certain side of the stick. This way I have both options.
• Most older games (Ms.Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, etc) use 4-way sticks and I play them right-handed, so the 4-way went on the right side.
• Newer games (Street Fighter II, etc) use 8-way sticks on the left, so it went on the left.
• The “ABCD” buttons fit my fingers and the “X” button fits my thumb. The “YZ” and “LR” buttons are easily accessible.
• The “AB” and “XY” buttons are set in a diamond pattern to mimic the buttons on the controllers of newer consoles (Playstation etc).
• The trackball buttons are placed close to the trackball so that I can operate the trackball and press the buttons with one hand. However, they’re far enough away that I can use both hands on the trackball and its buttons without getting in my own way.
• The “system” buttons (quit, coin, start, etc) are supposed to be up and out of the way.

The eventual layout:

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