controller help

[Dracula9009]

What is the best way to repeatedly press a button on a controller? I know that I am doing something wrong. Is there a certain way to press it faster?

[ShadowTiger]

If it's a keyboard and mouse based game, you can assign whatever button you're using to the Mouse Scroll Wheel. Works best in FPS games.

Otherwise, for actual controllers, I use the Index and Middle fingers of my main hand and alternate between them very quickly on the button in question. It's sufficient, I suppose.

[MottZilla]

It may be easier for you to rapidly bump the controller against your finger or some other odd way of doing it. You'll just have to experiment.

[gdorf]

Are you playing metal gear solid? Its been a long time since I've played that game but I remember some of the button-mashing scenes were annoyingly difficult.

[Maverick_Zero]

If it's just one button I palm the controller and smack my two fingers against it quick like.

[Modus Ponens]

My friend Cameron has a technique he calls the Stuttering Finger. He holds the controller in one hand and tenses all the muscles in his other arm. Then, he basically activates his muscular twitch action in his elbow, causing his finger to pulsate on the button very rapidly. If you're playing Mario Party against that shit, you pretty much lose. I can do it, but to nowhere near the degree that he does it. (I told his older brother that he should shout "Stuttering Finger!!" beforehand every time he uses it, and we laughed.)

Personally, I prefer to hold the controller pretty much like I always do, and then I more or less hold my thumb stationary and swat the back of the controller with my fingers so that the button presses itself against my thumb. It works pretty well; I can hold my own against people with good turbos for a good while with this technique.

[Nicholas Steel]

Simple method! buy a controller with a Turbo mode then enable said mode :)

[CaRmAgE]

If none of those work for you, I've heard of a method to make it easier to hit a button fast with two fingers by using a couple of rubber bands and a Popsicle stick. Attach the Popsicle stick over the button you'll be pressing fast using the rubber bands at both ends of the controller. Make sure the rubber bands are tight enough so that the button is held down slightly, but not so tight that it "activates" the button. You now have a bigger "target area" to hit with your fingers. From there, it's the same idea as what ShadowTiger said: just alternate between your index and middle fingers.

[Pineconn]

Anyone who played Banjo-Tooie would know how unfairly difficult the race against Canary Mary is in Cloud Cuckooland. For this race, I literally dreamed up this method:

Obtain a vibrating massager or any item that will vibrate forward and backward in a "button pressing" fashion. I used a vibrating massager and it worked wonders. (I should mention that the A button on the N64 controller got a little sticky afterward.... I never got this side effect after subsequent use, however.)

[Cloral]

If you don't mind messing up your knuckle a bit, one technique I've seen used is to make a fist, and then slide your knuckle back and forth over the button. Doing it for a while will probably make you bleed, but it was by far the fastest I've ever seen anyone press a controller button.

[Yoshiman]

My friend Cameron has a technique he calls the Stuttering Finger. He holds the controller in one hand and tenses all the muscles in his other arm. Then, he basically activates his muscular twitch action in his elbow, causing his finger to pulsate on the button very rapidly. If you're playing Mario Party against that shit, you pretty much lose. I can do it, but to nowhere near the degree that he does it. (I told his older brother that he should shout "Stuttering Finger!!" beforehand every time he uses it, and we laughed.)
This is pretty much the technique I use. Quick-time button sequences become so much easier.

[Anthus]

Personally, I prefer to hold the controller pretty much like I always do, and then I more or less hold my thumb stationary and swat the back of the controller with my fingers so that the button presses itself against my thumb. It works pretty well; I can hold my own against people with good turbos for a good while with this technique.

This is what I usually do. I also lay the controller down, and hold it steady with one hand, and rapidly press the button with my index finger (more less move my hand as opposed to moving the actual finger). I started doing this while playing Paper Mario.

[Dracula9009]

These are all really great and all but... I was hoping one of you could tell me how I can make myself faster at pushing the button.

[Nicholas Steel]

we have provided more then enough methods for tapping the button faster... the only thing left, that I can think of would be to pray to god for a lightning finger lol

[Cloral]

Yeah, if you use your thumb, you're never going to be able to press the button as fast as using one of these other methods. It's kinda annoying, but that's how it is.

[Modus Ponens]

I found a video that might help. I like how it has picture-in-picture of the guy's hands on the controller with Mario Party gameplay footage. Also, the sections with the super slow motion really help me visualize how to get my muscles to do that. Just like with musical training, informed psychology is the key to improved physiological performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pXfHLUlZf4