Dad Builds Daughter An Accessible Breath Of The Wild Controller
Get some tissues out, folks. Here's some heartwarming news from the world of modding: a father named Rory Steel put his nerdiest skills to use so that his daughter Ava could play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It took some patient wiring, tinkering, and time with the revolutionary Xbox adaptive controller, but he did it, much to the delight of his daughter.
Ava has a condition that makes fine motor skills like hitting the RB button difficult. Xbox's adaptive controller, however, makes it so players with conditions like hers can hit much larger, more accessible buttons. In what Steel calls a "rare" example of cooperation between big companies, Nintendo has made it so that Microsoft's controller can also work with its platform.
Finished! Ava gives my homemade #accessibility controller V1.0 the thumbs up. She can play @Nintendo #BreathoftheWild on her #switch like her friends now. All thanks to @Microsoft 🙌 #adaptiveController #XAC @brycej @ArranDyslexia @shanselman pic.twitter.com/dOhGnUFZa0
— Rory Steel (@JerseyITGuy) January 19, 2020
After Ava expressed interest in her dad's Breath of the Wild playthrough, Steel set out to make a custom set up on the Xbox adaptive controller so that she too could master the Sheikah Slate. Version one of this adapted set up for the Switch is the result of a weekend project. Steel ordered parts from eBay in order to make a sort of tablet that could sit atop the Xbox adaptive controller. He tweeted his progress tinkering with the controls as the days went on, from finding success with the controllers, to wire management for a myriad of buttons.
In the end, Steel showed a delighted Ava using his homebrew controller. She was able to run around on the Great Plateau and summon up her Sheikah Slate map with ease. This video quickly went viral, and Steel has since reported that he has been in contact with not only Microsoft, but also Logitech. The companies seem to be interested in helping him with a more refined version two.
We're excited to see how the next version turns out, and happy Ava can finally enjoy Breath of the Wild.