Arcade Controller - Restrictor Gates

Restrictor Gates

A restrictor gate limits the joystick's range of motion. The most common reason to use a gate in an actual arcade setting is the retrofitting of an older machine that is not compatible with a new 8-way stick. A classic example of this is Pac-Man. The game was originally designed for a 4-way stick, and is programmed to respond only when a new input occurs. If the user is holding the stick in the down position, then suddenly makes a motion to move to the right, what often happens is that the stick first moves into the down-right diagonal, which the game does not recognize as new input since down is still being held. However, right is also now considered held, and when the user completes the motion to move right, it is also not a new input, and Pac-Man will still be moving down.

In cases such as the above, a typical solution is to use a square (diamond) or clover-shaped restrictor, which prevents the stick from entering the diagonals.

For home arcade controllers, the most common restrictor gate used in modding is the octagonal gate. This is because most mid-grade and higher controllers use Japanese-style sticks with a traditional square gate—which is chosen because it has an equal area of throw for each direction. However, because of the sharp corners, the stick can get stuck in the diagonals if the player is unaccustomed to using a square gate. The octagonal gate allows for continuous motion along the edges using inertia, more similar to the circular motion of American sticks. In a fighting game many 360 degree motion special moves are usually executed easier with an octonal gate while charge characters and characters which utilize many directional based moves will benefit more from a stick with a square gate.