Authiik Gamepads

This article lists the gamepads the authiik species created to be used with their PC hardware.

## Maya Computer Corporation

Maya Computer set the standard of what a gamepad should be, as many gamepads from the RZh 1460s to 1480s were based upon their designs. The one-piece, cross-shaped, central-pivot directional pad was designed and patented by them, forcing competitors like Kiriidaneh to substitute dish-shapes, individual buttons, or multi-piece directional pads. Their use of the letters Sha, Vo, Xeh, and Da on their buttons was also widely copied, though most of their imitators changed their arrangements and colors.

### ShM170/7 Gamepad/ Maya 8-Button Gamepad

The gamepad originally shipped with the ShM170/7 had a four-way directional pad, four face buttons in the colors blue, pink, green, and orange, represented by the Ukitii characters sha, vo, xeh, and da, and a central purple pause key. It used a proprietary 4-pin implementation of the IDP communication standard, and a very simple signaling method. One byte is polled from the controller 128 times per Udyana second, each bit representing one of the controller's buttons being pressed, for instance, "00010001" being sent represents the left directional button and the sha (blue) face button being pressed simultaneously. The pause key at the center of the controller is represented with an input including "1111xxxx", or all four directional buttons being pressed at once. This is impossible on a properly-working and unmodified gamepad due to the central pivot of the one-piece directional pad.

It was well liked for early 12-bit video games, particularly 2D platformers, due to its clicky and responsive buttons that utilized metal domes for both capacitance and tactility. Due to its popularity, it was given an official name and was updated with a new 7-pin Gamepad Port found on 12-Lane video cards for use with both Muxiya's ShKV operating system and Maya's own Shitana OS. It was quite limited later in its life, especially as 3-D games became more common on later computers. Following industry trends and implementing more modern ergonomics led Maya to create the 3-D Gamepad.

### Maya 3-D Gamepads

#### Generation 1

While similar in horizontal dimension to the 8-Button Gamepad, the 3-D Gamepad added a pair of shoulder buttons into the formula, as well as a single analog stick. The directional pad was moved to the bottom center of the controller, where it could be reached with both thumbs. The signals it sent were spread across four bytes, two bytes relayed the status of the buttons, and the other two relayed the axis information for the analog stick, allowing for 128 levels of sensitivity in all four directions. The stick's maximum range of physical movement was 22.5 degrees, or one-eighth of a rotation.

It was quite well received upon release, but it was considered to be quite large, so a second generation controller was created that defined Maya's visual design philosophy going forward.

#### Generation 2

The second generation Maya Gamepad solved the perceived problems with bulkiness, slimming the controller down significantly and introducing the thumb keys, which flanked the pause key that was now at the bottom of the controller. It was well liked and relatively successful for around seven years, coming to be included in a bundle of one of the first highly integrated miniature gaming PCs Maya would produce.

however, as a shift in popularity away from simple shooters and 3-D platformers towards more open-world adventure games and complex shooters where strafing *while* moving the player's view was a very useful tactic quickly made having only one analog stick feel quite limiting.

Early in this generation of gaming the analog stick was used to move forward and backward and to turn left and right, but many other control methods were attempted. While some games used the shoulder buttons to rotate, recenter, or lock the camera, others still used the face buttons or the directional pad. In all of these cases, too many potential inputs were sacrificed, and the digital nature of those buttons caused very imprecise control. This quickly led to the third generation of the 3-D Gamepad, creating the controller layout that would remain standard for many years to come.

#### Generation 3

The third 3D gamepad's main change was to its controls, placing a second stick above the face buttons, which now reside near the D-pad, made both the face buttons and D-pad smaller, and moved the thumb-buttons to the top of the controller as a second set of shoulder buttons. In games compatible with the previous 3-D gamepad, the lower shoulder buttons simply duplicated the function of the first, but in games that supported it they could be used as new inputs.

In an era where compactness was valued over modularity, Maya's controllers returned to IDP as its communication standard, utilizing the relatively new Mini IDP connector. These new controllers were introduced alongside a new small form factor home theater PC with a highly integrated design, one of the closest things to a gaming console that Authiik companies ever produced.

Non-serviceable components included a BGA processor that included both a 2.2 GHz tri-core CPU and 440 MHz dual-core GPU, each with 96 shading cores, 12 texture mapping units, and 6 render output units. Both the CPU and GPU are on the same die, and both were quite potent for the time. This was paired with 1536 dehkotiivash of total memory, with 1024 DKv dedicated to the system and 512 DKv dedicated to the video system. This equates roughly to 590 Mebibytes, with just over 390 MiB as system memory and 196 MiB as video memory. The memory was not upgradeable. User serviceable components included a 1.5 antavash, or 77 gigabyte hard disk drive, accessible from the rear of the case, and a 30 dehnikvash or six gigabyte 70ak diskette drive accessible from the front.

The Maya Wireless was nearly identical to the third-generation Maya 3-D gamepad, but featured a rechargeable battery and an IDP Mobile port at the top for charging instead of a fixed cable. It also utilized iikuniishuta, or "short without string", a non-proprietary personal area network standard now widely used for data transfer and wireless peripherals.

### Maya Adventure Gamepad

The Maya Adventure Gamepad was designed in an era where laptops powerful enough to play video games on were becoming more and more affordable, and thus a full gaming experience while away from the home was considered extremely important. This trend was answered with wireless controllers with slider pads, a flat replacement for the analog stick that had far less risk of being damaged if thrown into a backpack or other bags without care. For inputs, it featured all of the same buttons and sticks found on Maya's previous pads, a new power button that would power on the controller and the computer it was last synced to if the owner allowed it, and a microIDP charging and data port.

Its front plate is attached magnetically and hides the screws that hold the body together. The available common colors at the beginning were white and black, but various colors and special edition artworks became available as time went on.

This controller totally replaced the 3-D Wireless, which was a widely disliked business move. The slider was considered an inferior control method to the analog joystick, a compromise to facilitate portability and not an improvement like it was marketed to be. The war on Udyana began and ended before any compromise could be made, thus causing them to be the gamepads that would be made available on the fleets unless older controllers were brought along.

## Kiriidaneh

Kiriidaneh, whose name translates to "Playtime", was a much smaller company than Maya. While Maya produced a vast array of products including complete systems, central processors, video compute units, peripherals, and operating systems. Kiriidaneh began only making peripherals. They did, however, start the trend of having better ergonomics in mind when designing their gamepads.

### Kiriidaneh IDP Gamepad

Kiriidaneh's IDP Gamepad was made to be compatible with a variety of computers, as it used an IDP-6 interface and included a 60ak diskette with a number of drivers for a variety of computer systems. An IDP-11 splitter cable could be used to connect two controllers, and was often included in the packaging of two-controller bundles. In form, it was seen as an inexpensive and far more compatible alternative to Maya's 8-Button gamepad, but its directional buttons were considered far inferior due to them being individual buttons, identical in feel to the diamond-shaped face buttons.

Its real distinction was its horseshoe shape, which provided a better grip for extended gaming sessions and led to the mass adoption of grips on general-purpose game controllers.

### Kiriidaneh Analog Gamepad

As a follower, and not a leader in the peripheral market, Kiriidaneh was content to follow companies like Maya, who were the ones setting new standards in hardware of all kinds. Their alternative to the first-generation Maya 3-D Gamepad was the Kiriidaneh Analog Gamepad, revealed only five dozen days after its release and reaching market after another three.

It continued the use of an IDP-6 interface, but an adapter bundle was made available for a small upcharge to allow it to connect to the new 7-pin Gamepad Port. This bundle was slightly less expensive than buying both individually. Also included was an updated driver software diskette capable of receiving eleven digital inputs and two analog axes. This also supported the previous controllers.

As an inexpensive alternative, it placed a heavier focus on the use of the directional-pad, now a shield rocker instead of individual buttons. This was meant to allow more natural control in existing two-dimensional games less wealthy individuals were likely to own, while also supporting the newer 3-D games through its shoulder buttons and flat slider pad, being the first controller to feature one.