Indie Developer Says Switch's HD Rumble Is "So Easy To Use", Here's How It Works

If a Santa Tracker can figure out HD Rumble, anybody can. Just wish it was standard in Switch games, the Rumble feels great in the hands and sounds so satisfying.

That’s actually really cool, I’m glad Ninty gives devs the simple tools to operate with, as in the long run it certainly means more games.

My rumble has been switched off for months cos it can be noisy at times. Kinda forgot about it.

I'm really liking the hd rumble, I thought it was going to be a gimmick that might wear off over time but I really think that every controller should have it. It's neat how it produces sound too so it makes sense that Nintendo allows you to sync up the rumble with soundwaves, very interesting stuff.

I wish I had a dev kit so I could play around with these things.

Before I got a Switch of my own, I played 1-2-Switch at my sister's house. The "how many marbles in the box" game blew my mind at how detailed the HD Rumble was. I immediately started thinking abut all the cool ways it could be utilized. But more often than not, it just got used as "tiny rumble; medium rumble; big rumble"

Though more recently, the little sound effect the joycon makes in Mario Party was a really clever touch, and further cements that this feature can do much more than just buzz around a bit.

Well it's pretty obvious, change from a speaker to a motor with a weight on it, then the wave pattern is duplicated to motion. Simple, why do we need this explaination?

I'm impressed with the many different ways HD rumble has been used. In Super Smash, when using Ridley, I can slowly tilt the joystick to walk and I can feel every subtle footstep as his feet creep along ground. It's awesome.

The rumble in Golf Story is low-key fantastic.

I thought this was a small gimmic at first, but it really does improve gameplay and immersion on a whole nother level!

"but HD Rumble has been used a decent number of times across major and indie releases alike"
When? I'd really like to experience a good example, without having to buy 1 2 Switch. Any recommendations?

@RainbowGazelle TumbleSeed makes good use of HD rumble to give a sense of the seed rolling from one side to the other (which is the basic essence of the control scheme). I love the game but it isn't for everyone.

Then why do some games still have such violent shaking with the joy cons? I want a rumble, I don’t wanna feel like my hands are holding a miniature earthquake.

@Bunkerneath Because it would be weird if editors only published articles that explored subjects that Bunkerneath didn't know about.

I can’t tell the difference between HD rumble on Switch and normal rumble on other consoles. HD just feels like a weaker more annoying rumble.

When it's done right it's amazing, but a lot of games don't use it to it's full potential

-But out of all of the possible issues a game could have rumble isn't really a priority

The only times I've ever noticed the rumble is when it's off timing or in games where it's just vibrates when you die. I mean I know it's on in other games but it's just super weak and doesn't really add or take anything away. Maybe I've just got bad Joycons?

I usually like feeling HD Rumble; I just hate hearing it. It's so much louder than Xbox or PlayStation controllers.

I was enjoying the rumble in Xeodrifter the other day.

Yes, you can apply the sound as a rumble, but as with any design decisions these developers discovered that making good use of it requires finding out what works best.

With HD rumble in particular I think looking for key moments that it can enhance the game and actually NOT aligning it with a playing sound exactly actually helps it be noticed and make it more interesting for the player.

I love the HD rumble in Golf Story, but I've never really noticed it in any other games.

I don't have 1-2-Switch, and i assume that none of the games I have were developed with HD rumble as a key focus in mind. But HD rumble was one of the features I was most excited about before the Switch came out, and I now have 9 Nintendo-published titles. The only rumbles I have felt are "earthquake" and "really strong earthquake"

The HD rumble for the Dragons Trap when I had to flip it in classic mode changed how I view classic games. Now because of that, we need HD rumble for classic games.

Those who haven't should experience HD Rumble in Hollow Knight. I just adore the subtle bumps when you're landing from a jump, or a quiet whirr of sliding down a wall. Louder moments work great, too. But it's the subtle vibrations that I think HD Rumble excels at.

Honestly, I've been playing so much Hollow Knight lately that when I launch games with few rumble features, it feels as if I've turned the sound off. That tactile feel is simply that good.

I’ve never noticed the rumble in a game unless it’s bad...

After playing around with it a bit in Labo, it seems like the joycons have to be one of the greatest gaming inventions ever for people who are deaf or hard of hearing; You can hear the sound with your hands.

@Nintendo_Thumb Great point.

I hope this becomes a standard feature for controllers in the future, like how rumble became standard after the N64 Rumble Pak.

Ohhh, so that's how it works! Makes sense then why the tire-skid rumble sounds JUST like the sound effect would, even with volume turned down in Horizon Chase Turbo (to the point that I disabled rumble cuz I worried I was bothering people on the subway while playing with headphones)

Haven't even felt good rumble in my switch joy con to be honest. It's just the same old whirr.

What games have it?

Someone must say to developers and Nintendo themshelves that when Joycons' HD rumble vibrates at (let's say) level 8 intensity then the same vibration must be set to level 10 when using the pro controller in order to feel the same intensity. As it is now, when playing a game, pro controller's vibrations always feel less dynamic than joycons'.

Havent really been impressed by the HD rumble since launch. Perhaps Im just not playing the right games but just seems like any other rumble, just noisier.

@Cosats The Pro Controllers use the exact same parts for rumble, but these controllers are also a great deal heavier and so they're not as affected by the vibrations as the JoyCon.

The Switch does know what you're using to play, and the rumble signals are essentially soundwaves, as this captain developerious pointed out, so they could probably be amplified to account for it.

@Rubbercookie That's exactly what I meant to say (my English is not very good)

@RainbowGazelle Super Mario Party or Hollow Knight. In SMP it’s a gimmick but Hollow Knight implements HD Rumble perfectly. It’s almost you can feel the steps of enemies and your sword slashes.

Here's How It Works

No, here's how it's programmed. If you want to see how it WORKS then look at post 8.

Sound is vibration... it's really common sense. When you put your hand on a loudspeaker, you can feel the vibration which is similar to HD rumble.

Best use of it in games that I tried: Lumines, Mario Tennis, Pinball FX3 and Thumper.

Games like Wargroove uses it as an alert, it's extremely useful for a portable system. When I finished my turn I put the Switch on my lap and watch TV, it will buzz when it's my turn again. Even deaf people can appreciate it's usefulness. That's something most people never think about: it's accessibility for the handicapped.

@RainbowGazelle - Skyrim uses HD rumble to indicate the trigger zones during lock picking. It is really consistent, so the more attempts you make as a player, the better you develop the skill. It is funny to watch the character level up in the lock picking skill right after the player succeeds at picking a high-level lock, since as a player I thought to myself “I’m getting the hang of this!” before the level up message

I'd like to see HD Rumble used really effectively in a horror game. Just imagine, every eerie creak, groan, whirr, rustle, rattle and howl is suddenly felt and startles the cp out of you. It would be like playing inside a freaking Steven King novel. I'd pay good money for that experience implemented well.

@RainbowGazelle Okami's is pretty great, you can feel Amaterasu's steps / stride, and every time you jump you feel the weight of her landing.

@Lukebad @tommydii @GyroZeppeli @SgtQuint Thanks for the ideas. I'll need to check out some of these.