The original Steam Controller went through numerous iterations before Valve adopted the design in 2015, gradually starting to resemble a design more familiar to Xbox controllers or DualShocks. For some reason there was only one joystick though.
One early prototype, named Chell, named after the Portal protagonist, had two circular touchpads on either side and a grid in the center next to the Y, B, X, and A buttons. It's easy to see why Valve abandoned this concept, as it's much less ergonomic, with awkward button placement that may conflict with anyone's muscle memory. Nonetheless, a few prototypes were manufactured and found in thrift stores over the years by lucky Valve enthusiasts.
“I agree that it is inferior to the final product.”
This weekend Reddit user Waste-Set5032 stumbled upon one of the rare Steam Controllers. “This is really cool for me,” they said, adding that their father discovered it at Goodwill. “I wasn’t around the heyday of Valve when I was a teenager, so it was really interesting to find something like this.” For those of you who don't live in the United States, Goodwill is a non-profit store that sells donated clothing, furniture, and other items at discounted prices.
Valve's idea with the Steam Controller was to create a peripheral better suited to PCs with a trackpad to facilitate navigation. Even the latest version has two awkwardly stuck underneath the joystick.
Four years ago, Reddit user Creepy-Boss-705 also purchased a Chell prototype from an eBay auction and even tested a few games with it.
“The strangest thing about this controller is the lack of data regarding its functionality. [sic] “After the retail version came out,” he explains, explaining that he prefers the touchpad of the Chell prototype compared to the retail version. “I'm still amazed that Steam recognizes this at all. So far Steam thinks this is normal. [Steam Controller]. The four middle buttons correspond to joysticks, so mapping them is not a problem. Although it's strange to me. “I can agree that it's inferior to the final product, but I haven't really done much with gyros.”
Looking at the incredibly awkward ridged circle and unmarked buttons, it's hard to imagine the controller being anything more than a novelty. Playing Dark Souls 2 in the official 2015 version was painful enough. Chell seems functionally impossible to beat the game. But it's a part of gaming history, so it's very interesting to see it stumble upon in the wild years later.
- brand
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valve
- original release date
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September 12, 2003
- Original MSRP (USD)
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Not applicable
- weight
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Not applicable
