prototype case print

refining ideas and cutting back possibilities is hard. i've been wondering whether rear-mounted shoulders would be better (so you press inward but upward through the case), but there's gotta be a reason standard shoulder buttons work so well on controllers.

i did make a test print to start iterating on the "feel" of the device, to see if this or other changes would be necessary.

some notes:

• it's currently about 2.9 cm (1.125") thick, which feels slightly too thick. i think i'll try to get it down to about 1", but the internals will be the constraint here. if we need to remain about this size the shoulder buttons need to be thicker so they're easier to press for a range of z.
• the shoulder buttons should maybe pivot in the other direction. i currently have the pivot near the corner of the case (so the lever arm is inwards), but for a relaxed grip the trigger fingers will want to press at the corner. alternatively i could make it so there is no pure pivot and the whole button should come inwards a little bit, so it doesn't matter as much where you put the force.
• it would be nice to chamfer the bottom left and bottom right edges so the palms don't feel that edge as much.
• for pocketability, it would be nice to not be as long in the y direction. the keys are the primary constraint here, and however big i want the knobs to be, but i'll probably trim off a little blank space where possible.
• also for pocketability, i have been wondering if i should drop the joystick. if i keep it, it needs to be safely tucked under/between the knobs. i still think it would be awesome to have, but i have to see if it still feels easy to reach with the knobs possibly in the way. i would still like some way to select a waveform, see design.

if you've gotten this far, here are some of my thoughts for the possible name.

• patchsoul prodigy
• patchsoul octavio
• patchsoul ponderer
• patchsoul volta
• patchsoul porta (short for portable, or maybe portamento if i get gliding in here)

kyudo was in the running ("cute kiddo" mashed together) but apparently that's a style of serious zen Japanese archery, whose adherents i'd rather not offend.