WASD
|
|
W-A-S-D.jpg
Made popular by Quake, WASD is a set of four keys on the left-hand side of a QWERTY computer keyboard frequently used to control the player's movement in first-person computer games. W/S control forward and backward and A/D for strafing left and right. These mimic the arrow keys, which are also commonly used for movement.
WASD has several advantages over the arrow keys. More keys surround WASD than the arrow keys, allowing the player better access to a wider selection of game commands. The hand position for WASD is more ergonomic for right-handed players (one hand stays on the keyboard and the other on the mouse). However, players who use the mouse with their left hand find it less ergonomic.
Some players prefer to use the ESDF keys because it allows the pinky finger to use more keys. This is the default configuration for several games, including Tribes 2. Players use many other key configurations since most games provide players the ability to configure their keys.
Other player prefer QWES due to the ability to easily get to the number keys for changing weapons and the TAB key for various other uses.
After being popularized by first-person shooters, WASD became more common in other computer game genres as well. Many of the games that have adopted this layout use a first-person or over-the-shoulder third-person perspective.
The WASD layout is similar in principle to the "IJKL" layout used by many older games. However, those games used IJKL primarily because the keyboards commonly used with them either lacked arrow keys or placed them in an uncomfortable arrangement, rather than because of the previously described advantages.
Many left handed players prefer the standard arrow keys leaving the left hand to deal with the mouse, which requires better coordination.de:WASD