# Gamepad support and gaming

> Emulate an Xbox controller so games recognize your Cephable inputs, and map controller buttons to voice, head, and face.

Source: https://help.cephable.com/docs/using-cephable/additional-features/gamepad
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZlfWNMDfGk

---

Cephable can emulate an Xbox controller, so games recognize your inputs natively. You drive
that controller with your voice, head movements, facial expressions, switches, or any mix.

## Enabling gamepad support

Gamepad support is an extension. Open **Extensions → Gamepad Support** and enable it.

:::callout type="warning" title="It installs a third-party driver"
Gamepad support requires **ViGEm**, a third-party unofficial driver that provides the
virtual Xbox controller games see. You install it as part of enabling the extension. On a
managed device you may need IT approval for the driver.
:::

![The Gamepad Support extension page in Cephable explaining the ViGEm driver requirement](https://help.cephable.com/screenshots/desktop-extensions-gamepad.png)

_Extensions → Gamepad Support_

## Building a controller set

Create App Controls with a controller type — **Gamepad Controller**, or **Keyboard, Mouse,
and Controller** if you want both. Cephable can emulate generic, Xbox, PlayStation, and
Nintendo Switch style controllers.

Then map each button and stick to whichever input suits you:

| Controller input | Works well with | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Left stick | Head movement | Continuous movement without holding anything |
| Right stick | Head movement or a switch | Camera control |
| Face buttons | Expressions or switches | The ones you press most |
| Bumpers / triggers | Eyebrow raise | Reliable and rarely accidental |
| Menu / start | Voice command | Not time-critical, so latency does not matter |

:::callout type="tip" title="Give your easiest input to your most frequent action"
Work out which button you press hundreds of times an hour and map it to your least tiring
input. Everything else can be harder to reach.
:::

## Joystick movement in macros

Macros include a **Joystick move** step for both sticks, so a single trigger can produce a
stick movement rather than a button press — useful for a repeatable turn or a fixed
movement.

## Watch it in practice

[Video: Voice controls for FPS games](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZlfWNMDfGk)

[Video: Customizing RPG game controls for Minecraft](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-emQ5P6QD0)

## Games with their own accessibility options

Before building an elaborate mapping, check what the game already offers — hold-to-toggle,
aim assist, remappable controls, reduced-input modes. Combining the game's own options with
Cephable usually beats either alone.

## Building Cephable into a game

If you make games and want Cephable's adaptive input available to your players directly,
that is a developer integration — see the
[developer documentation](https://developers.cephable.com).