What if your fortune suddenly decides to take away one of your arms, or lets you even be born this way?
That's a question I've been having in my mind for around three weeks so far.
Due to being diagnosed with tendinitis in my left arm, I'm currently forced to live life in "extra hard mode".
My arm splint has basically been my best friend recently.
Creativity is king
It's amazing what your mind can come up with, to solve problems life throws at you as a one-armed human. When even taking a simple shower and getting dressed becomes a challenge, especially if lazy you still didn't replace those way too tight jeans you've got.
But I digress...
(PC) gaming with one arm
First of all, you must accept that you won't have the same skill in games as you're used to.
The most obvious solution to your sudden loss of an arm is to try to find ways to play your preferred games using one hand only, by binding the most important controls to either your mouse only (mice with lots of buttons actually become handy here), or your keyboard.
Try replacing the W and S keys on your keyboard with your "navigate back/forward" mouse buttons using the game's control settings. That way you'll at least be able to walk forward and backward without needing your left arm. If you have one of those fancy mice with a million buttons, you can just re-bind all the important stuff to your mouse.
Racing games (especially Sim Racing ones) usually come with a mouse steering option. Using the mentioned navigation buttons on your mouse for shifting through the gears seems like a good option, provided your racing game supports those buttons. (stares at the Assetto Corsa devs)
I eventually ended up using automatic shifting. The fact that traction control and ABS are mandatory when mouse steering a 1000 horsepower car, should be self-explanatory.
But most importantly, keep in mind to accept that you won't have the same skill as normally. And that's perfectly okay!
Find games that don't need two arms
If you can't or just don't want to deal with the games you usually play, it's time to find games you can play one handed, using either your mouse or your keyboard only.
For example, manager games like Motorsport Manager can be perfectly played using your mouse only.
Builder games like Planet Coaster or Cities: Skylines also make a great match.
Challenges exist to be mastered!
In the end, it's all a matter of perspective.
Do you want to be sad and frustrated? No!
So take your sudden path of fortune as a challenge and master it! In fact, extract the positive aspects of the situation and be grateful that YOU get to experience them.
I mean, for example, how many of your friends will be able to say "I finished MW2's campaign on Veteran mode using my mouse only"? ;)
Finally, shoutouts and massive respect to all the people who actually permanently lost one of their body parts and manage to master the challenges in creative ways and still live a happy life!
Take care, folks.
And always remember to protect your password! ;)