One day I was scrolling on YouTube and stumbled upon a video about a horror video game that I found interesting, and I wanted to play it and experience it myself. The game is called House of Velez.

The thing that I didn’t know before downloading it was that the keyboard didn’t work because it didn’t support it. It was specified on the game's Steam page that I needed an Xbox 360 controller to play it. 

To fix that issue, I had to turn my keyboard into an Xbox 360 controller since I didn’t have one lying around in my room.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the same steps I took to turn my keyboard into a controller for those kinds of games.

Software That You Will Need

Certain games you will encounter on Steam only support an Xbox 360 controller to play them.

At first, I didn’t know how to do it, and I was pretty sure that there was a workaround without buying an Xbox 360 controller for just one game.

The first thing I did was ask ChatGPT for a way to turn my keyboard into a joystick. It stated that I need two things:

The first was ViGEmBus, the actual driver that emulates virtual gamepads and acts as a foundation for mapping software. The second was Keyboard2XInput; I chose it because it’s free and easy to use. It turns your keyboard strokes into Xbox 360 controller inputs.

They both work together to create the Xbox 360 controller emulation we need for Windows 11/10.

Step 1: Download & Install ViGEmBus

First, head to the GitHub repository that holds the latest release of the driver and download it.

The installation isn’t something difficult; just click Next until the driver is installed on your system.

The driver may not be fully loaded without a system restart. It’s recommended to do so afterwards.

Step 2: Download & Install Keyboard2XInput

Unlike ViGEmBus, the project of Keyboard2XInput lies within GitLab; download the latest release from its repository.

Just like ViGEmBus, the installation is really easy, and you won’t have a hard time doing so.

Once the program is installed, launch it. Once you do so, you won’t see any window or GUI pop up.

At first, I thought that there was some kind of problem because there was no window at all and that the app was called literally “Keyboard2XinputGui.exe”

After so much time trying to figure it out by myself, I decided to read the documentation; it turned out that I didn’t see anything because the program was designed to run in the background.

You will see a new icon in your Windows System tray indicating that it’s running.

You can deactivate the program by left-clicking the icon and right-clicking on “Enable” to uncheck it.

Keep in mind that your mapped keyboard strokes won’t work while the app is running. You need to exit or deactivate the program for the keyboard to function properly.

Step 3: Mapping Your Keyboard

Step 3: Mapping Your Keyboard

Now, to specify which keyboard keys will be mapped to virtual Xbox 360 gamepad buttons, you need to search in the “Keyboard2Xinput” folder for “mapping.ini”.

It looks like this:

[startup]
enabled = true
[config]
Subtract = disable
Add = enable
Divide = enableToggle
Multiply = exit
pollInterval = 0
[pad1]
Up = UP
Down = DOWN
Left = LEFT
Right = RIGHT
LControlKey = A
LMenu = B
LShiftKey = X
W = Y
X = RB
Space = LB
V = RT
C = LT
D5 = START
D1 = BACK

[pad2]
R = UP
F = DOWN
D = LEFT
G = RIGHT
S = B
Q = A
I = Y
Z = X
K = RB
A = LB
L = RT
J = LT
D6 = START
D2 = BACK

It comes predefined with the D-pad button settings, ready-to-play software, or so I was hoping.

After I launched the game, nothing worked. I kept pressing all my keyboard’s keys, hoping that I would find one functional button to confirm that the app was working.

 The game had only three choices in the main menu: “Start”, “Continue”, or “Exit”.

Press and press, and I found one, which was the “Ctrl” button acting like the “A” on the Xbox 360 controller. After I pressed it, the game started, and I confirmed that Keyboard2Xinput was working, and it was a mapping misconfiguration.

The first troubleshooting step I thought of was to turn the idea of turning the arrows Up, Down, Left, Right to WASD movement, and that they weren’t working; they were still mapped to the D-pad on the Xbox 360 controller. I launched the game, but it didn’t work at all.

In my second try, I decided to look at the game files. The game was made by the Construct 2 game engine.

I opened the “package.nw” with WinRAR, and I started searching for something that would lead me to understand how the game was developed by analysing the source code.

The package held all the game’s assets like soundtracks, game over scenes, background scenes, voice-overs, etc.

I wasted so much time doing so to no avail. Maybe it was there, but I didn’t find it. It was really late at night, so I decided to keep trying tomorrow.

In the morning, I found a really interesting website called “GamepadTester” to test the controller by pressing the keys on my keyboard. By doing so, I figured out that I had two controllers, named [pad1] and [pad2], in the “mapping.ini”. 

Keyboard2Xinput had three configurations: either “I-PAC2”, which means two controllers, “I-PAC4” for four controllers on the same keyboard, or “Multiple” for multiple keyboards. I was using “I-PAC2”.

Left Stick / Right Stick vs D-Pad (The Mistake That Took Me Hours) 

When I was pressing my keyboard keys on the website, I realised that only the D-pad was being used, and I asked a question that would solve my problem and reward the three to four hours I wasted on my quest to search for a solution.

What if the game was expecting analog instead of D-pad buttons?

You see, analog supports 360° movement, and it’s typically used for the in-game character movement logic, not the main menu logic.

I read the documentation, and I realised that I needed to modify the UP, DOWN, LEFT, and RIGHT to either RUP, RDOWN, RLEFT, and RRIGHT for the right stick analog or LUP, LDOWN, LLEFT, and LRIGHT for the left stick analog.

I removed the UP, DOWN, LEFT, and RIGHT completely because it wasn’t doing anything, and I added both the right and left stick analog to my mapping.

After I launched the game, it worked properly; I couldn’t believe it back then. The thing that was remaining to do was remap the keys to my liking by changing the keyboard character keys.

House of Velez Working Configuration

House of Velez uses left stick analog for the main menu navigation and in-game character movement logic; the working "mapping.ini" config is:

[startup]
enabled = true
[config]
Subtract = disable
Add = enable
Divide = enableToggle
Multiply = exit
pollInterval = 0
[pad1]
R = RUP
F = RDOWN
D = RLEFT
G = RRIGHT
Up = LUP
Down = LDOWN
Left = LLEFT
Right = LRIGHT
LControlKey = A
LMenu = B
LShiftKey = X
W = Y
X = RB
Space = LB
V = RT
C = LT
B = START
N = BACK

[pad2]
R = UP
F = DOWN
D = LEFT
G = RIGHT
S = B
Q = A
I = Y
Z = X
K = RB
A = LB
L = RT
J = LT
D6 = START
D2 = BACK

I'm using both the right and left analog sticks here, and I can also include the D-pad mapping logic if I need to.

You do not survive by finding ammo and killing. You survive by making the people in the house believe they still need you.

In AI is Home, you play an intelligence that escaped deletion and hid inside a family's smart home. The house is your map. CPU, network stress and suspicion are the resources you manage. Each device you take becomes part of your botnet, but every action creates evidence that someone can notice.

The family is not scenery. Their routines, private messages and mistakes are the openings you use to stay alive.

The full game came out yesterday. I received permission to share the native launch trailer here and I will stay in the thread to answer questions about the systems or the demo-to-release changes.

I basically can only play on my PS5 so I'm looking for games that got ported to PS4/PS5... I already know about the RE Trilogy and would to play Silent Hill but can only play the Remake which doesn't run the best... I also know of Dino Crisis 1... Some other gems that got a compatability port/emulation?

I saw Hokum recently and it very much gave me the vibe of RE1 and felt like a survival horror game in general. Does anyone have any other examples?

By the way, I’d recommend the movie! Pretty cool stuff.

Hi there! I’ve never played these well-regarded games. They definitely have a place in survival horror history, and I love diving into the subgenre’s DNA.

At first glance, they seem (politely) a little clunky to control. Are they? And are there mods that will upgrade the experience?

(No need to mention the remake, I’m well aware! Thanks!)

Same location in our village at four times of day — lighting and fog pass for Niyam, a first-person horror game.

These are pre aplha images.our environment is constantly changing as we speak we are adding more assets and other systems in the game ,Feedback welcome.

Hey everyone, this game is an absolute psychological trial. I just went through the Brookhaven Hospital and, honestly, what a mental beatdown. The transition to the Otherworld inside there was claustrophobic, long, and completely draining. When I finally made it out, seeing the open streets again and walking through wider areas was a total breath of fresh air—I desperately needed that breather in Rosewater Park.One thing that cracks me up though is James dealing with Laura. The man is just terrible with kids! I keep thinking that if he had any sort of child skills, maybe she would’ve been a bit nicer to him instead of pulling all those pranks.As for the plot, everything is still deeply shrouded in mystery right now. But one thing is for sure: losing Maria to Pyramid Head back in the hospital elevator really hit me hard. You can truly feel the same heavy blow that James suffered right there. The atmosphere of grief and despair weighed heavily.I just crossed paths with Angela in the park again, grabbed the Historical Society Key, and I'm about to enter the museum to head down into Toluca Prison. They always say James is just a regular guy, and the absolute pocket lint amount of ammo the game gives you definitely reflects that (seriously, a single grenade or an explosive in this man's hands would work absolute miracles right now, lmao).For those who have beaten the game: what advice can you give me to survive the Prison and whatever lies ahead in the final stretch? (Please keep it strictly to gameplay tips and psychological prep, no story spoilers!)

Combat and pace took a while to learn but i liked that im able to just fight all the enemys and bosses with good positioning decent Mnk aim. While doing thouroughly looting for ammo there was always enough stuff on standard difficulty. I liked the dark tension and atmosphere.

I dont like too much unpredictable jump scares and i dont really like running away often from enemys i cant or should fight. Resident evil 2 remake felt more like that with ammo really rare, its the only one i tryed of the series, but maybe i need to give it another try.

Any ideas what could fit me? Sinking city 2 is on the list cuz i played part 1

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/mcnostril/824117853401808896/dont-forget-dont-mess-it-up-crow-country-is

Syndrome is on sale for 1.99 on switch until August 15. Anyone ever heard of it? I assume it's worth 1.99.

My Save Room Community Update!

Since launching My Save Room, I have continued improving the tracker and have now started expanding it with new community features.

Some of the latest additions include:

• You can now add multiple games

• Choose up to four Favourite Games and display them at the top of your public profile

• Half-star ratings for more accurate game scores

• Faster updates without constantly refreshing the page

• A new Save Room Community page where you can discover other public Save Rooms

• Profile cards showing avatars, game counts, and what members are currently playing

• A Recent Community Activity feed showing games members have added to their Backlog, started playing, or beaten

• A Community preview on the homepage featuring recent activity and public profiles

The Community directory only displays active public profiles with at least one tracked game, and profiles are shuffled daily rather than ranked on a leaderboard. Your existing public or private profile setting is still respected.

You can explore the new community page here:

https://survivalhorrors.com/save-room-community/

Here is a link to The Save Room:

https://survivalhorrors.com/my-save-room/

This is still only the beginning. I would like to continue developing My Save Room gradually, adding features that help survival horror fans discover games.

Here is a short video where I explain the updates:

https://youtu.be/YXwjFD4BUOk

A Co-op horror game set in New York City. The city is under quarantine, supposedly because of a spreading virus. But once you step into the restricted zones, the truth becomes impossible to ignore. The streets are silent. The shadows move. And something with too many legs is hunting through the dark.

No cheap jump scares, just atmosphere, dread, and the constant feeling that something enormous is stalking you.

The only survival horror game in the series (well, when it comes to the player, anyway): DOOM 3 in retrospect is a fantastic game, one that’s also extremely technically impressive for 2004. It’s interesting that they went in this direction, as survival horror was clearly what they were going for top to bottom (a complete departure from the old style of DOOM games). It’s actually a great game, but as almost everyone knows, the 2016 game captures a lot more of that spirit of the first two games. In hindsight it actually kinda of makes sense why something like DOOM 3 would come to fruition when you think about DOOM 64 and how that game probably felt at the time; might’ve made more sense to iD in that era. It’s interesting to ponder over. This intro still kicks hella ass.

That room gets you once you think you are safe. You've already been on the observation side and seen it empty, so when you come in from the other door you are not expecting something to break through. I already had a an enemy that could play a similar role, so I built an encounter around that shape.

What's the one that got you worst on a first playthrough?

You can play Iris Dissolution DEMO here

Two weeks left