how did the WASD keys become the norm for movement on pc games? Couldnt it have been ESDF or some other set of keys?

Question

how did the WASD keys become the norm for movement on pc games? Couldnt it have been ESDF or some other set of keys?

In: 1807

Answer 1

WASD could have been different keys, in fact some people do use ESDF because it offers more surrounding keys which can be mapped to other purposes.

However WASD likely became dominant because most people are right handed meaning they will use the mouse in their right hand and their left hand on the keyboard. Where the keyboard usually sits for typing purposes would place WASD in a more comfortable position than keys more towards the right. While you could use IJKL it would require moving the keyboard every time you wanted to transition between moving and typing, or be extremely uncomfortable.