Words Worth Knowing: D-Pad
Words Worth Knowing was a vertical I wrote weekly explaining key pieces of gaming jargon to parents, guardians and teachers, as part of the larger overall GameHub outreach effort. The column ran for nearly two years and resulted in around 60 WWK articles. GameHubHQ.com closed in late 2017. This piece originally appeared on Feb 22, 2015.
What It Is: D-pad = Directional Pad
What It Means: D-Pad, short for Directional Pad, is a thumb-operated four-directional button seen on most standard console games controllers.
Why You Care: The D-pad, sometimes Dpad, or D Pad, is the multi-way button on a games controller. The button usually controls character movement direction, and placing the options so close to one another, under the plastic of the same button, allows maximum control with minimal movement by the user. This is both more efficient for play and more ergonomic, working to combat finger strain.
