Despite stereotypes of living very sedentary lifestyles, gamers, especially those leaning towards pro levels, tend to have very dexterous fingers that seem to fly across keys or push buttons at superhuman speeds. That’s not exactly surprising, considering every second counts in a game, especially in the more competitive titles. Unfortunately, even the fastest gamer only has two hands with five fingers each, but those aren’t the only limbs available to humans, though. Musicians have long been utilizing their feet not just to tap to the beat but to also control the music they’re playing or add effects and flourish. Gamers are in just as much need of more controls, and this RGB-lit foot pedal from MSI is offering gamers that competitive edge they need to step up their game when their hands are already too busy to make that saving throw.
Designer: MSI
Pedal controllers aren’t exactly new, but they have mostly been more in use in the music industries, from traditional pedals on keyboards to the more nuanced controllers for MIDI devices, synthesizers, and other audio-creation equipment. Of course, everyone could do with a few more buttons or keys they can press to make their work easier or faster, especially gamers who often find their keyboards or controllers still insufficient to meet their demands. That’s what the MSI Liberator GP10 tries to bring to your setup so you can free your fingers for more important actions.
In a nutshell, this foot switch adds three programmable buttons you can map to almost any action you can think of. Think of having three more buttons on your mouse or three customizable keys on your keyboard, except you don’t need an extra finger to use them. And if three buttons aren’t enough, you can actually hook up as many as four of these footswitches at once, presuming you have the space and mental capacity to add 12 more buttons to your setup.
Unlike their musical cousins, however, you really can only tap the “button” at the bottom of your feet or hit the two side buttons by tilting your feet to the left or to the right. There’s no lever mechanism that you can gradually lower or raise, which would have been useful for actions like increasing or decreasing volume, brush sizes, opacity, and more. After all, the MSI Liberator GP10 isn’t just for gamers, though that’s the primary target audience. Even creators and coders can benefit from having a few extra keys at their disposal.
As usual as having extra buttons might be, it’s probably arguable whether such a controller would actually be comfortable or ergonomic in the long run. People are indeed advised to move their feet once in a while to keep the blood flowing, and MSI promises that the MSI Liberator is designed with ergonomics in mind. That said, the repetitive action that plagues mouse users could result in the same strain injury on your foot if you don’t pay attention and take breaks often, as you should always do anyway.
