YouTuber modifies treadmill into PlayStation 4 controller to play 'Death Stranding' differently

After years of development "Death Stranding" finally made its way out of development and came out for the PS4 on November 8, 2019. Prior to its debut, Kojima Productions confirmed that a PC version of the action-adventure was scheduled for an early summer 2020 release. The game was generally lauded by critics and gamers alike with the rest jokingly calling it a "walking simulator" due to nuanced gameplay that tasks players with making deliveries. Now, a YouTuber just re-engineered a regular treadmill into a controller in order to play the game.

In the game, players take control of Sam Porter Bridges, whose likeness and motion capture data was based on Norman Reedus. The game involves a lot of walking, running, and climbing in order for the protagonists to reconnect fragmented and post-apocalyptic The United States via deliveries. Allen Pan had the brilliant idea of simulating the gameplay in real life, reports Dexerto.

It seems that Pan wanted to turn "Death Stranding" into an actual "walking simulator" via a treadmill tweaked to function as a PlayStation 4 gamepad. "All I have to do is take the rotor encoder from the treadmill and use an Arduino to calculate how fast someone is walking on the treadmill and the Arduino can control a digital potentiometer that is connected to a PS4 controller," he explained.

The YouTuber also stated, "that way we get a treadmill that lets me play a game of 'Death Stranding' as it was probably intended to be played." In addition to the already immersive movement, Pan emulated the cargo by wearing a backpack as a tribute to Sam's never-ending task of transporting packages.

When Hideo Kojima finally left Konami in 2015, the video game industry pondered as to what the visionary game producer would do next. He has been credited for making some of the most groundbreaking titles during his stint under his previous employer. Recognized as the father of the acclaimed "Metal Gear" franchise which flaunted dynamic stealth-based action gameplay.

After forming a new partnership with Sony and with the help of Guerrilla Games and its proprietary Decima Engine, "Death Stranding" was officially in development. It went on to win multiple awards during The Game Awards show in 2019. Perhaps this was what Kojima wanted all along.