RI Teacher's One-Handed Game Controllers Could Level the Playing Field

This moment took Johnson, who is a teacher in Providence by dayas part of a decade-long journey to design Nhuad controllers.

He credits Providence-based incubator mentors RIHub for helping him understand how to develop and present a business plan, to get to the point where he now has a product that sells for $199.

Q: How did you go from idea to creation of Nhuad?

Charles Johnson: I built a clay model. Donald Stanford, a professor at Brown University, said, “You need a proof of concept. So you have a model that doesn’t work. Can you make it work? And then that sent me down the path of… how do I create a 3D model? So I had to make it out of clay, dip it in this hard plastic and then… dig it.

Once I had the proof of concept, I went back to Stanford and said, “Hey, this works. I can play a game. He said, “No, you have to get a certificate.” »

I applied for a patent 12 years ago, and then it took me two years to get it.

When did you start making the controllers?

I was introduced to a manufacturer in the Philippines. I sent them my prototype by mail. They did some tests with it. And they said it’s been tested in Japan, in the Philippines, for disabled gamers and non-disabled gamers, the ability to, let’s say, play video games and eat, you know? So I think the research they did showed that it actually had legs. They took it from the 3D prototype I had and made the tooling to make it. So I received my first manufactured units in April 2024, then I received my first delivery in October.

How many controllers have you built now?

Hopefully I will receive my next shipment of 200 controllers soon. I have a online website. I created my Amazon website. It’s just a matter of making them operational when I install the controllers.

How did the name Nhuad come about?

Nhuad is actually based on a Celtic warrior whose full name is Nuada Airgetlam. He looks like Robin Hood, but he’s a warrior who lost an arm in battle. He was therefore known as the one-armed king.

Charles Johnson created a game controller called the Nhuad Controller, allowing gamers to play with one hand.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe team

What is your plan for the future?

Start selling them in small quantities to disabled players, to raise awareness. And this little by little, as I gain more followers and more people who buy, to start selling them from a warehouse.

I don’t really need to raise money… because the builders have covered the entire cost production. We did what we called revenue sharing. I refund them every 1,000 controllers, so I didn’t have to invest any money.

As I start to grow, as I’m going to say, in social media and marketing and promotion, I’ll probably need to (raise capital). But for now, it’s starting small. My goal is literally seven checkers per day.

Right now, I’m focusing on PlayStation 4. My controller is compatible with PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch. And being left-handed, right-handed, universal, you can sell a controller to a gamer and they can play on any console.

So I start with PlayStation and disabled gamers, then I move on to other consoles, e-sports, then the casual gamer, the gamer who wants to eat chips, pizza and play video games with the other hand.

How would you describe your controller?

It remaps a standard two-handed video game controller so that a one-handed player can reach all the buttons. This makes mine unique.

What is your ultimate vision for Nhuad Controller?

I would like to see my product as an alternative to a standard two-handed video game controller, being able to walk into Walmart, Target, Best Buy and see the controller on the shelf as a viable option. I feel like this levels the playing field. How can players with disabilities play a game or without disabilities? They are no longer limited to the moves they can make and can even play on any console. Being a viable option, being the next iteration of the video game controller is something I’m looking forward to.

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

The Boston Globe’s weekly Ocean State Innovators column features a Q&A with Rhode Island innovators who are launching new businesses and nonprofits, conducting groundbreaking research and reshaping the state’s economy. Send tips and suggestions to journalist Alexa Gagosz at [email protected].

Omar Mohammed can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter (X) @shurufu.