During E3 earlier this month, Microsoft announced a host of new options for its Xbox Design Lab custom controllers, including new colors, metallic finishes and rubberized grips. I used those to make this. It turned out pretty nice, no?
I went through the Xbox Design Lab process following its unveiling at E3 2016, and came up with a pretty red, white and pink candy-looking controller that looked delicious.
Designing a custom controller at the Xbox Design Lab website is pretty simple. It’s just a series of decisions regarding the color and design of the front and back of the controller, the shoulder buttons and top bit, the triggers, the face buttons and analog sticks. The hardest part is settling on a design.
And now it’s even more difficult. There are four new controller colors—Ink Blue, Mineral Blue, Sierra Brown and Desert Tan. That brings the grand total of body colors to 19. They’ve also added 11 new thumbstick colors. Triggers and direction pads now come in metallic finishes. Do I break up the color scheme with black rubberized grips? Do I get my gamertag engraved?
This is what I came up with:
And this is how it arrived a week after submitting the order and paying $103 or so (Microsoft provided a credit to try out the service).
I wanted to utilize the new colors, but the new blues weren’t doing it. So I used the new tan and brown to create a sort of coffee and cream theme. At least that’s what I thought I was doing. According to my wife, tacking on the orange thumbsticks made this a pumpkin spice controller. Great!
I’m not sure if I like the metallic triggers. They feel fine, but they break up the flow of color.
The metallic directional pad, on the other had, is pretty damn sweet. The coppery accent is exactly what the design needed. It’s the spice in the pumpkin spice. Stupid pumpkin spice.
With brown on the back the impact of the black rubber grips wasn’t so bad. Plus they sure are handy.
If I could change one thing it would be my Gamertag. “F4hey.” Hmph.
Custom controllers from the Xbox Design Lab start at $79.99 for basic bits. Metallic finished bits, rubber grips and engraving are extra. Even if you aren’t looking for a custom Xbox One controller you can fiddle around with the customization tool and save your designs for later, just in case.
Along with the new options, the service has also expanded to include France, Germany and the UK. Soon no one will be safe.