I interviewed Vincent Lee, the creator of GetBetterButtons, for the third entry in my Artist Spotlight series, which focuses on people making physical things for the gaming community.
Vincent designs replacement buttons and controls for retro handhelds, but the process behind them is considerably deeper than I expected. He reverse-engineers handhelds, builds detailed CAD models and simulations, goes through dozens of prototypes, and even develops his own tools to help with the process. We also get into his aluminium “Endgame” buttons, how CNC machining changes what he can design, and why he thinks handheld manufacturers still get buttons and D-pads wrong.
There’s also a pretty interesting background behind the whole thing: before starting GetBetterButtons, Vincent worked in hardware engineering and product development at Bose, which I found fascinating.
If you’ve ever installed a set of replacement buttons in a handheld, were curious about the process, or wondered why some controls feel so much better than others, Hopefully you’ll enjoy this one!