A new multi-purpose mouse seeking funding on Kickstarter offers an unprecedented level of control by going beyond the basic X and Y axes.
Known simply as The Z, the mouse is the brainchild of Grant Odgers from Swiftpoint. What's unique about The Z is its ability to pivot, tilt and roll. For example, in a FPS game, you can tilt the mouse slightly to look around a corner, crouch or reload your weapon while the same movement in a driving game could steer your vehicle.
Its feet are swappable so you can replace them with ones that are easier or harder to tilt, ones that offer larger or smaller tilt angles or you can lock out the feature entirely.
The mouse is also aware when it is pivoting left or right. In the example listed on the Kickstarter page, you could run straight ahead in a game while looking left or right with analog control, just as you could with a virtual reality headset. And while in the air, the mouse can sense pitch, roll and yaw movements to offer a full flight or space simulator experience.
Swiftpoint advertises that The Z offers 50 clickable action buttons. To get to this number, they're of course factoring in button presses in normal, tilted and pivoted modes. If you can somehow remember 50 presets, this could be an incredibly powerful mouse not just for gamers, but designers and even power desktop users that love macros and shortcuts.
A pledge of $149 guarantees you'll be among the first to bring The Z home in time for the holidays. Having already blown past its $140,000 goal with nearly $250,000 pledged and 31 days remaining, this campaign seems like a lock for production.