A Toy Saw with an Arduino Makes a Great Fortnite Controller

It would be an understatement to call Fortnite a success—the video game is more of a phenomenon. The basic gist of the gameplay is to join a group of 100 players on a map and do your best to be the last one standing. But, guns are only half of your arsenal, and you can also construct an assortment of structures to gain an advantage. That’s why this custom saw controller makes perfect sense for the game.

This controller was built on the Useless Duck Company YouTube channel specifically for construction in Fortnite. It works by using an Arduino Pro Micro to track a toy hand saw’s movement with an accelerometer and gyroscope. The Arduino appears as a mouse and keyboard when it’s connected to a PC, so compatibility is as simple as plugging in the USB cable and configuring which keys to activate.

How it has been configured is what makes this controller really stand out. When in construction mode, the user can build the different kinds of structures by simply sawing at different angles. Flick the saw to the left or right and the player will automatically turn 90 degrees to build in an adjacent space. When it’s time to shoot someone, the player can just flip a toggle switch and aim by moving the saw itself. That makes this a really novel—and surprisingly practical—way to play a video game.