<s>
A	O
paddle	B-Device
is	O
a	O
game	B-Device
controller	I-Device
with	O
a	O
round	O
wheel	O
and	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
fire	O
buttons	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
wheel	O
is	O
typically	O
used	O
to	O
control	O
movement	O
of	O
the	O
player	O
object	O
along	O
one	O
axis	O
of	O
the	O
video	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
paddle	B-Device
controller	I-Device
rotates	O
through	O
a	O
fixed	O
arc	O
(	O
usually	O
about	O
330	O
degrees	O
)	O
;	O
it	O
has	O
a	O
stop	O
at	O
each	O
end	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
paddle	B-Device
wheel	O
is	O
usually	O
mechanically	O
coupled	O
to	O
a	O
potentiometer	B-Device
,	O
so	O
as	O
to	O
generate	O
an	O
output	O
voltage	O
level	O
varying	O
with	O
the	O
wheel	O
's	O
angle	O
relative	O
to	O
a	O
fixed	O
reference	O
position	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
paddle	B-Device
is	O
thus	O
an	O
absolute	O
position	O
controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
is	O
,	O
without	O
any	O
previous	O
knowledge	O
,	O
the	O
sensor	O
can	O
be	O
read	O
and	O
the	O
result	O
directly	O
indicates	O
the	O
position	O
of	O
the	O
paddle	B-Device
knob	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Paddles	B-Device
first	O
appeared	O
in	O
video	O
arcade	O
games	O
with	O
Atari	O
Inc.	O
'	O
s	O
Pong	B-Application
in	O
1972	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
first	O
console	O
to	O
use	O
paddles	B-Device
was	O
Magnavox	O
's	O
Odyssey	B-Device
that	O
same	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
shipped	O
with	O
paddles	B-Device
until	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
used	O
paddles	B-Device
for	O
several	O
of	O
its	O
games	O
,	O
as	O
did	O
early	O
home	O
computers	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
VIC-20	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
True	O
(	O
potentiometer-based	O
)	O
paddles	B-Device
are	O
almost	O
never	O
employed	O
any	O
more	O
because	O
they	O
stop	O
reading	O
accurately	O
when	O
the	O
potentiometer	B-Device
contacts	O
get	O
dirty	O
or	O
worn	O
,	O
because	O
turning	O
them	O
too	O
far	O
can	O
break	O
them	O
and	O
because	O
they	O
require	O
more-expensive	O
analog	O
sensing	O
,	O
whereas	O
quadrature	O
encoder-based	O
controllers	O
can	O
be	O
sensed	O
digitally	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Any	O
recent	O
game	O
that	O
has	O
paddle-type	O
control	O
uses	O
a	O
quadrature	O
encoder	O
instead	O
,	O
even	O
if	O
the	O
game	O
uses	O
paddles	B-Device
on	O
screen	O
(	O
like	O
Arkanoid	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
reason	O
for	O
the	O
name	O
paddle	B-Device
for	O
this	O
type	O
of	O
game	B-Device
controller	I-Device
is	O
that	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
that	O
used	O
it	O
,	O
Pong	B-Application
,	O
was	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
simulation	O
of	O
table	O
tennis	O
,	O
whose	O
racquets	O
are	O
commonly	O
called	O
paddles	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
though	O
the	O
simulated	O
paddles	B-Device
appeared	O
on-screen	O
(	O
as	O
small	O
line	O
segments	O
)	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
hand	O
controllers	O
used	O
to	O
move	O
the	O
line	O
segments	O
that	O
actually	O
came	O
to	O
bear	O
the	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
famous	O
video	O
games	O
using	O
paddles	B-Device
are	O
Pong	B-Application
,	O
Breakout	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Night	B-Application
Driver	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
paddle	B-Device
controllers	I-Device
look	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
driving	O
controllers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
driving	O
controllers	O
for	O
Atari	O
consoles	O
operated	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
way	O
,	O
although	O
they	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
wheel	O
,	O
the	O
controller	O
was	O
reduced	O
to	O
a	O
single	O
large	O
knob	O
identical	O
to	O
the	O
one	O
on	O
the	O
paddles	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
comparison	O
to	O
the	O
driving	O
controllers	O
,	O
paddle	B-Device
controllers	I-Device
rotate	O
just	O
under	O
one	O
full	O
rotation	O
before	O
hitting	O
a	O
hard	O
stop	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Finally	O
,	O
they	O
have	O
a	O
picture	O
of	O
a	O
tennis	O
racquet	O
and	O
the	O
word	O
"	O
paddle	B-Device
"	O
on	O
it	O
,	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
a	O
racing	O
car	O
and	O
the	O
word	O
"	O
driving	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-Device
paddles	I-Device
are	O
also	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
800	I-Device
home	O
computer	O
,	O
with	O
its	O
four-game	O
controller	O
ports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
would	O
allow	O
eight	O
paddles	B-Device
in	O
simultaneous	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Super	O
Breakout	B-Application
is	O
one	O
example	O
that	O
supported	O
up	O
to	O
8	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
driving	O
controller	O
is	O
not	O
compatible	O
with	O
paddle	B-Device
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
a	O
mechanical	O
computer	B-Device
mouse	I-Device
,	O
the	O
driving	O
controller	O
is	O
a	O
quadrature	O
encoder-based	O
device	O
and	O
thus	O
only	O
sensed	O
relative	O
position	O
,	O
not	O
absolute	O
position	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
controller	O
is	O
functionally	O
identical	O
to	O
the	O
spin-dial	O
controller	O
used	O
in	O
Atari	O
's	O
Tempest	B-Application
arcade	I-Application
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
similar	O
relative	O
spinner	O
controllers	O
have	O
emerged	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
home-built	O
arcade	O
cabinet	O
scene	O
to	O
facilitate	O
play	O
of	O
such	O
games	O
as	O
Tempest	B-Application
,	O
including	O
spinners	O
from	O
Oscar	O
Controls	O
and	O
the	O
SlikStik	O
Tornado	O
spinner	O
.	O
</s>
