Create prototypes with keyboard and gamepad

Adobe XD let’s you use keyboard shortcuts and gamepad triggers to simulate native desktop applications and prototype an enriched game experience or design. When wiring a prototype, you can select Keys/Gamepad from the Trigger drop down list and assign any key. You can use these triggers with Tap, Drag, Time, and Voice to prototype for different use cases like desktop apps, games, and presentations. 

You can then play back or record these animations in the preview window, web browser, or mobile applications and share them with your stakeholders for collaborative reviews. This helps you tell a better prototype story while adding a rich layer to the overall user experience.

When prototyping certain desktop apps, accessibility or shortcuts or games, you need a keyboard to interact with the prototype. With this requirement in mind, Adobe XD introduces the ability to use a keyboard shortcut as a trigger to transition across screens in a prototype.

When wiring a prototype, select Keys & Gamepad. You can then press any key on the keyboard to assign it as a trigger to either an individual object or an entire artboard. This means that you can have multiple triggers from the same artboard.

You can also combine a key along with a modifier to define triggers using shortcuts like CMD S, CTRL R. Do note that you cannot use spacebar and other system level keys such as function, sleep, volume, and power. When you assign multiple triggers with the same shortcut on the same artboard, the last trigger is assigned and triggers during a preview.

The best way to test a game prototype is to use the actual game controller hardware. Adobe XD allows you to interact with an XD prototype in a desktop player or a web browser using a connected gamepad controller and  create prototypes with gamepads as triggers to transition across screens. 

Connect an Xbox One via Bluetooth or a DualShock 4 controller via Bluetooth or USB, and select Keys/Gamepad. You can then press any key on the connected gamepad to assign it as a trigger to the objects on the artboard.

You can also add these triggers to the artboards or objects that allows you to have multiple gamepad triggers per artboard. However, ensure that you use the same controller to design and preview the prototype. So, for example, you can test a prototype with an Xbox controller on desktop or web if it was designed using an Xbox controller.

XD supports keyboard gamepad support in the desktop preview app and web prototypes. If you are previewing the prototype on a mobile app or a mobile browser, you can tap to transition between artboards (since they would not have a keyboard or gamepad device attached).