Switching devices should not interrupt an ongoing action sequence

What it is

Input device continuity requires actions already under way—menu navigation, aiming, held states, or interaction sequences—to retain their sensible state when a player changes input source, rather than being cancelled, reset, or locked by device recognition. A switch should change how subsequent control is interpreted, not count as a new game-state transition.

Why it happens

Goals and action sequences outlive hardware: a player may begin sprinting on a controller and adjust the camera with a mouse, or open a menu on a keyboard then browse it with a controller. If the input layer translates switching directly into release, cancellation, or focus reset, it creates a task-irrelevant state break. Separating game action state from physical-device events and specifying handoff rules preserves predictability.

Where it stops holding

Not every held action can safely transfer. Sustained fire, charging, dragging, and movement requiring analogue magnitude may need to end or be reconfirmed because the new device lacks an equivalent state; a disconnection can also be a safety or anti-cheat event. The point is not to retain every state, but to make cancellation, retention, or continuation follow action semantics without silently generating input.

Applying it

• Store in-progress actions as device-independent game state, with a handoff table for press, hold, release, analogue, and focus actions.
• For sustained actions that cannot transfer, show an explicit end state or reconfirmation cue; never carry residual values from the old device invisibly into the new one.
• Verification: switch or unplug devices midway through sprint, aim, charge, drag, menu focus, and dialogue selection; confirm that each action continues, ends, or requests confirmation according to its stated semantics.

Related

• Same group: W3.09.1 Prompts should update when players switch between controller and keyboard/mouse · W3.09.2 Prompts in mixed-input play should show the device actually in use · W3.09.3 Default sensitivity and dead zones need independent settings per device
• Nearby: W3.02 State and input feedback · W3.06 Continuous and discrete control · W3.07 Remapping and personalized controls
• Search terms: input handoff · action continuity · input state · mixed input