Listen to events on xbox gamepad - UWP

To listen to events from an Xbox gamepad in a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) application, you can use the Windows.Gaming.Input namespace, which provides APIs to interact with game controllers, including Xbox gamepads. Here's a step-by-step guide to get you started:

1. Add Required Capabilities:
   Open your UWP project's Package.appxmanifest file and make sure it has the required capabilities for gaming input. Add the following line inside the <Capabilities> element:

   xmlCopy code
   <DeviceCapability Name="humaninterfacedevice">
   
       <Device Id="vidpid:045E 02D1">
   
           <Function Type="usage:FF00 0001" />
   
       </Device>
   
   </DeviceCapability>
   
   

2. Import Required Namespaces:
   In your code-behind file (e.g., MainPage.xaml.cs), add the following using statements:

   csharpCopy code
   using Windows.Gaming.Input;
   
   using Windows.UI.Core;
   
   

3. Initialize Gamepad and Subscribe to Events:
   In the constructor or the OnNavigatedTo method of your MainPage, you can initialize the gamepad and subscribe to its events. Here's an example:

   csharpCopy code
   private Gamepad gamepad;
   
   private GamepadReading lastGamepadReading;
   
   
   
   public MainPage()
   
   {
   
       this.InitializeComponent();
   
       Window.Current.CoreWindow.KeyDown += CoreWindow_KeyDown;
   
   }
   
   
   
   protected override void OnNavigatedTo(NavigationEventArgs e)
   
   {
   
       base.OnNavigatedTo(e);
   
   
   
       gamepad = Gamepad.Gamepads.FirstOrDefault(); // Get the first connected gamepad
   
   
   
       if (gamepad != null)
   
       {
   
           // Start listening to the gamepad's ReadingChanged event
   
           gamepad.ReadingChanged += Gamepad_ReadingChanged;
   
       }
   
   }
   
   
   
   private void Gamepad_ReadingChanged(Gamepad sender, GamepadReadingChangedEventArgs args)
   
   {
   
       lastGamepadReading = args.Reading;
   
       // Handle the gamepad input here
   
   }
   
   
   
   private void CoreWindow_KeyDown(CoreWindow sender, KeyEventArgs args)
   
   {
   
       if (args.VirtualKey == VirtualKey.GamepadA && gamepad != null)
   
       {
   
           // Handle the 'A' button press on the gamepad
   
       }
   
   }
   
   

   In this example, we subscribe to the ReadingChanged event of the gamepad, which fires when there is a change in the state of the gamepad. We also handle the 'A' button press on the gamepad using the CoreWindow.KeyDown event.

4. Handle Gamepad Input:
   In the Gamepad_ReadingChanged event handler, you can access the gamepad's current state using the GamepadReading object (lastGamepadReading in the example). The GamepadReading object provides properties for various gamepad inputs, such as buttons, triggers, thumbsticks, etc. You can use these properties to determine which buttons are pressed, the position of thumbsticks, etc.

With these steps, your UWP application will be able to listen to events from the Xbox gamepad and respond to user input accordingly. Remember that the events will be fired asynchronously whenever there is a change in the gamepad state, so make sure to handle the events appropriately and update the UI or game logic accordingly.