How to rotate 2D object with (gamepad) right stick

Questions & Answers
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1

I have a 2D character and I want its rotation to turn according to the position of the right stick.

I have already looked for solutions, but I can’t find any. I want to rotate it according to the gamepad so that I can aim.

(I’m using the Input System to get the right stick Vector2 value)

2

You can use

transform.rotation = Quaternion.LookRotation(Vector3.forward, direction);

to make a sprite point towards a direction vector in 2D :slight_smile:

This will make the y axis of the sprite point towards the direction vector while keeping its z axis aligned with the world’s z axis (this way it remains in the 2D plane).

3

using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.InputSystem;

public class CharacterRotation : MonoBehaviour
{
public float rotationSpeed = 5f; // Adjust this to control the rotation speed
private Vector2 rightStickInput;

// Reference to your character's Rigidbody2D (if it uses one)
private Rigidbody2D rb2d;

private void Awake()
{
    // Initialize Input System
    InputSystem.onDeviceChange += (device, change) =>
    {
        if (change == InputDeviceChange.Added && device is Gamepad)
        {
            var gamepad = (Gamepad)device;
            gamepad.rightStick.performed += ctx => rightStickInput = ctx.ReadValue<Vector2>();
            gamepad.rightStick.canceled += ctx => rightStickInput = Vector2.zero;
        }
    };
}

private void Start()
{
    rb2d = GetComponent<Rigidbody2D>(); // Get the Rigidbody2D component
}

private void Update()
{
    RotateCharacter();
}

private void RotateCharacter()
{
    if (rightStickInput != Vector2.zero)
    {
        float angle = Mathf.Atan2(rightStickInput.y, rightStickInput.x) * Mathf.Rad2Deg;
        Quaternion targetRotation = Quaternion.AngleAxis(angle, Vector3.forward);

        // Apply rotation to the character
        if (rb2d != null)
        {
            // If using Rigidbody2D, use MoveRotation to apply rotation smoothly
            rb2d.MoveRotation(Quaternion.Slerp(rb2d.rotation, targetRotation, Time.deltaTime * rotationSpeed));
        }
        else
        {
            // If not using Rigidbody2D, use transform.rotation
            transform.rotation = Quaternion.Slerp(transform.rotation, targetRotation, Time.deltaTime * rotationSpeed);
        }
    }
}

}
In this script:

  • We capture the right stick input from the gamepad using the Input System.
  • We calculate the desired rotation angle based on the right stick input using Mathf.Atan2.
  • We apply the rotation to the character using Rigidbody2D.MoveRotation for smooth rotation. If you’re not using Rigidbody2D, you can use transform.rotation instead.

Make sure to adjust the rotationSpeed variable to control how fast your character rotates in response to the right stick input.