The joystick, whose long history began in aircraft-control devices and early
computer games, has dozens of versions with varying stick lengths and thicknesses, displacement forces and distances, anchoring strategies for bases, and
placement relative to the keyboard and screen. Joysticks are appealing for tracking purposes (to follow or guide an object on a screen), partly because of the relatively small displacements needed to move a cursor, the ease of direction
changes, and the opportunity to combine the joystick with additional buttons,
wheels, and triggers