As an intern at Evil Controllers I have had the opportunity to work with some very interesting people. One of which is the young CEO of the company, Adam Coe. I had the privilege of sitting down with Adam and picking his brain a little bit. – Evil Protege of the “Evil Mayor”
Tempe, Az- June 10, 2010
How and why did you begin modding controllers?
It began when I was a college freshman at the University of Arizona. I modified my own controller by adding buttons to the back to allow me to jump and melee without taking my hands off of the thumb sticks, which made me a lot better. Other people showed interest in what I was doing.
Being a student, where did you learn such technical skills?
There was a lot of information online. It is relatively simple to relocate a button. I opened it up, gave it a shot, and it worked. Since then I began experimenting with different ways to improve the controller and its functions. Let me tell you, you learn a lot from modifying thousands of controllers.
You moved from button relocation to rapid fire and auto burst?
I started with button relocation and then met with my programmer who opened up a world of modding capabilities. From there it involved as we realized more and more things we could do.
How did Evil Controllers move from your dorm room to what it is now?
Wow… I guess we have evolved a lot since my dorm days. I mean sitting in a large office now is a big move from my college dorm 3 ½ years ago. Starting in my dorm room was a humbling experience. Then I remember how excited I was to have move back to my house for more space because of our rapid growth and how busy I was. From there it was a natural progression to a professional office. Again a couple months later we had to move to a larger space. Which is now thousands of sq ft that make up the EVIL LAB.
Why the name Evil Controllers?
“EVIL” is not evil in the literal sense. It is a philosophy and being different from what is being offered out there in the world. Our products are epic; they give you an edge and have a swagger about them. We felt calling them “Evil” truly represented that.
What did it mean to you to go to E3?
It meant a lot to me and was a big deal for us. We made a presence in gaming and it gave us the vision to keep going. We realized the magnitude of what we could become and what we are capable of.
What is the future plan for Evil Controllers?
To advance the controller because it is the single most important component in gaming today. Eventually to design our own third party controller, manufacture it and sell it in retail stores.