Fallout player uses a macropad to control Pip-Boy and it actually looks pretty cool

The most immersive way to use Pip-Boy in Fallout would probably be a full-size replica with a real display, buttons, and switches – though actually playing like that sounds like a nightmare. A more practical middle ground? A compact macropad with rotary dials.

A player named Zekezon shared a clip showing exactly that: a small macropad with three rotary knobs and 12 keys mapped to Pip-Boy controls. In the video, spinning the dials switches between tabs and submenus, giving the whole thing a tactile feel that standard keyboard input just can't replicate.

It looks surprisingly usable, especially if you remap the other keys to cover additional interface actions. Some commenters even floated the idea of Bethesda releasing an official macropad with a small screen built in – though realistically, most people don't stare at their keyboard mid-game anyway.

That said, the novelty factor is real. One of the top comments puts it bluntly:

Something like this might actually shine in Starfield or The Elder Scrolls 6, where lock-picking minigames involve rotational input. Those moments are infrequent enough that the extra fiddling wouldn't wear thin as fast.

As for the macropad itself, it's a generic unbranded device you can find on various marketplaces.