How do I get my Xbox 360 Controller to work with Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition?

Just picked up this game today and I would much rather play it with my Xbox 360 controller. I'm having quite a bit of trouble however due to the fact that although I have my controller connected and working it does not seem to be usable in the game. Only the keyboard and mouse are recognized and I am unable to identify any options that may allow me to customize/enable a controller configuration. When I hit the home button I do get the GFWL overlay and the buttons/analog sticks are working fine in the overlay. I have also confirmed that I have the latest Microsoft Xbox 360 Accessories driver version 1.20.146.0 identifying the controller as player 1. What am I missing here?

I did also confirm that my controller was working in other games just as a sanity check.

Solution 1:

Found a solution on the Steam game hub..(scroll to bottom) http://steamcommunity.com/app/211420/discussions/0/882959061668056366?insideModal=1

Also, a more detailed source..(tip #5) http://segmentnext.com/2012/08/24/dark-souls-pc-crashes-low-fps-fix-controls-errors-freezes-and-gfwl-fixes/

The trick is to disable any of your devices listed as an "HID-compliant game controller". No need to uninstall. I created a system restore point JIC.

Control Panel > System > Device Manager > Human Interface Devices >> [Disable all of your devices listed as an "HID-compliant game controller"]

Remember to restore them when you're done. Quite a pain :| All things considered, its working now and that's fine with me until its patched.

Solution 2:

If all else fails just download xpadder.

Solution 3:

Xpadder is a great idea though. Tried to remap with this tool and it worked, but my configuration didn't save for some reason :\ I found this Xbox 360 Dark Souls preset instead, hope this will be helpful for someone!