Connecting a controller (gamepad) to USB Host Shield

Projects General Guidance
1

So I'm still quite new to using my Arduino and I'm planning on getting a USB host shield and hooking up a controller (gamepad) to control some motors.

I've been searching for hours for some tutorials on how to convert the input into something the Arduino can understand ,but have only found some scraps of information here and there and a library for using Xbox 360 controller.

This has made me question how feasible this is to do for a newbie to do. Is this quite a difficult task? Can anyone suggest where I could start?

2

This has made me question how feasible this is to do for a newbie to do.

If you are new to Arduino, but have an extensive background in writing USB drivers, this is not a very difficult project.

If you are new to Arduino, and haven't a clue what a USB driver even is, then you can rate this about a 114 on a scale of 1 (easy afternoon project) to 10 (6 months to get everything working on an integrated project).