Watching the stream from the MAKE and CRAFT demo stages, I was totally impressed by Owen Grace and the work he’s done with Electronic Arts, converting game controller guitars into playable instruments. In a Maker Faire success story, Owen told of how he made his game controllers into instruments as a personal project, got some friends together to form a band, and then caught the ear of the executives at Electronic Arts. They liked his maker project so much that they offered him a job, where now he continues his passion as his profession. Owen and his band are featured on the cover of MAKE Volume 15.

They’ve created a new game that allows you to play original music on your standard game controller, record it and upload it to YouTube. As you get responses to your song, you gain points in the game. You don’t need to modify your controller, as the software he’s working on maps the buttons to the sounds of the instrument. You can set it to play notes or chords, and combining buttons give a wide variety of musical options. Owen is exhibiting his projects in the West Lot at this year’s Maker Faire.