Archive: Gaming
August 28, 2008
Elmo guitar hero mod lets kids rock with the best of them
Do you play Guitar Hero everyday but are sick of the standard controllers that come with the game? This "Elmo Guitar" was modified by its maker who shoved a standard PS2 controller inside its guts to make it perform like the game's controller. We like the style of this much better than the ones that come with the game.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Aug 28, 2008 06:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Gaming |
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PS2 casemod looks like a door to another planet
This excellent case mod tutorial shows you how to mod your PS2 to look like this glowing blue alien spaceship. Basically there is a window built onto the top and bottom of the case with a 9 inch neon tube placed between the vent.
Case Modding The Playstation 2
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Aug 28, 2008 05:00 AM
Electronics, Gaming |
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August 27, 2008
Capturing 3D surfaces with a flash camera
Capturing 3D surfaces with a flash camera via /.
Comparing a flashlit photo with one taken in ambient light can reveal the texture of a surface, and could help develop more realistic computer games... The virtual worlds in computer games provide a realistic backdrop to the action. But step too close and the effect is lost – you'll see that textures and patterns are usually displayed on flat surfaces that look dull and artificial.A simpler way to add depth to textured surfaces could change that.
The new technique can reconstruct the depth of a surface simply by taking two photos of it – one with a flash and one without (see video, right). Merely analysing the resulting shading patterns can capture the surface's 3D texture.
Until now making realistic textures required the use of bulky and expensive laser scanners, says Mashhuda Glencross at the University of Manchester, UK. And the process is really time-consuming, she adds.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 27, 2008 11:00 AM
Gaming, Imaging |
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Run around world of warcraft on a homebrew treadmill
This cool mod is a home brew treadmill connected up to the popular game, "World of Warcraft" so that you can move your characters around the world by actually "running" in place on the device. We've seen this before with a few other treadmill mods, but this one wins props for the best costumes and enthusiasm from the makers in the above video. Check out the link for lots of details on this project.
Race Across Azeroth, via Hack A Day
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Aug 27, 2008 05:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Gaming |
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August 25, 2008
"Retro-minimalist homebrew game console"

Ladyada writes on ladyada's ranting:
The UzeBox the coolest thing I've seen in a really really long time, a full tile-based gaming system built on a Atmega644 + AD725 (which does all the nasty colorburst stuff). Ive spent some time with the AD725 but at the time I was using an Atmega16 and didn't get nearly as far - pretty much just colorbars.
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Aug 25, 2008 11:00 AM
Gaming, Kits, Toys and Games |
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Play snake on a Monome
"Tilty Snake" employs the Monome 64's accelerometer to create a novel interface for the old school video game of snake. The result is a really nice and intutive controller for the classic game as can be seen from the above video.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Aug 25, 2008 06:00 AM
Arts, Gaming |
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August 22, 2008
Walk around Google's street view with a Wii Fit
Yet another hack of the Wii Fit's cheap sensing board. This Maker has connected it up to the panoramas from Google's street view so you can literally "walk" down the street of almost any mapped city in the world from the comfort of your own living room. Just be careful of the "virtual" oncoming traffic.
via Wii Blog
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Aug 22, 2008 06:00 AM
Gaming |
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August 21, 2008
Austin Event: Mario Kart 64 Tournament!
Tomorrow night, you can get your classic game on at Game Over Videogames' last event of Classic Game Fest '08.
And, there's an outdoor screening of The King of Kong, a great if somewhat sad story of the ridiculous rivalry induced by Donkey Kong addiction.
Here's the full info:
Sign ups are at 8:00pm, but we highly suggest getting here early to guarantee you a spot in the tournament.We will have a total of 64 player positions available (plus 3 alternates), and believe me, they will fill up FAST!!
In the interest of time, each match will be 4 players at a time (split-screen), and only the winner will advance to the next round. So basically, we'll go from 64 to 16 in round 1, then 16 to 4 in round 2, then the final four will compete in one final round to determine the over all champion.
All final four contestants will win cool prizes provided by Game Over Videogames - Plus bragging rights to all of your friends!!
The tournament will start at sundown (approximately 8:45 PM) and last until around 10:30pm.
Then, from 10:30pm until midnight, we'll be watching the awesome documentary - "KING OF KONG" about the challenger to the Donkey Kong world record. This movie is excellent - you will LOVE IT!!
Posted by Luke Iseman |
Aug 21, 2008 12:40 PM
Events, Gaming |
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August 18, 2008
Mario theme on theremin
A skillful rendition of the classic Super Mario Bros theme as performed by Randy George on a Moog Etherwave Pro theremin with a bit of distortion added. - ooo6 on YouTube
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Aug 18, 2008 01:00 PM
Gaming, Music |
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Soopa arcade vinyl art

The Soopa Coin-Up Bros. DIY vinyl model is a blank arcade machine sculpture intended for creative customization. A recent exhibition of artists' examples showcases some great examples. You may recall Doktor A's excellent Pac-Gentleman incarnation.
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Aug 18, 2008 06:00 AM
Arts, Gaming |
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August 14, 2008
Wiimote mod adds LEDs to your rumble
This site shows a step-by-step mod to get your Nintendo Wiimote to flash an LED when it rumbles. Ingredients for this mod include a Triwing screwdriver, a 0603 LED, copper circuit tape, and some wire strippers. Pretty simple mod that will definitely add some bling to your game.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Aug 14, 2008 06:00 AM
Gadgets, Gaming |
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August 12, 2008
Transform old console joysticks into sound machines
Do you have a lot of old gaming system joysticks laying around your house? This project helps turn your old joysticks into nice sound devices with no external sound source needed. Check out the instructions at the link below.
Noistick- create a noise making device from a joystick with autofire
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Aug 12, 2008 04:00 AM
Gaming |
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August 8, 2008
Don't just play Guitar Hero, build your own
This project shows you how to hack a standard computer keyboard to build your own Guitar Hero-Like controller for "Frets on Fire", the free, open source Guitar Hero clone from Finalnd. Really nice build pics here with step-by-step instructions to get you rocking in no time.
Hacking a toy guitar to make a "Frets on Fire" controller
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Aug 8, 2008 05:00 AM
DIY Projects, Gaming |
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August 5, 2008
NES DVD player mod
This maker decided to put an old $20 DVD player into the body of an NES in order to give his movie watching some gamer street cred. We especially like the explosed buttons on the circuit board glued to the top of this hack.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Aug 5, 2008 06:00 AM
Gaming |
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August 4, 2008
Handheld Arduino game console
Bricogeek's "Ardugame" is and Arduino based handheld gameboy-look-alike that looks like a lot of fun. The machine's equipped with an OLED display, speaker, accelerometer, and even a DB9 port for multiplayer expansion. - Ardugame [google translation]
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Aug 4, 2008 01:30 PM
Arduino, Gaming |
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Levelhead code released under GPL
To followup our previous post about this project, New Zealand born, Madrid-based artist, Julian Oliver has released the source code under the GPL for his excellent "Level Head" installation that uses computer vision and ARToolkit marker imprinted cubes as the user interface of a game in which a character moves through a 3D labyrinth. Also, check out this project in person next month at the Ars Electronica Festival.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Aug 4, 2008 06:00 AM
Gaming, Virtual Worlds |
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August 2, 2008
Pigeon plays video game
Add this to the long list of things pigeons can do, but probably shouldn't... Play video games.

Lego Birdcam.
LEGO lady feeding the LEGO pigeons.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 2, 2008 09:15 AM
Gaming |
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August 1, 2008
The 3PS60 Controller


On Ben Heck's forums, this modder shows how he managed to cram an Xbox 360 wired controller inside the shell of a PS3 Dual Shock shell.
This mod is done with the PS3 board (original version) stripped of almost all of its parts and the controller's daughter board kept intact (mostly) and the CL board cut to about the size of the battery in a PS3 controller.
3PS60 Controller, Wired 360 controller in PS3 shell
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Aug 1, 2008 01:00 PM
Electronics, Gaming, Toys and Games |
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July 31, 2008
NES controller cake

Aah, Chris' groom's cake is picture-perfect gaming confection -
The single most awesome groom's cake ever. Note the raised buttons made of butter creme frosting. It was delicious.Dibs on the crosspad! - His Cake on Flickr [via Neatorama]
More:

Gamer wedding cake on CRAFT
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Jul 31, 2008 06:00 AM
Crafts, Gaming |
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July 25, 2008
Add cymbals to your Rock Band kit
This mod shows you how to add 3 cymbals to your current Rock Band setup. Now if only you could hook up your current drum kit to the game instead of having to work around the plastic set you get.
Rock Band Cymbal Mod development
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Jul 25, 2008 04:00 AM
Gaming |
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Phillip Torrone
Senior Editor
Tel: 707-827-7311
Gareth Branwyn
Robot Maker
Kip Kay
Video Maker
Jonah Brucker-Cohen
Artist / Researcher
Natalie Zee Drieu
Senior Editor
CRAFT
Becky Stern
Culture jammer
Collin Cunningham
Sound Maker
Marc de Vinck
CNC Maker

