Mechanical Pong

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Posted by timothy on Tuesday September 21, 2004 @05:21PM from the pronounced-the-same dept.

RotJ writes "Some crafty Germans have created an electromechanical conversion of the game Pong: "Pongmechanik is an absolutely physical game. The game is realized electromechanically, and essentially consists of four elements: A relay computer, the mechanical movement with collision detection, the display and the acoustic components." Talk about analog retro chic." saccade.com adds "This amazing device faithfully re-creates the classic original video game with pulleys, wires, motors and a (pre-chip, pre-transistor, pre-tube) relay based computer. They were partly inspired by Konrad Zuse, who created some of the first electromechanical and electronic computers."

10 of 256 comments (clear)

High quality mirror by momerath2003 · 2004-09-21 17:24 · Score: 5, Informative

High quality mirror of the movie in case of the likely slashdotting

It's very cool. The video is in German with English subtitles.

--
I had but a simple dream, to destroy all humans.
Real life pong by riotstarter · 2004-09-21 17:28 · Score: 5, Funny

Anyone ever played real life Pong before?

I think it's called Tennis or something.
1. Re:Real life pong by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-21 17:43 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Pong = fake
  Ping Pong = real
  Therefore: real Pong = fake Ping Pong
  and ping = real/Pong
  
  Got it?
2. Re:Real life pong by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-21 18:26 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Wait a minute...
  
  if real Pong = fake Ping Pong
  
  then real = fake Ping
  
  so Ping = real / fake
  
  assuming real = 1 / fake
  
  then Ping = real ^ 2
  
  Got it?
Movie Mirror by chrispyman · 2004-09-21 17:32 · Score: 5, Informative

Incase of a slashdotting, here's a link to the movie of Mechanical Pong in action!
Ha! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-21 17:39 · Score: 5, Funny

And in germany people are complaining that we lost our edge when it comes to technology.

Face it, Germany once again is a technology leader (at least in the field of geeky true life retro gaming)
Re:Next in line... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-21 17:40 · Score: 5, Funny

Heres hoping they get on to a mechanical version of Leisure Suit Larry.
With all those relays, it would definitely bring new definition to the term "hot date."

I'm a much bigger fan of the organic version myself.
Very cool by I7D · 2004-09-21 18:00 · Score: 5, Interesting

But with a few more pullys and strings, perhaps they could create 3D pong, which i'm sure is much more playable IN 3D as opposed to simulated.

--
Neil is that you? Yeah yeah, it's me... Neil...
Zuse stuff... by Goonie · 2004-09-21 18:44 · Score: 5, Informative

Slightly offtopic, but if any Slashdotters ever visit Munich, you can see a replica of Konrad Zuse's Z3, and a Z4, at the Deutches Museum, probably the greatest technology museum in the world.
They have so much geeky stuff there you could spend three or four days there and still not appreciate it all. There's captions to most things in English, so you don't have to speak German to get a lot out of the place.

--

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
"Inspired by Konrad Zuse" by Zen+Punk · 2004-09-21 18:48 · Score: 5, Interesting

If you were fascinated by this electromechanical version of Pong, check out their links to the work of Konrad Zuse. This guy designed and built the first programmable digital computer in 1936 in his parent's basement! Really amazing.

--
Sleep is futile.