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DefCon Ninja Badges Let Hackers Do Battle

Posted by timothy on from the that-is-some-nice-schwag dept.

eecue writes "The folks at DefCon, the world's largest hacker convention [previously on Slashdot], have been making awesome badges for years. Last year along with the convention badge, a group of hackers known as the Ninjas created an electronic badge for their exclusive party. This year the Ninjas have taken the whole electronic badge thing to the next level with an interactive, wireless, encrypted ninja battle video game badge. I convinced the Ninjas to give Wired.com an exclusive sneak peek, and let me tell you, this thing is awesome."

5 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. Wireless is cheap, why so unpopular? by gravos · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Now that wireless hardware is so cheap I'm surprised we don't see more of these made commercially. Why are there so few of those little handheld electronic games that have wireless connectivity? They could sell like 4 of em together in one package.

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    This game will waste your life. Don't clicky!
    1. Re:Wireless is cheap, why so unpopular? by MaWeiTao · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The components might be cheap, but I'm guessing it requires a lot of effort and development to actually make something that works. The companies making cheap electronic games aren't going to spend the money, if they even have the resources to devote to this. Most are just designing new shells for whatever crap Chinese companies have pumped out for the domestic market. The company with the money and interest are going at higher end markets.

      That said, toy technology is at an impressive state compared to 20 years ago. Sometimes I'm taken aback by the level of technology and sophistication found in a lot of toys. Ironically, quality isn't what it used to be in a lot of cases.

    2. Re:Wireless is cheap, why so unpopular? by SleazyRidr · · Score: 3, Interesting

      They exist, they just weren't hugely popular. The ones I saw were an extension of the Tamagotchi idea. Build up your little guy, the make him fight with anyone who comes within 20 feet of you.

      Probably also a bit of a critical mass thing too, if not enough people have one, then running into someone else with one is going to be pretty rare, so it won't be as much fun, so less people will buy one, so you'll never get enough people with one to make it worthwhile.

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      Is 1563649 a prime number?
  2. The real game... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The real game will be hacking the badge and/or leaderboard system. It would be interesting to see a detailed write up on how they have implemented the system and what measures they have taken to stop people from cheating. Neat idea.

  3. Re:oh the irony by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Are they the same guys doing the huge drinking party the day or week after defcon? If so I met a few of them a few months back at a certain meeting place that will remain unnamed. In addition to funding that sort of thing, I believe they said FB is also funding their drinking party this year, which is going to be over 1k people and a fully open bar. I thought it pretty impressive even if it's not really my thing :)