Slashdot Mirror
Exercise Your Thumbs and Eyeballs With a Tiny Space Invaders Cabinet
dotarray writes with this piece on GamePron with a piece of game pr0n: "If you're big on nostalgia, but small on space, we might just have the solution for you. A clever gentleman has created a teeny-tiny '80s arcade cabinet that will fit happily on your desktop – and while it might look like a mere mock-up, this one actually works, playing Space Invaders on the miniature screen."
Yesterday's story about Donkey Kong had a comment about the same sort of machine.
As a horribly mediocre programmer, I am currently working in systems administration instead. If we can but seed the world with these tiny geek-attractants, carpal tunnels everywhere shall be reduced to smoldering masses of scar tissue and unalloyed agony! Then I shall be the finest programmer still capable of typing with something other than his toes!
Who could have thought that the solution to tech-sector unemployment could contain so much 80's arcade nostalgia?
The whole thing is just seven inches tall, and uses the electronics from a Game Boy Advance, a little MDF, some photoshopped artwork and perhaps the worldâ(TM)s most adorable joystick â" take a look.
I thought this might be some arduino ladyada article (again). at least she designs and builds things. this guy put an existing already working game into wood?
what's so slashworthy about this? I could think of 100 DIY things much more challenging or slashworthy than this.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Nothing to see here, please move along.
Ok, I'm gonna play devil's advocate here.
#1 - as an appearance project, it's cool. It may have been done before, but it's still cool.
#2 - You complain about having a joystick rather than two buttons for movement. Yet your "buy one here fore $25" spam link is a crapass, shitty little plastic piece of junk (I've actually seen and played one one) with a barely-functional joystick for movement.
#3 - Using the magnets for a back slipcover is actually pretty ingenious. I've often thought about doing that to some of my own home projects.
#4 - So he didn't make a circuitboard and recode the game. Big Fucking Deal. The upside of using the guts from the Gameboy Advance is that it can play a multitude of games with easily switchable cartridges.
Essentially, he's made the miniaturized equivalent of a Mamebox with this unit. One of these years, perhaps I'll do the same with my old PSP. After all, there's no fucking use for the thing as a modern game console, but a miniaturized PSP-driven arcade cabinet kinda like this would be able to drive a hell of a lot of different games.
I already am redirected, straight to the W and Ctrl keys. No eyeball time for you, kemosabe!
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
It's a very nicel executed GBA case mod but the game on the screen has little to do with the experience of the original Space Invaders title eating quarters by the tons in the late 1970s: It had a monochrome television CRT tube (vertical orientation) and "color" achieved with translucent overlays. It is a shame that he didn't carry the effort through by using an emulator running the authentic software instead of the cutesy GBA version 20 years newer.
...my wrists are screaming in pain just /looking/ at it.
What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?