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R-Kaid-R packs portable arcade cabinet in a sleek wooden box
In case you ever felt proud about the paint job you gave your controllers or something, Swedish craftsman Love Hulten has created the R-Kaid-R, a portable homage to arcades that manages to look sleek and old fashioned at the same time. The R-Kaid-R's wooden clamshell design hosts an 8" LCD screen and a mono speaker above an arcade-style layout, complete with nine face buttons, a screw-in joystick and a stereo port for headphones. Its hardware supports titles from the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation and predating consoles, along with some PC titles like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D. Hulten estimates that on a full charge, the arcade away from home can withstand about 8 hours of play. While the R-Kaid-R is a joy to look at, you can always add it to your on-the-go collection for a, uh ... minor charge of $3,397 (€2,499). While that includes a manual, a 16 GB SD card with pre-installed OS, a USB charging cable and a copy of Cave Story, it doesn't include the carrying case seen in the video, which is a separate $176 (€239) purchase. At least you can choose your R-Kaid-R's appearance from one of five colors? [Thanks, Love!] [Image: Love Hulten]
Ben Heck talks about fitting custom 3D printer in briefcase, Q nods in approval (video)
The last time we ran into Ben Heck, the tinkerer extraordinaire was waxing poetic at Maker Faire about the Raspberry Pi and cheese curds. One more thing he also talked about, however, was his latest 3D printer project, which he now explains in greater detail in the latest episode of the Ben Heck Show. Improvements made to the device include use of a Birdstruder for easier access to the filament and the ability to print off an SD card if you don't have a computer handy. The 3D printer also sports an expanded 200-square-millimeter print area with a solid copper cover for added sturdiness and accuracy. As usual, size matters for Mr. Heckendorn so the device got a boost in portability, now neatly folding James Bond-like into a briefcase that measures 18 x 14 x 4.2 inches. Interested in a briefcase printer of your own? Well, Heckendorn mentioned during the Maker Faire interview that he's already working on an improved version and thinking about putting it up on Kickstarter so hope springs eternal. In the meantime, you can glean more details about the device by checking out the video after the break.
Ben Heck makes Super Glove mod for Kinect, takes strain out of gestures (video)
Sick of trying to control your 360 using Kinect, semaphore and advanced flailing? Modgod Ben Heck, deciding he wanted to be more Minority Report and less lunatic, has been working on Power Glove 2.0 to improve the console's navigation experience. The prototype glove is tricked out with Arduino, an accelerometer, a gyroscope and some fingertip buttons. With the addition of IR and a little coding magic, the 360's interface can be controlled via subtle gestures, with increased functionality / style points also apparent. Check out the latest episode of The Ben Heck Show after the break for a detailed walkthrough of the project and a demo of the glove in action.
Custom-made Aperture Science gas mask will make sure you're still alive, won't open portals
Valve's Portal series has been used as the pretext for many achievements outside of puzzle gaming, including getting hitched. Keeping you from shuffling off this mortal coil, however, is still new. Two Horns United has given a gas mask a decidedly nerdy visual upgrade that resembles the game's iconic Aperture Science Portable Quantum Tunneling Device, right down to the light-up energy chambers. Best of all, unlike some homebrew projects, you'll have a (probably limited) chance at buying one yourself after June. Coworkers might look at you oddly as you strap a portal gun to your face during a safety drill, but you'll have the quiet satisfaction of knowing you're truly ready for a neurotoxin attack, not to mention taking the title of a Jonathan Coulton song very literally.
The Anvil of Crom Extra: Craig Morrison on new content, crafting, and customizable communities
It's been a little while since we've interviewed Age of Conan executive producer Craig Morrison. In the intervening months, Funcom's bloody fantasy MMO has added developers, new content, and fresh ideas at a fairly steady pace. This week sees the introduction of tier four raiding content in Khitai as well as a lengthy Morrison-authored update letter that provides a roadmap for the rest of 2012. Follow along after the break as we talk raiding, the upcoming crafting revamp, and the community potential (and perils) of Funcom's spiffy new single-server technology.
Nintendo and West Coast Customs bring Mario Karts to life
Normally, Mario's Kart is just a bit of virtual video game magic, confined to a world where turtle shells fly and banana peels litter racetracks. But Nintendo has joined forces with auto shop West Coast Customs to produce two real life Mario Karts, currently on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Both Mario's main ride, above, and Luigi's Bumble V kart were made, and both are equipped with front-wheel drive, 18-inch wheels in the back, and a propeller add-on for traveling through water. Unfortunately, that propeller doesn't really work underwater (so says the press release), but the karts really do move. Their construction will be spotlighted in an upcoming episode of West Coast Customs' reality TV show. You can see more shots of the karts over on the company's site (including one of Reggie Fils-Aime himself driving).
You'll never geth how this Mass Effect action figure was made
Go on, take a guess at the starting point for this custom made figure. If we tell you that the link came from Halo.Bungie.Org, does that help? If you guessed a Covenant Elite, you're right! The core body of this Mass Effect inspired geth consists of two different Convenant Elite figures from McFarlane's Halo line. If you then went on to guess that the modder also used shot gun parts from a Gears of War accessory, that the pulse rifle was made from spare Halo parts, and that the hoses on his back came from a Mr. Freeze action figure, well then we'd say you know a little too much about your various action figures there, Kreskin.
Datamancer Steampunk Laptop now available for anachronistic pre-order
We really hope you've haven't grown tired of Steampunk over the years. Over-saturated? Passé? Perhaps, but there's still something undeniably alluring about the blend of Victorian-era mechanics and modern technology. That's why, even three years after we first caught a glimpse of it, we're pretty psyched to hear that Datamancer's Steampunk Laptop is actually being made available for purchase. Detailed specs haven't been offered, we only know that it will feature "cutting-edge internal components," but we can tell you there are a bevy of customization options. You can choose everything from the wood stain color, to keyboard fonts, to etched brass lids or clockwork gears like the original design (except these will tick and turn). You can pre-order one now (at the source link) for $5,500 -- a healthy discount over the estimated price once production on these one-of-a-kind machines kicks in to gear ($7,500+). Now we just have to decide between food and rent, or a work of PC art.
Vaja now selling iPad cases
Out of all of the iPod or iPhone cases I've seen, Vaja makes my personal favorites -- I bought one of their cases for my 80gb iPod, and it's still the best gadget case I've ever owned. They're a little pricier than some cases, but the exquisite leather, custom design, and solid crafting makes the purchase worth it. And now they've introduced an iPad case as well. Of course, the iPad's use chart looks a little different -- it doesn't necessarily seem like the kind of device you'll be pulling out while walking around, and you probably don't need a great leather case if you're just going to use it as a satellite computer around your home (not that anyone knows for sure how they're going to use their iPad yet). But Vaja makes some quality cases, and while they haven't announced all of their iPad options yet (the Retro Slim Jacket is the only one available right now), it might be worth looking at if you'd rather put a little leather on your new Apple tablet. Customization is not yet announced but likely -- when I ordered my iPod's case, there were a whole bunch of different case styles and colors to choose from. Cost on the one they've got is $120, and they're saying it takes about 25 days to get each custom-made case put together. A Vaja case isn't something to be purchased lightly, but quality like this doesn't come cheap or fast.
NES carts make great external hard drives, clocks too
Etsy user 8-bit Memory has transformed classic NES carts into functional hard drives ranging in size from 250GB to 750GB. Using an old school style and modern-day tech skills, 8-bit Memory also offers wall mounted clocks made from classic NES carts, much like some we've seen before. The hard drives start at $109.99 and can be custom-made to a buyer's specifications, while clocks ... uh ... clock in at $24.99. If you're looking to add a little more geek Chic to your gaming lair, check out what the shop has to offer. [Thanks, Jon]
15 Minutes of Fame: Abotu shapes up a custom figure
15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.Last week, Mike Schramm introduced Abotu (Emerald Dream-US) and his to-die-for custom Troll Rogue action figure. Abotu has been sculpting custom figures as long as he can remember. "When I was little, if there was a toy I wanted that I didn't have, I'd try to make it myself out of modeling clay or construction paper," he remembers. He's done exactly that here by creating Abotu, his own World of Warcraft figure – puts Figureprints to shame, doesn't it? 15 Minutes of Fame visited with Aboto this week, not only to find out more about the player behind the talent but also to get inside scoop on exactly what went into making his Abotu custom. Our two-part look at Abotu the sculptor, the making of Abotu the action figure, plus photo galleries of the Abotu figure and other creations from this talented player ... after the break.
The Guild in Second Life on The Copper Robot
Our friends at The Guild made an ingame appearance the other day, but not in our game -- they showed up as avatars in Second Life as part of a talk show called the Copper Robot. Felicia Day, Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo), and Jeff Lewis (Vork) all stopped by to talk to journalist Mitch Wagner (whom I met on the TUAW Talkcast last night), and you can watch video of the proceedings over on their blog, or just listen in to the audio if you'd like. And there's news about season 3 in the interview -- it should be happening, though Felicia says they haven't gotten "an official pickup" yet, and she hasn't started writing yet. The season 2 DVD is also coming soon.What's perhaps most interesting about this interview is that the Guildies all used custom-made avatars to appear in the game. Second Life, if you've never played it, is more of a sandbox MMO than the strict rules and design of World of Warcraft, and players have mostly complete freedom to make themselves look like whatever they want. And so a few fans from a site called World2Worlds actually made some avatars for the Guild folks, and they based them off of the (also fan-made) art of the characters. We've never seen footage of "the game," as the characters in The Guild call it, so this is the first time we've seen these avatars represented in any game. Very interesting. The show has a Flickr group, so if you want to check out more shots of what they looked like in-game (including some nutty Vork antics), check that out as well.
Custom-made Troll Rogue action figure by Abotu
We posted that fan-made Draenei Barbie last week, and a few commenters sent us a note about this figure, custom made by Abotu over on Emerald Dream. The Barbie was just something funny that a few fans did while bored, but this Troll Rogue is the real thing -- custom leather armor fitted onto what used to be a Tomb Raider figure, heavily modified with Sculpey, wood (for the daggers) and even boot laces (for the braids). It's really, really impressive, not only in the way it looks, but in what it took to make: the whole thing took about two months' worth of work (Abotu guesses it might cost over $1000 to make selling these worth it), and many parts of it are completely fabricated. The head is sculpted from scratch, and the hands and feet are from an X-men Nightcrawler figure, but even those have been shaped to look completely different from what they used to be.Quite a piece of work. We've put all of the image in an easily browseable gallery below, to save you from the trouble of cutting and pasting Photobucket links. Our own 15 Minutes of Fame column has also scheduled an interview with Abotu, so stay tuned for more information on how this all came together (and how you too might be able to immortalize your character like this). And as always, if you've heard of some amazing fan art like this, feel free to send it along on our tipline -- we always love seeing what World of Warcraft fans are putting their crafting skill points into.%Gallery-49393%
CPL developing new competitive game: Severity
John Romero had a surprising announcement for the assembled crowds at Sunday's Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) finals. No, he didn't declare he was going to make you his bitch (and no that joke will never get old), but he did announce the development of a new first-person shooter tuned specifically for professional gaming.According to a CPL press release, Severity will support both single-player and team matches, will be based on an id Software game engine, and will be released for both console and PC by late 2007. The game will also include "enhanced tournament support, spectator modes, [and] detailed player and tournament statistics tracking," whatever that means. Development on the project is being headed by Tom Mustaine, an industry veteran who worked on games ranging from Final Doom to 25 To Life.While it's nice to see pro gaming grow large enough to support a custom-made game environment, we have to wonder whether a new property will be able to make any inroads against popular competitive gaming standards like Quake and Counter Strike. Should competitive gaming start focusing on custom-made games, or stick with the popular, third-party creations that have gotten it to this point?[Thanks Will]
