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Ben Heck's giant Game Boy
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-752795{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-752795, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-752795{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-752795").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Karen, Ben and Felix are back, this time with a supersize Game Boy. To do this, they needed a vinyl cutter for the decals, a CNC router for the huge case and a 3D printer to ensure the switches were in place. The best part is that the smarts behind it use an FPGA DE0-Nano to adapt the output from the Game Boy to a VGA monitor, ensuring a crisp layout. (It's even green!) What do you think of it? Tell the Ben Heck Show team yourself and find the code used to make the Giant Game Boy on the element14 community.
ICYMI: Airbag moto-jacket, robotic landing gear and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-582118{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-582118, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-582118{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-582118").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Newly unveiled robotic landing gear is enabling helicopters to land on uneven ground. But that's DARPA for you; always down with the militarized robot inventions. Meanwhile motorcyclists have a new jacket that not only looks legit but uses sensors to deploy an internal airbag if danger is detected. And a Kickstarter project for the SteadXP is interesting because it can make give most digital cameras a steadicam look, no matter how shaky or untrained the operator.
Game Boy camera gun prints when you shoot
If you had a spare Game Boy Camera and the printer to match, what would you do with them? If you're media artist Dmitry Morozov, you'd make a one-of-a-kind firearm. His GBG-8 gun uses Nintendo's photographic peripherals and an Arduino board to shoot photos (almost literally) and print them on the spot -- effectively, it's a low-resolution Polaroid cam with a trigger. We can't imagine that this would go down well with security officials, but it could be a blast if you want to capture 8-bit memories with more flair than the original Game Boy gear allows. Let's just hope that Morozov offers some instructions so that his picture pistol is easy to reproduce at home.
You can now trade Pokémon with yourself, thanks to Arduino
Gotta catch 'em all. Gotta catch 'em all. Gotta catch 'em all. For some 17 years, those words have reverberated around coder Pepijn de Vos's mind, and thanks to an Arduino and some ingenuity, his dreams have now come true. Well, probably not, but a project like this deserves an epic back story. In reality, hobbyist de Vos has created a system for trading Pokémon from the first generation of the franchise with himself. The setup is actually pretty simple: connect a Game Boy, Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance to an Arduino board via a Game Link Cable. Then, borrow de Vos's code (available on GitHub), and start trading Pokémon with the Arduino.
Pokemon Blue speedrunner uses 'shortcut,' is super effective
Are you going through Awesome Games Done Quick withdrawal like we are? Those that missed some of the speedrunning marathon's fast-paced antics have two options: Attempt to mash through a game of their choice as fast as possible or catch up on the action with archived videos. Frankly, we're taking the easier approach, opting for this fascinating 21-minute speedrun of Pokemon Blue. Performed by "Werster," this run avoids save-file-corrupting tactics, instead taking advantage of glitches that manipulate the number of items in the speedrunner's inventory. Thanks to the item manipulation glitch, he reached Pokemon Blue's final scene in mere minutes after triggering a few events early in the game. Awesome Games Done Quick wrapped up this past weekend, raising over $1.1 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The marathon offered plenty of entertaining moments to Twitch viewers, including a marriage proposal. [Image: Nintendo]
Put your Game Boy on the big screen with this HDMI adapter
There are certainly ways to play classic Game Boy titles on modern TVs, but many of them involve emulators. What if you have the real system in your hands? That's where the crowdfunded Hdmyboy project might just save the day. The project lets you modify the original Game Boy (thankfully, in a non-destructive way) to put its video on any HDMI-equipped display. If you've ever wanted to play Link's Awakening on your big-screen set, it's now relatively trivial. The Hdmyboy even works with a NES controller, so you can relive your childhood from the comfort of the couch.
Watch the start screens for nearly every Game Boy title ever made
Up for a long nostalgia trip? You're in for a treat. NicksplosionFX has posted a video showing the start screens for almost every original Game Boy title ever made, ranging from 4 in 1 Funpak to Zoop. Each opener only lasts a matter of seconds, but the sheer volume of games amounts to two hours, 42 minutes of monochrome animations and chiptunes -- watch it all and you're bound to find something that evokes your childhood. It's thankfully in alphabetical order, so you can quickly scrub through if you're just trying to find that one game you always played after school.
Documentary chronicles the sounds of console gaming's early years
When it comes to video games, more often than not audio gets the short shrift because, well, you can't see music in a screenshot. It's with that in mind that Red Bull (yes, that Red Bull) is putting together a documentary series about the scene surrounding classic Japanese video-game music called Diggin' in the Carts. The first episode focuses on the early days of the industry at Namco Bandai and Nintendo and features interviews with, among other luminaries, the first person in charge of game music for the Mario company, Hirozaku "Hip" Tanaka. Tanaka would go on to produce the iconic scores for Balloon Fight and Metroid, as well as design the sound chip for the first Game Boy. This premiere episode, embedded below, also showcases just how early soundtracks were composed. Spoiler: it involved more wave-forms and soldering than it did keyboards and drum machines. Interested in seeing more? A new clip is scheduled to release every week for the next month-and-a-half.
Build your own Game Boy with a Raspberry Pi, SNES pad and 3D printer
What's a maker to do when they don't have access to a classic Game Boy, but happen to have a 3D printer and a few other parts lying around? Craft their own, no Legos required, of course. With some patience, you too can build a copy of Nintendo's 25-year-old handheld using a Raspberry Pi, Super NES controller (for its buttons and circuit board) and a few other bits and bobs. Adafruit has print files for the iconic portable's case as well as step-by-step instructions for how it all goes together, but, as 3DPrint points out, it likely won't be easy and the project requires a decent grasp on soldering and circuitry. Emulated games run off of an SD card, and the DIY-Game Boy can even play any classic Nintendo ROMs you might find online too. We'll leave wading through the legalities of that whole process up to you, though.
Feedback Loop: phone prices, mobile Chrome extensions, television shows and more!
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week. This week, we talk about the ridiculous pricing structure of cellphones, discuss the possibility of extensions in a mobile browser, share thoughts on HBO's Silicon Valley and fondly recall our memories of the Game Boy. Do you have something to say? Head past the break to join the conversation!
This Arduino-powered business card looks like a Game Boy and runs Tetris (video)
Off-white business cards with Silian Rail lettering are so passé -- these days; it's all about creativity. This Game Boy look-alike, for instance, demonstrates its creator's skills in one fell swoop: It doesn't just display a résumé, it's also a simple gaming handheld that can play Tetris. The device was made by Oregon programmer Kevin Bates, who calls it the Arduboy, because it uses a barebones Arduino board (the tiny computer also found inside Kegbot and Fish on Wheels) connected to an OLED screen. To make the hand-held gaming experience as authentic as possible, he also equipped the card with capacitive touch buttons, a speaker and a replaceable battery that lasts up to nine hours.
Twitch Plays Pokemon, but can Twitch beat Pokemon?
"Even when played very poorly it is difficult to not make some progress in Pokemon," the mastermind behind Twitch Plays Pokemon told Joystiq. The Twitch community is putting that opinion to the test.
Hyperkin Retron 5 combines ten consoles into one on December 10 for $99 (updated)
We love what the Hyperkin Retron 5 brings to the table, namely compatibility with ten classic gaming system cartridges: NES, Famicom, Super NES and Famicom, Sega Master System, Genesis and Mega Drive, and Game Boy original, Color and Advance. The problem is, Hyperkin's played coy about it's price and availability... until now. It'll be available on December 10th, and it'll be on sale in both Europe (for €89.99) and in the US ($99.99). And, it turns out that the Retron 5 that'll go on sale will have a few more tricks up its sleeve than the prototype we played with back at E3. The exterior's been modified to better cool the internal components, and it'll pack a work with the Sega Power Base Converter that lets you play Sega's Master System games in the Genesis slot on top. So, now you can officially start carving out space in your entertainment center for the Retron 5 -- which shouldn't be difficult once you've cleared out all the elder consoles it replaces. Less is more, people. Update: We mistakenly wrote previously that the Retron 5 comes with a Power Base converter, in fact, you'll need to bring your own converter to the party.
How a Game Boy emulator app snuck past Apple restrictions
Due to the legal and ethical concerns regarding retro game emulators, they never make their way to Apple's official App Store, but as ReadWrite reports, iPhone and iPad users can - at least for the moment - download a fully functional Game Boy Advance emulator app without the need for a jailbreak. And perhaps the most interesting thing about it is that Apple's own Developer Enterprise Program has laid the groundwork for such an app to be distributed not via the App Store, but simply by clicking a link in a mobile web browser. The app is called GBA4iOS and its creator, Riley Testut, is using a company called MacBuildServer to distribute it. MacBuildServer is a service that developers use to aid in app development and distribution, and the company also happens to be a part of Apple's iOS Developer Enterprise Program. Using MacBuildServer's enterprise certificate - which the company provides to clients simply as a way to test how the service works - Testut put the app up for download without any requirements on the user end at all. It should also be noted that no actual game code is being distributed along with the app, so those who take the time to download it will still need to find a way to provide their own game roms. Of course, Testut's current setup seems as though it could implode from a number of different angles, but nobody - including Apple, MacBuildServer, or even Nintendo - has made a move to squash it.
Hyperkin Retron 5 plays the cartridges of nine classic consoles (video)
Hyperkin has developed a reputation for modern takes on legendary game consoles that are often better than the real thing. If true, its just-unveiled Retron 5 is a nostalgia singularity. The hardware emulator can use its namesake five cartridge slots to play original games from no less than nine vintage consoles, including the Genesis (Megadrive), NES (Famicom), SNES (Super Famicom) and GameBoys from the original through to the GameBoy Advance. It keeps going: there's a custom Bluetooth controller that can handle every system, mix-and-match original controller support, save states and upscaling for both video (to 720p, through HDMI) as well as audio. While we'll have to see just how well the Retron 5 works whenever it exists as more than a conceptual graphic, that opportunity may come quickly when Hyperkin is tentatively shooting for a July release at less than $100. About all that's left for a follow-up Retron are Jaguar and Turbografx 16 slots -- pretty please?
RetroN 4 plays NES, SNES, Genesis and GBA carts, hides its looks (for now)
Hyperkin's fourth RetroN console wants to be the perfect way to enjoy gaming's past glories. Alongside the ability to play NES, SNES, Gameboy and Sega Genesis titles, it's compatible with PAL and NTSC formats, with ports for your NES, SNES and Genesis controllers -- you still have those, right? If not, Hyperkin's own Bluetooth-connected controllers can fill in, while the console's UI will allow you to reassign buttons as needed. There's also HDMI output, so those 16-bit graphics will get the full glory of your HD plasma screen. Alas, following another notable games console, the company isn't showing off the device just yet. You're looking at its predecessor above, which should at least give your mind's eye something to work with until it's finally unfurled at Wisconsin's Midwest Gaming Classic on March 23rd.
Game Boy repurposed as an Android gamepad, adds retro flair to your mobile gaming
Many of us whiled away untold hours of our youth mashing the D-pad, A and B buttons of the original Game Boy, which is why we've seen many hacks using its iconic hardware. Gaming on mobile touchscreens isn't nearly so tactilely pleasing as that portable, however, so nostalgic modder Chad Boughton decided to swap out his GB's dot-matrix display for the Super AMOLED of a Galaxy Nexus. He first removed the screen and trimmed the chassis so that a GNex case could be bolted flush with the rest of the body. The more involved part of the mod, however, was getting the buttons to work wirelessly with the phone. To accomplish the trick, he trimmed the Game Boy's circuit board to make room for the guts of a Wiimote, which he then connected to the buttons. From there, he installed the Wii Controller IME app to get the GB talking with the phone, and presto! One of the coolest Android gamepads we've seen was born. You can see how it works in the video after the break, and there's a slew of shots showing the mod in progress at the source below.
ExtraLives aims to hit $100K for charity with Pokémon marathon this weekend
The good folks at ExtraLives.org have raised $91,837.25 since 2009, and they're hoping Pokémon will help put them over the $100,000 mark this coming weekend. Starting up on Saturday, December 29, the team is going to start up three different Pokémon sessions at the same time, marathoning Nintendo's addictive little monster capture RPG all the way into 2013.They'll start with the old Game Boy titles, and then make their way up into the DS era, campaigning the whole time to try and raise money for charity.The marathon will begin at noon on Saturday, and each of the three streamed screens will be running a different version of Pokemon, so you'll get to see for sure just how different the game is if you go with Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle for your first pet. The infamous Pokémon bootlegs will also be making an appearance. All the money will be going to Free the Children, so it's for a great cause.Our heartfelt holiday donations: Let us show you them.
Lego Game Boy Transformer uses blocks for more than Tetris
So what's cooler for '80s geeks than a Lego set, a Game Boy or a Transformers robot? Why, a Lego Game Boy Transformer, of course. At least, that's the idea behind the latest pièce de résistance from building-block lover Julius von Brunk, who not only got the touch but also got the power to create his very own Game Boy-inspired Lego Transformer. The "Domaster" -- no relation to the exercise machine for perky thighs -- borrows heavily from fan favorite Soundwave and even features a Tetris cartridge that transforms into a little birdie that looks like Laserbeak. Two fake AA batteries double as blaster cannons so folks can mutter "pew-pew" at pictures of Michael Bay and Shia LaBeouf. Yes, it isn't as big as China's Optimus Prime and it can't play Super Nintendo games like this Game Boy costume. On the plus side, at least this thing won't ruin your precious childhood memories.
KDJ-One: the Game Boy of music making is real(ly coming, in a bit) (video)
Cyberstep sent our hearts aflutter-ish at last year's NAMM with its prototype KDJ-One, a Game Boy with gigantism that held a portable digital audio workstation inside. Now, twelve months later, the company's pulled the dust sheets from a version that's ready for prime-time. Inside its roomy bowels you'll find a 1.0GHz Intel Atom processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB SSD and a 5-inch WVGA (800 x 400) touchscreen that'll let you control that piano-roll score editor. There's also 15 chunky rubber LED-lit keys, a Jog dial, D-Pad and a rumble pack so you really know when you've got a poppin' choon going. You'll be able to pre-order the vanilla kit for $800, but for $830 you'll also find WiFi baked inside, in either Game Boy White or Black'n'Red -- but be warned, orders are said to be fulfilled within six months. After the break we've got some new footage of the unit being put through its paces, which at no point shows it being used to play Super Mario Bros, shame.
