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Left 4 Dead PC Wiimote hack for the gamer who has it all, hates zombies
Sometimes inspiration hits when you're shooting zombies -- and often times, that inspiration is in the form of new, better ways to shoot zombies. Since this sort of thing (shooting zombies) is one of our passions here, we were pretty psyched when we ran across this video. Summoning all of his worldly resources -- including GlovePIE, PPJoy, and about a gazillion lines of code -- this guy is able to rock Left 4 Dead PC in split-screen mode with two Wiimotes. He's even added shake controls for reloading and spinning 180 degrees. The only catch? As it stands, the only way to power the sensor bar is by turning on the Wii -- a condition that should be remedied shortly. Hit the read link for instructions and code, and be sure to check out the video after the break. [Via Nowhere Else]
Revolutionary: Pure Excitement
In the summer of 2006, inside the Los Angeles Convention Center, there was a historically long line to get into the Nintendo's E3 booth and lay eyes and hands on the yet-unreleased Wii and its wares. After finally getting into the booth, attendees were faced with the choice of which long line they'd want to wait in next to play a game. When I got inside the booth and surveyed the selection, my first pick was Excite Truck. Once I'd finally gotten my hands on the controller and made a few laps around the track, I knew this would be a day one purchase for me. Even after scoping out the upcoming stuff for Xbox 360 and PS3, I was convinced that Excite Truck embodied the true essence of the "next generation." New gameplay dynamics met vast dynamically changing terrain that stretched beyond what we had grown accustomed to. So when Disney Interactive showed their new ATV racer, Pure, with vertiginous jumps, wild tricks, and expansive vistas, I thought I was looking at the spiritual successor to one of my favorite Wii launch titles, but a Wii version was not in the cards. At least we have a PC version to hack together a GlovePIE script for and give it the Excite Truck treatment.
Use your PSP as a PC joystick
While this may not be quite as extravagant as remote-controlling your Honda without even being in the vehicle, using your PSP as a PC joystick is both useful and overtly geeky in its own right. While the PSP has definitely shown its ability to be more than just a gaming system (and media player, UMD viewer, digital audio player, etc.), David Rudie has devised a method to turn your PSP into a "virtual joystick" for your computer. Working with PPJoy, a program used to create a virtual controller within a Windows environment, he created a program that connects a device via WiFi to a server running on your PC. When you fire up the app on your Sony handheld, the program establishes a network connection with the server using an infrastructure mode, and once an IP address has been obtained and the two machines shake virtual hands, your only taks left is to figure how to make good use of your newly discovered controller. Currently, the mod only works with firmware versions v1.00 and v1.50, but if you're not the downgrader type you can certainly press your luck with newer versions. (OS X drivers are on the the to-do list, but we wouldn't hold our breath.) If hacking your Nintendo controller to work on your PC just didn't provide enough buttons for those elaborate combos, or you just prefer the modern flavor over the retro style, this will give you one more excuse to use the PSP for something other than what it was designed for, which is definitely where it seems to excel.[Via PSP Fanboy]
