Game hardware hacks

Yesterday evening I went to an event organised as part of the London Games Festival, called Dorkfest – Console Hacks.

It featured some pretty bonkers homemade games, including a funny Pong controller – made from a modified pair of leather boots and a riding crop – created by the inimitable James Larsson, a regular at London Dorkbot events.

Tim Hunkin, star of the TV show The Secret Life of Machines, also showed videos of the amazing homemade amusement arcade he's built on Southwold Pier in Suffolk. Instead of shoot-em-ups or Dance Dance Revolution, it features a dog walking game (see image above), a machine that simulates a short holiday break and another that sends you on an underwater adventure. You can see more of his incredible arcade inventions here and a short video about the arcade below...

The most conventional presentation was given by Matthew Garrett, who came along to demonstrate the gaming potential of the OLPC, or the $100(-ish) Laptop. Unfortunately Matthew's laptop malfunctioned during his presentation, so we didn't get to see all that much.
Apparently, he's also only developed Connect 4 for the device anyway.

But the games possibilities of the device seem interesting. Since you can automatically interact with users nearby, using the laptop's Mesh Wireless system, it might open up some novel gaming opportunities. Given that the laptop has limited processing and graphics capabilities, perhaps it would be an ideal opportunity to revive some old arcade classics?

Will Knight, online technology editor