Gamertell

Make magazine makes me want to make more stuff. The most recent issue of this DIY mag has three juicy game goodies in its pulp-based publication: The Multari handheld Atari 2600, Pixelmusic 3000 video generator a la the Atari 2600 and four WiiMote hacks for making audio tracks (and involves Macs).

The Multari (Make, issue 14, p 12) is a handheld version of the Atari 2600 built by teenager Marshall H (pictured above). The case is vacuum-formed styrene plastic and houses a 5 in. LCD screen as well as plenty of buttons (even a control pad). The good part - or bummer for some - is that it has 32 built-in ROMs and doesn’t use carts. The article isn’t as in-depth DIY-y as the others, but might at least provide some inspiration for your next project.

The Pixelmusic 3000 (Make, issue 14, pp 114-123) is a “music visualizer” created by Tarikh Korula that shows Atari 2600esque images generated by any plugable music source. The great thing about the article is that it shows you step-by-step how to build your own, from soldering several wires and a few chips on a breadboard, building a groovy 1970s box (complete with faux wood panels) and installing some free software (Propeller Tool IDE from Parallax and pixelmusic.spin) The author calls it a weekend projects, so go to it. Beep boop, oh yeahz!

While those both rule, the coup de gras is the article by multimedia artist Bill Byrne titled “Wii Will Rock You” (Make, issue 14, pp 145-148). Despite the overused headline, the article offers four music control setups that use the WiiMote (no consoles required) and downloadable Mac software to generate some funky tuneage of your own. The first, Loop Machine, uses the WiiMote and $20 Mac software to warp sounds on three channels.

The second, the Wiintrument and can be used as a “stand-alone instrument.” In requires Wiintrument software and Garageband ($79 from Apple). It can also be used with the Nunchuck attachment and work in cooperation as drum sticks. Ni-i-i-i-ce.

The third is OSCulator which, according to the author, “is the ultimate tweakable gateway between your WiiMote and MIDI-controlled audio.” Buttons can be assigned to ON/Off note states and motions to pitches or other effects.

The fourth, using the WiiMote and Nunchuk as Outboard MIDI Hardware, is a bit more complicated and also incorporates a GameBoy Color, a blank cart and a linnk cable. When you are done flashing the cart, building a circuit and installing Pushpin (free software). The author even uses the WiiMote with a Speak & Spell.

I bet there’s even a way to connect the Pixelmusic and one of the WiiMote hacks for a live music//video show.

Read [Retroactive.be] Site [Make Magazine]

(Images lovingly borrowed from Make.)