Alt.GDC: Developing Skylanders’ Innovative “Portal of Power”
Finishing up his GDC coverage, Blake Maloof sits down with some of the developers of the Skylanders’ “Portal of Power,” which started out life with sink and toilet plumbing parts!
Fun & Games
The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for bikes, rockets, R/C vehicles, toys and other diversions.
Lego Mindstorms NXT Beer Machine
NXT1engineer‘s remote controlled Beer Machine twists off bottle caps and trundles the beer into a mini cooling unit, which chills the brewski to -9 degrees C. [via The NXT Step]
People Powered Ferris Wheel
If you’ve ever been to Maker Faire, you’re probably familiar with all the wonderful pedal-powered carnival rides that appear throughout the event. Here’s a video demonstration of a small Ferris wheel powered by just two riders.
Clenching Lego Hand
Check out this cool Lego Terminator hand that Jason Devine and his sons built, complete with strings that curl the fingers. See the Flickr set for more views and a video of the hand in action.
![Alt.GDC: Angry Birds [Cue Echo] … in Space](https://i0.wp.com/makezine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/angryspace.jpg?fit=578%2C356&ssl=1)
Alt.GDC: Angry Birds [Cue Echo] … in Space
“Hey, kids! Wanna learn about gravitational physics?”
“Noooo!”
“Hey, kids! Wanna play Angry Birds?”
“Yeeeeah!!!”
Modding Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots
We wanted to make our own version of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots for the Americans Elect lounge at SXSW, so we decided to replace the heads with a donkey and elephant heads, to represent the two political parties. This also goes with the giant plush donkey and elephant that people may see in action around SXSW, who are with us. Like the two parties, they just can’t get along.
Make: Projects – Guitar Strap Gamepad
If you’re playing Rocksmith (and I think you should be), and you’re playing standing up (ditto), you have probably run into the “where do I put the controller” problem. The gamepad is required to navigate the menu system between songs, and if you play in a standing position you have to keep a stool or a table nearby to keep it within easy reach. This simple mod mounts a spring steel clip to the underside of a standard Xbox 360 controller so you can attach it to your guitar strap. In this position, it is easily accessed with your strumming hand.
