Fun & Games

The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for bikes, rockets, R/C vehicles, toys and other diversions.

PSP Devkit for GTA homebrew released

PSP Devkit for GTA homebrew released

JigsawFanjita writes “Following on from Tetris for GTA, I’ve put together a small package of source and useful tools for developing homebrew to run with the GTA loader. This package will allow you to replace tetris.bin with your own binary, and makes it easy to deal with some of the issues in the GTA environment. I’m hoping that developers (especially v2.6 owners) will use this package to develop simple homebrew to keep v2.6 users entertained while they wait for their firmware to be fully exploited.” Link.

Only A Game: Online Worlds and the Virtual Journalist Who Knew Too Much…

Only A Game: Online Worlds and the Virtual Journalist Who Knew Too Much…

GameWow, what a week for new books, here’s another I’m looking forward to (also from the folks who publish MAKE) Only a Game takes readers on a fascinating exploration of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) based on the experience of gamers and authors Mark Wallace and Peter Ludlow. When Ludlow’s online persona — an investigative journalist named Urizenus Sklar — began reporting in his virtual newspaper on underage cyber-prostitutes, real-life crimes, strong-arm tactics and scams that had become rife in the popular MMOG “The Sims Online”, the game’s creators (Electronic Arts and Maxis Software) found an excuse to ban Ludlow from the game.” Link.

Transmissions from Imaginary Places…

TransFrom the same peeps that publish MAKE. I’m really looking forward to this book – “What does it mean to grow up with videogames? Even though videogames and computer games play a large role in the daily lives of millions of people, little has been written about the impact this activity has had in shaping the lives of those who play them. In Transmissions from Imaginary Places, 20 people close to the gaming world offer entertaining and thought-provoking essays and anecdotes on games and gamers, and how this often-obsessive activity has changed the world.” [via] Link.

Lawrence Lessig in the virtual world…

Lawrence Lessig in the virtual world…

Lessig-ThumbMAKE will be covering this in-world and helping with some video streaming. You can also watch one of Lessig’s presentations now on MAKE land“New World Notes and Philip Linden welcome renowned Stanford Law Professor, Internet age legal theorist and IP rights expert Lawrence Lessig to Second Life. Interviewed by Philip Linden, Professor Lessig will be here in-world to speak about his latest book, Free Culture, while also seeking feedback from Residents for an upcoming revision of his classic book Code, which includes a section on virtual worlds…” Link.

Nextbrick – LEGO blog…

Nextbrick – LEGO blog…

Suller PanzerJoel writes in with an awesome new LEGO blog…“Nextbrick, a just-started blog about construction toys with a heavy emphasis on Lego. There are just a handful of posts up at the moment, but enough that you should be able to get an idea of what we’re aiming for–short, fun blips from the world of Lego, two or three times a day.” Link. Also, if you have LEGO projects you want to post about, check out our forums – if there’s is enough interest we’ll provide a section for LEGO.

HOW TO – Add 20GB of external storage to the PSP

Psp2-1-2-1-1-1-1Steve writes “While I love my Playstation Portable as a both a game machine and portable media device, one of the biggest limiations is the fact you’re limited to the storage on the memory stick. Even with a 1GB stick, after you drop on a movie or two, you’re really limited in what you can store on it compared to an iPod.” This how-to shows how to use custom firmware on the WL-HDD 802.11g drive enclosure to add a built in webserver. By using RSS feeds, you can stream content directly from the drive to the PSP. Link.

HOW TO – Apply textures on individual object surfaces in virtual worlds…

HOW TO – Apply textures on individual object surfaces in virtual worlds…

SlhowtoThis is a pretty fun “first:” here’s a how-to on Instructables on applying multiple textures to a single object in the virtual world of Second Life. The process is very simple and can greatly enhance the appearance of objects you build. There are lots of how-tos and in-world help for building things, but I think Instructables works for both atom- and electron-based Makers particularly well. Link.