Archive for July 2007
In response to some of the concerns about the safety and difficulty of BongoPong, I’ve decided to (re)build the game, with the intention of making it a little more accessible to the masses. The rebuild will eventually include the ability to use the device with PC games instead of the Velleman Pong kit.
The image below shows all of the nesessary components required to build your own BongoPong:
New features of the BongoPong (re)build:
- Added stoppers to the ends of the board, much like the commercial Indo boards, to prevent the player from being thrown off the board.
- Replaced the skateboard deck with a standard piece of flat wood. The slightly parabolic shape of the skateboard deck increases the difficulty 10-fold.
- Wrapped the PVC pipe with foam rubber to simulate the rubber coating on the Indo board roller. The slight rubber cushion should slow the board, provide a smoother ride, and allow for additional control.
- Replaced the “rats nest” of electronic hookup wire with standard 4 strand USB cable for easier storage when not in use.
I’ll be practicing on the board throughout the night, we are currently in the middle of a typhoon with 118MPH winds – so I do not have to work the rest of the week. Videos should soon follow.
Honestly, this is what it’s all about. A new line of Wii accessories has been announced at E3 this year, one of which is a balance board. The commercial Wii accessory obviously uses safer (read: less interesting) pressure switches to register your weight distribution when standing on the mat. For those interested, there is already an article on instructables about how to build your own.
Either way, this feels like a victory for me. BongoPong is really nothing more than a proof of concept, and the real proof of that concept is the Wii Fit balance board.
For those of you who have been anxiously awaiting my release of official build instructions and/or schematics, I decided to whet your apetite with a basic parts list. I had refrained from releasing this information due to the additional cost incurred from buying individual kits.
I also posted instructions on how and where you can get your hands on the source code for those parties interested in updating and extending the code base. Hit the link for details.
Not that anyone actually reads this blog, but just a note to say that imagitronics.org is experiencing technical difficulties at the moment. I have contacted my provider and should be back online shortly.
Thanks
BongoPong is now making its rounds around the internet, and much like TrafficStop was translated to Russian, BongoPong has already been translated into another language as well.
The only downside of the attention is that everyone (even personal friends) seem to think, based on my video, that the game would be too difficult for the common couch-potato. That’s just not the case. You highly underestimate my lack of basic coordination. It’s quite surprising that I can even walk without falling down half the time.
In retrospect, I have some surfer friends in SoCal whom I should have asked to record themselves playing the game before I released it to the public. I’m sure they would be able to really rock out to some BongoPong.
You need more proof that I’m the antithesis of human fitness? I pulled a groin muscle playing BongoPong this weekend. Yeah, weak.
