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Via Wired.

Perhaps the biggest sign of an all-geek family: we had GH4, aka Guitar Hero World Tour, pre-ordered; and it was the GeekMom who was the impetus behind it.  Indeed, it was she who went down to GameStop at 9am this morning to pick up our set, and bless her heart for reminding me to take some un-boxing pictures to share with the GeekDad community.

This is our first all-band game in the house.  We started out with Guitar Hero on the PS2 (all Wil Wheaton’s fault), and have stayed true to the series, eschewing Rock Band, even when we had fun playing it at some friends’ house.  And especially when we heard the newest interation of the GH franchise would be full-band, we held out.

It was worth the wait.  The set is really, really nice - incredibly good build quality.  I think it’s safe to say that they’ve learned a lot from the previous iterations of the GH and RB franchises, and put together a durable set of instruments.  The new guitar feels so solid, and looks smokin’!  We’ve only played a few quick songs so far, so we haven’t had a chance to try out the new touch-pad buttons on the top of the neck, but they look cool.

The drums feel great.  The pads are a nice solid rubber that dampens the clicking, but gives a good feedback.  The bass pedal will still creep a little, but you get used to it.  And I love the little flip-ups to hold the sticks.

The mic has a good weight, too, but isn’t wireless.  It plugs into the Wii’s USB port (with ample cord), though, and I was suprised to learn that you can use any USB mic.  I wonder if using my Samson C01U condenser mic would improve my scores?

We’re just getting started, so no full-fledged review today, other than to say we had a great time with our first four songs: Band on the Run, The Joker, The One I love, and Up Around the Bend.  Check out the rest of the pictures in the extended post below.

Also note - if you pick up the full kit at GameStop, they’ll include a code that’ll let you unlock all the 84 songs immediately (for the lazy amongst us who just want to play the music, rather than working to win the game).  And GameStop is running a contest to with the chance to be a playable character in a future edition of Guitar Hero.  You can check it out here.

Dude!:

Via: Wired.

Last week Nintendo announced a new iteration of their highly successful DS handheld and, while many mainstream outlets had a field day, the response from the gaming community – and, for that matter, the Japanese stock market – was a resounding “huh?!”

With the impending release of this system upgrade being something of an open secret, it wasn’t so much the device itself that seemed to cause the head-scratching as it was the odd specifics of its new features and the strange direction in which Nintendo elected to present it.

This newly christened DSi is an obvious member of the DS family, with its stylus and minimalist clamshell design, but Nintendo would seemingly like us to believe that it is a wholly different animal.

Even amid insistence that the system has a place alongside the DS Lite on American retail shelves, at least for the foreseeable future, I’ll wager that many, like me, can’t help but wonder if this device will prove to be the new face of mobile gaming. And, if so, wouldn’t it be prudent to get onboard early?

Well, I guess that depends on how these new features stack up. Let’s take a look, shall we?

• How about the camera? The most highly touted modification to the DSi is the inclusion of two – count ‘em: two – digital cameras. In addition to the one visible on the exterior of the unit, the DSi also boasts a second camera on the inside of the system continually pointed at the player. Sadly, these cameras weigh in at a scant .3 megapixels, and pictures are saved at a mere 640×480 resolution. So, while it might be fun to warp and scrawl atop your pics via the touch screen, it’s doubtful whether the image quality of your DSi photographs will be superior to those taken with the camera already integrated into your current cell phone. [EDIT: While several sources have reported that the DSi cameras were both 0.3 megapixels and others said 3 megapixels, Electronista has cleared up the confusion: the interior camera is a 0.3 megapixel VGA camera, while the external camera is a 3 megapixel.]

• What about the bigger screens? Of more interest to gamers is the increased screen size of the DSi. Its 3.25 inch diagonal screen width stands out as a noticeable increase from the 3 inches of its predecessor. However, despite this enhanced physical real estate, the screens are virtually indistinguishable from a technical standpoint, as the DSi still boasts twin TFT LCDs of identical resolution to those of the DS Lite. You can, however, expect these bigger screens to burn through your valuable battery charge at an increased rate.

• What about backwards compatibility? While the screens are larger -– requiring an increase in system length and width –- the DSi is slightly thinner than the DS Lite. It is of note that this slim-down comes at a cost: in this case the removal of that old standby the GBA cartridge slot. (Yes, this means add-ons like that the knuckle busting fret board attachment for the recent DS Guitar Hero title will be incompatible.) Instead the DSi features an SD card slot in addition to the standard DS game cartridge slot.

• Will it play MP3s? One purpose of the addition of this SD slot is that the DSi will also act as a music device. Notice that I said music device and not MP3 player. Rather than MP3 playback, the handheld will instead support AAC files. While the AAC file type is often described as having superior sound quality to the ubiquitous MP3, it certainly lacks its familiarity. And while the addition of functionality like speed and pitch control for songs sounds interesting, it’s also doubtful that the machine will be replacing your iPod when it comes to music playback.

• So what can I download? The system also features on-board flash memory for use in storing titles procured from the newly revealed DSi Shop. This little brother of the current Wii Shop channel will likely have both the strengths (the potential for lots of interesting new titles as well as for a backlog of games from earlier systems) and the weaknesses (slow rollout and a lack of sufficient demos) of its older sibling. So, while you’ll be able to play these new offerings as well as your current collection of DS titles on your DSi, all DS/DS Lite owners will really be missing out on is the downloadable love.

All things considered, the DSi seems to be a mixed bag. It certainly adds some functionality, but much of it appears mediocre at best. Picture and music support seem incidental as opposed to integral, and info concerning features like superior sound quality and the promised integrated web browser seem scarce. (And, as anyone who’s used the app can corroborate, saying that the browser will be superior to the original DS Browser cart is dubious praise.)

From Nintendo’s insistence that the system will be the company’s “third platform” –- a role previously filled by the recently abandoned GBA -– to statements like those of NOA’s Cammie Dunaway to our own Game Life blog in which she announced that the DSi would continue in the tradition of Nintendo’s handhelds by not being region locked … maybe … even the Big N seems a little unsure why we should be excited about the product. And yet, for some reason, I am.

In recent years Nintendo has taken to revamping systems with features that should arguably have been integrated from the get-go, and summarily wowing us with their newest flavor of shiny plastic. And, at least with regard to their handheld lineup, the trick has been working. There are gamers out there chomping at the bit to hand the company money for devices that, in one form or another, they already own. I know this to be true because I am such a gamer.

I was an early adopter of both the original DS and the DS Lite, not to mention its forerunner the Gameboy Advance. Hell, I even imported a GBA SP just to get it a few months before the North American release. To my mind, I do this not because I’m a totally rabid Nintendo fanboy (although that’s an accusation I’ve faced in the past) but merely because I’m an avid gamer-on-the-go with a unique love for Nintendo’s robust portables. Even when they’re slightly less robust than I’d like.

So now, after this lengthy diatribe about how the DSi may well not be worth the $180+ they’ll be asking for it on American shores, I will admit to you that I’ll probably buy one anyway.

As a fan of Nintendo, a handheld gamer, and a gadget guy, I simply can’t resist the allure of new plastic.

Dude!:

Using the InputShield to make an Open Source Game boy

Ok, so ever since middle school I’ve wanted to make one of these… but I only now have enough know-how and support to make it, … an Open Source game boy Actually, it’s a little smaller than a game boy, but it’s 1000% cooler (in my opinion) because it uses an Arduino as the “core”, and a few modules and shields that already exist.

Here are a couple other pictures of the GamePack (it’s like the GadgetPack, except in the free spot, I put the InputShield)… makes me wish I had a “hand model” like in Zoolander - ha:

Then I took a photo a little further back, and it had the cheapo home depot construction light that my friend uses to light up stuff (with a fluorescent bulb) in the picture, and it kind of looked like an alien was looking down at it, so I kept it:

I took this video as soon as I had everything up and running, and it’s running the source code that’s pasted at the bottom of the post…

Here’s another video of pretty much the same thing…

I don’t know if I really like the lighting in the videos, but I’m not a professional video taker, so I’ll have to read up some books at Barnes and Noble around the corner and try to figure it out. I’m still using the same Aiptek mini HD recorder, and not some fancy equipment.

Anyway, here’s the source code that runs on the Arduino:

#include

#define RXPIN 3
#define TXPIN 2

AFSoftSerial mySerial = AFSoftSerial(RXPIN, TXPIN);

unsigned char x=0;

void setup()
{
mySerial.begin(9600);

/* Sync up by waiting for character */
while(mySerial.read() != ‘U’);
}
void loop()
{
/* The first analog pin sent */
x=0;

/* send 6 Analog Pin values */
while (x <>
{
serial_sendAnalog(x);
x++;
}

delay(10);

x=0;
while(x<>
{
serial_sendDigital(x);
x++;
}

delay(100);

}

void serial_sendDigital(unsigned char digitalPin)
{

if ( (digitalPin <> 13) )
return;

mySerial.print((unsigned char)digitalRead(digitalPin));
delay(2);

}
void serial_sendAnalog(unsigned char analogPin)
{
unsigned char lowByte, highByte;
unsigned int val;

/* Pin number range check */
if (analogPin > 6)
return;

/* Get the value */
val = analogRead(analogPin);

/* Separate the value into 2 bytes */
lowByte = (unsigned char)val;
highByte = (unsigned char)(val >> 8);

/* Send the high byte */
mySerial.print(highByte);

/* Write delay */
delay(1);

/* Send the low byte */
mySerial.print(lowByte);

/* Write delay */
delay(1);
}

And here’s the source code that goes on the TouchShield:

COLOR green = { 0, 255, 0 };
COLOR blue = {0,0,255};
COLOR yellow = {255,255,0};
COLOR black = {0,0,0};
COLOR white = {255,255,255};
COLOR grey = {0×77,0×77,0×77};
COLOR red = {255,0,0};

POINT my_point;

unsigned int analogValues[6];
unsigned char digitalValues[10];

LCD_RECT digitalRect = { 118, 15, 127, 115 };
LCD_RECT analogRect = {0, 60, 32, 121 };

unsigned char x;

void setup()
{

Serial.begin(9600);
delay(3000);

/* The sync character */
Serial.print(’U');
}

unsigned int oldx, oldy, newx, newy;
int erasemode = 2;
int pencolor = 1;
void loop()
{
//digitalValues[0] - digital pin 4, button A MODEA
//digitalValues[1] - digital pin 5, button B MODEA
//digitalValues[4] - digital pin 8, button A MODEB
//digitalValues[5] - digital pin 9, button B MODEB
//analogValues[5] - joystick y, MODEA
//analogValues[4] - joystick x, MODEA
//analogValues[3] - joystick y, MODEB
//analogValues[2] - joystick x, MODEB

//Read analog values

analogValues[0] = (Serial.read() <

<>
analogValues[1] = (Serial.read() <

<>
analogValues[2] = (Serial.read() <

<>
analogValues[3] = (Serial.read() <

<>
analogValues[4] = (Serial.read() <

<>
analogValues[5] = (Serial.read() <

<>

//Read digital values:

//Read digital values
digitalValues[0] = Serial.read();
digitalValues[1] = Serial.read();
digitalValues[2] = Serial.read();
digitalValues[3] = Serial.read();
digitalValues[4] = Serial.read();
digitalValues[5] = Serial.read();
digitalValues[6] = Serial.read();
digitalValues[7] = Serial.read();
digitalValues[8] = Serial.read();
digitalValues[9] = Serial.read();

if (touch_get_cursor(&my_point)) {
lcd_clearScreen( black);
}

newx=3+(1023-analogValues[5])*.12;
newy=3+(1023-analogValues[4])*.12;

if (erasemode && ((oldx != newx) (oldy != newy))) {
lcd_circle(oldx,oldy,5, black, black);
}
if (pencolor == 1) {
lcd_circle(newx,newy,5, blue, blue);
} else if (pencolor == 2) {
lcd_circle(newx,newy,5, green, green);
} else if (pencolor == 3) {
lcd_circle(newx,newy,5, red, red);
} else {
lcd_circle(newx,newy,5, white, white);
}

if (!digitalValues[0]) {
erasemode = !erasemode;
}

if (!digitalValues[1]) {
pencolor++;
if (pencolor == 5) {
pencolor = 1;
}
}

oldx=newx;
oldy=newy;
}

Dude!: