My idea for a final project is to build an arcade style joystick controller. Hopefully all of you have had the chance to play games on a full arcade housing. Honestly the best part about an arcade game is the control surface. Ever seen a little kid just go up to a machine and hit the buttons with out putting money in and having fun? Ever seen someone smash the button and hit the joystick after loosing a game? It’s fun in itself to just use a joystick but it also inspires emotion!
I’ve already looked into the mechanism of the buttons and joysticks. It’s a wonder these things could take such a beating and keep going for years without breaking. Depending on the team that I’m working with I can go with either look as part of a Luxury vehicle or LED Bonanza. The joysticks can come in either 4 or 8 way the feel, accuracy and tension on these can vary depending on the spring, shaft and quality of parts. I think the main challenge here is to design some thing as ergonomic as possible. So the orientation of the buttons is crucial to a comfortable resting place for the hand. As far as the number of buttons I say the more the merrier but too many can have a negative impact when it comes to gaming. My idea is similar to the one below:
Obviously this is a control surface developed for playing games but it can be used to control anything else because in the end its a control surface and you can tell it to control anything you want. Maybe you want to control a synthesizer or you can control the LED along with the synthesizer. You could add an RF and use it as a remote controller for your robot or camera. I’m looking forward to working with a team that has motivated ideas to bring to the table and having fun making a fun project.
