Hasta La Gadget!

If you’ve been following Technabob for a while, you know we have mad love for the console modding and hackery of Benjamin Heckendorn (aka “Ben Heck”). So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down and ask Ben some burning questions about modding, custom builds, classic gaming, and pinball.

TB: How long have you been doing custom builds and mods? What was your very first casemod or custom build?

Ben: It was the year 2000, and back then I was a graphic artist, and I just wanted a new project to work on for a hobby. I thought about my old Atari games when I was a kid… so I dug up an old Atari 2600… and thought I could make it portable. I made a GeoCities site about my project, and all of a sudden all of this interest came pouring in. I just couldn’t believe people cared so much about those old systems…That’s where it all started.

A sampling of Ben Heck’s portable Atari 2600 builds

TB: I know you’ve build countless custom systems over the years. Is there any particular system that stands out as your personal favorite? Why?

Ben: Probably it’s the Atari 800 laptop that I built. The reason that was special for me was that was the computer I had as a kid… I also made a Commodore 64 along the same lines… It’s just kind of great to bring back the memories, and build something cool that also looks like something that would have come from that era.

Ben Heck’s Atari 800 portable

TB: What was the most difficult mod you’ve done? Why?

Ben: The first Xbox 360 laptop that I built. I didn’t really know what I was doing, and I tried a lot of dumb things like water-cooling… That I’ll never try again… That one really kicked my butt, but it got me a new legion of fans, so it was worth it in the end.

TB: On a related note, which system was the most difficult to get inside of without damaging it?

Ben: The Xbox 360 is the most difficult to take apart… All of the PlayStation 3 versions, the Wii and the Wii U are actually quite straightforward to take apart compared to the Xbox (360). The Xbox (360) is like this snap-together ball of frustration. Once you get inside, it’s very standard and computer-like, but its outside is like a hard nougat shell.

Ben with his Atari 2600 style Xbox 360 laptop

TB: What was the biggest surprise or strangest thing you found when you cracked open a system?

Ben: One of the coolest things… the PlayStation 3 – the second model and the third model – both of them have this sort of wind tunnel cooling system that goes over the CPU and the power supply. That looks like a sort of modern car engine. They even have a label on it that says “Sony Computer Entertainment” on it, like they expect you to see it, maybe.

As far as strangest… it’s always humorous when you find hot glue or masking tape inside of something. It makes you feel not so bad about making your own kludgy fixes.

TB: Do you have a favorite gaming system?

Ben: Of all time… the Nintendo 8-bit was a classic system. I still have one on the TV in my living room. Current gen… I (used to) spend alot of time on my Xbox 360, but nowadays since consoles are ancient, I play on PC.

TB: What’s the craziest modding request you’ve ever received? Did you end up building it?

Ben: An editor from Joystiq wanted an Xbox 360 controller built into his rowing exercise machine handlebar, so he could play UNO while exercising. I actually built that… I welcome crazy requests, because those are really the ones that are interesting to me – and other people too.

TB: I understand that you’ve built a number of gaming and input devices for individuals with disabilities. Can you elaborate on your efforts in this area?

Ben: I build those controllers every so often. The last one I did – Crystal Dynamics contacted me – they had a big Tomb Raider fan who had trouble reaching the shoulder buttons on the top of the controller… People take for granted having two hands to hold a controller, but a lot of people can’t bring their hands together, they can’t move their hands around the sides of the controller, they can only hit the surface buttons, etcetera. So what we did for her, (was a) custom controller where the right bumper, left bumper and two analog triggers were on the face of the controller, where your palms usually go.

Xbox 360 controller mod that created for a 13-year-old with Pompe disease

TB: I know you also love pinball, and have built your own machines. Can you elaborate?

Ben: Right now it’s a very expensive hobby – and even more difficult than expensive. A friend of mine started a new pinball company. He’s making his own games, but I told him about this Ghost Squad game I’m working on that’s pretty far along and asked him if maybe he could build mine too. That way people could play the game that I built, instead of me just building one game. Like a lot of the stuff that I’ve done, it’s a hobby or an experiment that I am trying to turn into a job… or a way to make money.

Ben’s awesomely offbeat Bill Paxton pinball machine

TB: What’s your favorite pinball machine of all time? 

Ben: I really like Attack from Mars – I can’t really justify the cost of one these days. That game is getting stupidly expensive. All of the games I’d really like to get are are getting way expensive, like Tales of the Arabian Nights, Medieval Madness or Monster Bash.

TB: Are you doing custom commissions these days? If so, how can readers get in contact if they want a custom build?

Ben: Yes, I’m always doing custom commission work. I have a website, benheck.com, and there are pages re: custom work with an idea of custom prices and what-not. Just don’t ask for Nintendo 64 portables.

Ben Heck will be showing off his Ghost Squad pinball machine at this weekend’s Midwest Gaming Classic in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and also just wrapped up his Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U Ultimate Combo System over on The Ben Heck Show on Element 14. For those of you interested in custom mods, you can check out Ben’s available services, and approximate build and design rates over on his website.

This week we had the opportunity to have a chat with Sony Pictures Imageworks on how they brought the next generation of L Frank Baum’s “Oz” universe to life in the prequel: Oz the Great and Powerful! Our chat began with Sony Pictures Imageworks’ Senior Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Stokdyk, who let us know first and foremost his role with the film. We then quickly launched in on how the movie creates not just a re-entry into this magical environment for fans of the classic “Wizard of Oz” picture, but also – and especially – lovers of the original book series from whens the whole universe is born.

Stokdyk’s role in the creation of this movie began 2.5 years ago, working directly with the director of the film, Sam Raimi. With Raimi, Stokdyk broke down each element in the storyline piece by piece, speaking about how they’d go about creating each visual effect that would need to exist. After knocking out the script for a period, Mr. Stokdyk headed to Detroit for 7 months of filming the movie on soundstage, working after this for over a year in post-production.

As Visual Effects Supervisor, Stokdyk worked with the fabulous Sony Pictures Imageworks, a group we’ve had some rather fruitful conversations with in the past, to be sure! For those of you who have that tingling feeling you’ve heard Stokdyk’s name before, you’ll be glad to know you’re right: he’s previously worked with Sam Raimi on each of the Spider-Man movies (1, 2, and 3) as Visual Effects Supervisor as he does on the one we’re discussing today and has worked in different effects roles on such classic films as Titanic, Contact, and The Fifth Element.

According to Stokdyk, in both Oz the Great and Powerful and in the film industry in general, the way an effects-inclusive movie can distinguish itself is simple (so to speak). As Stokdyk says, “In Visual Effects nowadays, there’s basically effects work, there’s character work, there’s environmental work – and what distinguishes one show from another nowadays is it’s own unique combination of how those pieces work together and how they’re Art Directed together.”

Seems simple enough to say, right? Stokdyk continued, “[This film] has a nice blend of character animation that’s stunt and action oriented – and performance based – interacting with the real actors. We’ve also got really fantastical environmental extensions of sets. They bring into this fantastical world of Oz what we’ve shot on set.”

You’ll be seeing your fair share of fantastic effects-dependent shots and characters throughout this film which – if you did not know – is out in theaters now! Featured computer-generated characters you’ll be seeing throughout the film include:

The China Girl – this little lady is a porcelain doll that our hero Oz finds after her town is destroyed in the film. She’s voiced by Joey King and trots along with fully realistic features from top to bottom.

Finley the Flying Monkey – a cute little beast voiced by none other than your best buddy Zach Braff. This lovely beast also accompanies Oz throughout the movie and has one whole heck of a lot of fur that needed digital brushing – not to mention the rest of his fully-animated monkey body.

“The most technically challenging production Imageworks’ has completed to date.”

Both Braff and King took part in filming their parts as the monkey and he doll throughout principal photography, allowing the rest of the actors to act and respond in a much more organic way than traditional CG replacements would have allowed. Once filming was complete though, it was all up to the effects teams to bust forth with what Sony Pictures Imageworks describes as “the most technically challenging production Imageworks’ has completed to date.”

The group notes that they completed over 1,100 shots that appear in the final product, these including every single one of the GC environments and character shots. You’ll see digital doubles of each of the main characters: Oz, Glinda, Theodora, Evanora, and Knuck. You’ll see “thousands of flying baboons including three unique hero baboons.” You’ll see massive amounts of CG creatures including “attacking snapdragons, horses, various insects, butterflies, birds, flying fish, wooden horses, lion, squirrel, and river fairies”. You’ll see giant digital crowds of characters across the countryside and inside the city.

Some of the most awesome bits and pieces you should look out for while you’re experiencing this magical mix of fanaticism are:

• Glinda’s Magic Bubbles
• A shimmering wall around Glinda’s countryside and village
• Theodora’s Fire Tornado
• The Oz hologram
• Water effects galore
• Massive poppy fields
• China Town
• Emerald City – including “the main gates, boulevard, central square, back gate, back
alley, bell tower, palace, dais, vaulted corridor, Throne Room, Room of
Resplendence, balcony and bridge digital sets and huge aerials of the city”
• Fog!

And for those of you that are worried that this is another one of those films that destroys the experience of moviegoing with a heavy overdose of effects-driven shots, don’t fret! According to Stokdyk, they were certainly conscious of how easy it could have been to OD.

Stokdyk: You have a certain number of shots in any movie that are all computer generated, right? You just can’t shoot them, or there’s a prop that’s too expensive to shoot, or you shoot them in post after you’ve shot them in principal photography. We certainly had a decent chunk of those kind of shots, but after you’ve gone all CG, and done everything in the world CG, where’s the boundary? Where’s the next frontier after that?”

As Stokdyk tells us, so too must it be true! Expect the most awesome combination of art direction, live action, and CG you’ve ever seen on a film of this kind – start to finish!

Oz the Great and Powerful spells magic: our Sony Pictures Imageworks interview is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Cartoonist Paul Pope of Batman: Year 100 fame swung by Expand’s backstage to explore sci-fi and the state of comics. Interviewed by our own Brian Heater and Jeff Newelt (who gave us a hand on Expand’s social media), the interview covers comics as a paper medium versus webcomics, making science fiction reality, how sci-fi has inspired actual gadgets and more. Hit the jump to catch the full video interview.

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Now that our Insert Coin: New Challengers contestants had duked it out and the judges have made their decision, we have a winner: Ziphius. Not only did the bot win $20,000 thanks to deliberation by our judges, but it came home with our $5,000 reader’s choice prize too. Victorious and $25,000 richer, the brains behind the aquatic drone joined us backstage to chat about their project. For the full interview, check out our video after the break.

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Filed under: Robots

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If you’ve laid hands (or just eyes) on Razer’s Blade, Edge, Switchblade or Hydra, then you’re familiar with John Wilson’s work. As VP of the firm’s Systems Product Group, Wilson has headed up the design of a bevy of gaming products. He talked shop on stage here at Expand, and then spoke with us backstage about Rahul Sood’s new role as an advisor at the firm, why Razer decided to whip up a tablet instead of a console and just how hard it was cramming a discrete GPU into a slate. Venture past the jump for the video interview.

Follow all of Engadget’s Expand coverage live from San Francisco right here!

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

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