Hasta La Gadget!

Halo 4 just came out, and there’s never any shortage of multiplayer shooters available, but if you’ve already topped the leaderboard, fragged everyone, topped the fragleader or boarded everyone – my expertise regarding the current state of multiplayer combat games is, shall we say, non-existent – why not have a go at this text-based multiplayer shooter?

This text-based multiplayer shooter is called… Text-based Multiplayer Shooter. It plays like the text-based adventure and role-playing games from the 70′s and 80′s. You type ‘go <direction>’ to move – e.g. go south – and then ‘fire’ to take a shot. As you can see I managed to hit a wall. Woohoo! Wall pwned! Here’s a more thorough look at the game courtesy of YouTuber CyBorg Plague (along with an ample does of swearing):

It’s the most frantic way to learn how to touch type. You can play Text-based Multiplayer Shooter for free on Eigen Lenk’s website. Bring your imagination with you.

[via Waxy]

Moritz Simon Geist has an unusual name. He’s also a electronic musician who has been getting bored with the production of electronic music, probably because the technology has reached a stage when you can call up practically any instrument with virtually no effort. So he decided to make a drum machine that plays samples in real-time, using actual drums. And robots.

Geist decided to emulate the legendary Roland TR-808, the drum machine that kickstarted the careers of many artists, despite – or is it because of? – the fact that it doesn’t sound like any real drum kit. The TR-808 uses analog circuits to create its sounds, but Geist’s installation replicates these sounds physically via percussion instruments, hence the name Mechanical Replica-808, or MR-808. The real kicker here is that Geist doesn’t play the instruments himself; he built robots that he triggers with the help of an Arduino microcontroller and Ableton, a music software. Then he housed the robots in an oversized case that resembles the TR-808.

Now that’s a high tech emulation of a low tech gadget. Check out Geist’s blog for more details on his creation.

[via Hack A Day]

Look at this Galaga arcade machine. Wait, that’s no arcade cabinet. That’s a delicious and realistic cake just waiting to enter the bellies of Galaga-loving gaming geeks.

This amazing achievement in arcade mimicry cake was made by Pink Cake Box in Denville, NJ. It has chocolate and vanilla layers with Oreo buttercream in between. This may be a tall tale, but the story goes that it looked so realistic in person that some Bar Mitzvah party attendees actually attempted to play it.

Didn’t they get the hint when the quarters failed to go into the machine? Or when their fingers sank into that sweet fondant icing? I don’t know about you, but I want some Galaga for dessert now.

[via Between the Pages via That’s Nerdalicious]

There are many reasons why people play videogames, but one of the most common motivations is the opportunity to escape from the realities of life and have a grand adventure. Illustrator A.J. Hateley came up with these videogame-themed luggage labels to celebrate our virtual journeys.

The stickers reference locations from some of the most popular videogames, from Pokémon to Fallout: New Vegas. Looking at each of them will surely flood your brain with memories of your digital trips.

That Fallout California sticker is the bomb, but nostalgia dictates that the Midgar one be my favorite. You can order the stickers from Red Bubble for $2.30 (USD) each. Buy 6 stickers and you’ll get a 50% discount.

[via Venus Patrol]

If a vintage video game is rare enough, it can sell for huge money. Back in 2010, a copy of the Atari 2600 game Air Raid sold for $31,600. The reason is because it was the only known copy with a box. Now another copy of Air Raid has shown up with both the box and instruction manual. That makes this the only known complete copy in existence. As of now it is up to nearly $18,000 on an online auction.

This complete copy of Air Raid was discovered by a family in Southern California. Their father was given the game by a sales rep for the company Men-A-Vision while he tended to a game retail space in a local drug store.

After the store closed he was given the video game stock and the Atari display kiosk, where these games have been stored for about thirty years.

They read about the selling price of the first one and of course liked what they heard. I wonder how high it will go before the auction ends on November 4th.

[via Geekosystem]