Simon says there's a "whole lotta shakin' going on"
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Breaking apart the industrial floor sander
Slotting the hacked industrial sander into position
Machining the hackerspace logo into the wood
The transparent buttons ready for installation
Wiring up the game circuits before installing the transparent buttons
The custom Arduino board called the Bullduino is supplied to all contestants by Red Bull
The suitably branded machined top
At the heart of the machine is a custom Arduino board supplied by Red Bull called the Bullduino, which is connected to a number of components, including a pair of speakers via a 30W amp and a bell
Securing the components in place to make sure nothing comes loose when the vibrations start
Simon: Violence Edition packed up and ready to shake, rattle and roll
The machined game board and hidden electronics are ready for action
When the player gets beyond the fourth round, a failure is triggered which sets off a 2000-watt industrial floor sander hidden underneath the platform
After inserting a coin into the slot and taking a seat, the game starts like any other, with the player following the patterns suggested by the device
The coin slot that invites passers-by to play Simon: Violence Edition
The qualifying entry from North Street Labs for this year's Red Bull Creation competition is a bone-shaking modern take on the 1980s electronic follow-me game Simon
Close up of the game board
The original game of Simon
Article Summary
Part of the huge appeal of the electronic follow-me game of Simon was its simplicity. Anyone in the family could step up and play without needing advanced scientific know-how or seriously fast hand-to-eye co-ordination skills. It was an entertaining challenge where the punishment for incorrectly following Simon's lead resulted in no more than a disapproving buzzer sound ... until now. A group of hackers has constructed a modern violence edition as a qualifying entry for this year's Red Bull Creation competition that is quite literally a bone shaker.
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