Richard – Blog. by Next Thing https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com News & Notes. Process & Projects. No BS. Srsly. Thu, 09 Nov 2017 03:16:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.5 The PocketC.H.I.P. Cyberpunk Adventure Guide https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/the-pocketc-h-i-p-cyberpunk-adventure-guide/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/the-pocketc-h-i-p-cyberpunk-adventure-guide/#comments Thu, 18 May 2017 16:00:04 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=1472

The Year 2017An underground community of Pocketeers are creating their own cyberpunk future, hacking their PocketC.H.I.P.s far beyond a traditional game console. What follows is a guide to join their ranks. Jack in. Hack the Planet. Dream of Electric Sheep.

Change the Game with PocketC.H.I.P. & PICO-8

The PICO-8 fantasy console features hundreds of free community made games so there’s always a new game to play. But playing a PICO-8 game is just the beginning. Get into the code and change the game, or start from scratch and make your own! Here are some of the best PICO-8 resources to get you coding.


Phase into PocketC.H.I.P.

Thomas rocks the PocketC.H.I.P. with a lanyard strap.

Your cyberpunk summer requires appropriate music. Score your adventures with Phase, a synth created for PocketC.H.I.P. by Humbletune. Making use of PocketC.H.I.P.’s touch screen and keyboard, any Pocketeer can make beautiful music in a matter of seconds. Make your own song of the summer, accept no substitutes.


LAN Party Way the Hell Off the Grid

Cyberdemons are no match for Mitch and Crunch.

Host a LAN Party on your PocketC.H.I.P. and get your game on way off the grid. Battle through hell and back with DOOM in co-op mode, frag each other in Quake III Arena, and play countless other multiplayer classics. No additional cost, no router, no ethernet connection, and no internet required (after installation).


A Scanner PocketC.H.I.P.

Ari’s scanograph shows this log is all bark and no bite.

Go beyond traditional photography and embrace the strange with PocketC.H.I.P. scanographs. Armed with a PocketC.H.I.P. and a flatbed scanner, you’ll be creating images to make your smartphone photographer friends jealous. Welcome to the scanner PocketC.H.I.P.; a community project kicked off by Pocketeer panicrun while on a walk in the woods outside Berlin. Be sure to share your scanographs with us via Twitter. We’re @nextthingco!


Venture into the Virtual

PockulusC.H.I.P. – Strap it to your face!

PockulusC.H.I.P. is Virtual Reality. Breakout of this world by 3D printing a custom bezel for your PocketC.H.I.P. and DIY VR: here’s how. Play all your favorite homebrew Virtual Boy games in glorious monochrome three dee!


Block off time for Minecraft

With Minecraft on PocketC.H.I.P., adventure is in the palm of your hands. Strike out on your own or grab a Pocketeer friend and play cooperatively. You can even create new buildings and terrain with the Minecraft Python API!


Hack a Speaker into your PocketC.H.I.P.

Examining PocketC.H.I.P.’s back, you’ll find a super secret hidden prototyping area perfect for adding a speaker. Designed as a simple intro to hardware hacking, it’s perfect for beginners and takes less than 20 minutes. Get your hardware hack on here

For those looking to go further into hardware hacking, check out klundry’s addition of Qi wireless charging and community case mods here and here. The PocketC.H.I.P. case mod forum post is also a fantastic (and in depth) read.


Blast from Systems Past

Colecovision on PocketC.H.I.P. – One of many emulators the Pocketeer community has running.

Nostalgic Pocketeers can adventure into systems past. With Playstation, Gameboy Color, MacOS and ColecoVision, DOSBox, and TI-99 emulators running on PocketC.H.I.P., you can relive (or explore for the first time) the history of computing, gaming, and calculators.


Make the Call from PocketC.H.I.P.

Tony using a PocketC.H.I.P. cell phone that Dave built

Clever Pocketeers Juve021 and Rob Baruch transformed PocketC.H.I.P. into a cell phone with the addition of an Adafruit cellular module. With well-documented tutorials, you too can make calls from PocketC.H.I.P.. Headphones port included; no dongle required!


Find Your Way with the PocketC.H.I.P. Navigator

Turn-by-turn navigation with navit

Never get lost with the PocketC.H.I.P. Navigator mod. By adding a GPS module to PocketC.H.I.P., you have access to your location, points of interest and turn-by-turn directions without relying on your phone. Learn more here


PocketC.H.I.P. Tweets!

The RainbowStream Twitter client running on PocketC.H.I.P.

Keep up with the Twittersphere with the RainbowStream twitter application by @dtvd88 on PocketC.H.I.P.. With complete configurability and custom themes, you can do pretty much anything you would from a traditional twitter client. Set it up and get your tweet on! (Tag us! We’re @nextthingco.)


Arduino in a Flash

With one simple command, you can turn your PocketC.H.I.P. into an Arduino flashing machine! Great for flashing in the field where a laptop would be unwieldy.


Customize Your PocketC.H.I.P. Home Screen(s)

Pocketeer Marshmallow wrote the de-facto software for adding icons to your PocketC.H.I.P. home screen. Widely used by the community, this is a must for new PocketC.H.I.P. owners. Simply follow Marshmallow’s tutorial and add custom icons for any application you install heretofore. Those looking for more PocketC.H.I.P. software mods can check more tutorials here.


PocketC.H.I.P. & A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Start your Star Wars Episode VIII preparations today by watching Episode IV on PocketC.H.I.P. presented in ASCII, it’s a must watch for any fans of everyone’s favorite space opera. Shout out to Pocketeer Meowter_space for the heads up!


Behind the Scenes

We’ve made PocketC.H.I.P open source so you can make it anything you want or learn how products are made. If you’d like to learn more about PocketC.H.I.P.’s development, complete with unprecedented behind the scenes footage, check out the PocketC.H.I.P. Time Machine .


More Fun on the Forum

These tips are only scratching the surface. There is a ton of fun to be had in the PocketC.H.I.P. forum. The Pocketeer community is always working on new projects and tips like case mods and new software features. Heck, BrianTheBuilder made his PocketC.H.I.P. draw with a robot arm!!! 

Send us your PocketC.H.I.P. Projects!

We love seeing what Pocketeers are up to. Whether its a case mod or a game made specifically for PocketC.H.I.P., we want to know! Tweet at us or post on the forum!

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Train your PocketC.H.I.P. to Train your Digimon! https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/train-your-pocketc-h-i-p-to-train-your-digimon/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/train-your-pocketc-h-i-p-to-train-your-digimon/#respond Fri, 31 Mar 2017 19:19:02 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=1465

With some clever hardware hacking and their first python script, NTC forum user directive0 transformed PocketC.H.I.P. into a Virtual Digimon Trainer.

The whole virtual pet phenomenon hit while I was a teenager. Many of my classmates had their Digimon confiscated due to an urgent feeding in the middle of class. Feedings couldn’t be missed. It was always worth the risk. How else were we to ensure our Digital Monsters would be battle ready come recess?

Inspired by a Hackaday article about Sprite_tm’s Infinite Matrix of Tamagotchis, directive0  was determined to automate the Digimon maturation process. Turns out, all that was  needed is a breadboard, a PocketC.H.I.P. and a variable oscillator.

digimon

Busting open the Digimon enclosure reveals a PCB with a handful of test pads designed for testing the unit in the factory. By soldering to these test pads and a bit of wiring to PocketC.H.I.P., directive0 was able to externally control into the Digimon.

digimon-3

To automate training, directive0 learned python to write a Digimon Maturation script. When run, the Digimon is fed, played with, and taken care of automatically. PocketC.H.I.P. effectively became a Digital Digimon Nanny. Not too shabby for your introduction into python.

digimon-2

But directive0 wasn’t just looking to automate the Digimon growth cycle, they wanted to accelerate it. Digimon units use a crystal oscillator as a real time clock. When replaced with a variable oscillator, you can make time fly. With the press of a button, directive0‘s Digimon now grow at ten times the normal rate, hitting a full growth cycle in a day and ready for battle without being a distraction in the classroom (or office).

Dig up your Digimon and give this hack a shot! Join the CHIPster community collaborating with directive0 on the NTC forum.


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Are you working on a project with your C.H.I.P. or PocketC.H.I.P.? We want to see! Share your projects on the forum and make sure to tweet at us!

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A Scanner PocketC.H.I.P. https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/a-scanner-pocketc-h-i-p/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/a-scanner-pocketc-h-i-p/#respond Fri, 24 Mar 2017 18:36:49 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=1451 A PocketC.H.I.P. and a flatbed scanner walk into the woods...

A PocketC.H.I.P. and a flatbed scanner walk into the woods…

Armed with only a PocketC.H.I.P. and a flatbed scanner, panicrun ventured into the woods. The resulting images are a thing to behold.

Scanography is the digital art of using a flatbed scanner to create images. Turns out, PocketC.H.I.P. works with these scanners pretty much out of the box. With this knowledge, panicrun‘s venture into the woods resulted in some ethereal scanographs. 

32648142913_f9f2ba81e4_o 32648141433_e3ac1013a4_o 33421835576_4dfd91f1d4_o

Luckily for us, panicrun posted a great walkthrough. No coding or soldering skills required! Just a few simple commands to set up the scanner and to offload your images.

To explore more PocketC.H.I.P. scanographs, check out on panicrun’s flickr!


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Are you working on an art project with your C.H.I.P. or PocketC.H.I.P.? We want to see! Share your projects on the forum and make sure to tweet at us!

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Antique Second Life: Smart Home Wall Mount Rotary Phones & Bluetooth Toasters! https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/appliance-second-life-smart-home-wall-rotary-phones-bluetooth-toasters/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/appliance-second-life-smart-home-wall-rotary-phones-bluetooth-toasters/#respond Fri, 03 Mar 2017 19:39:56 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=1440 blog-2

Phonos – A Wall Mount Phone retrofitted with a C.H.I.P. to Voice Control your Smart Home.

Hardware hacker jezra has two rad C.H.I.P. projects primed for a weekend build: a Bluetooth toaster and a wall mount rotary phone for smart home voice commands.

Hacking hardware with C.H.I.P. is a favorite Next Thing Co. past time, from C.H.I.P.py Ruxpin to the Alex ‘n Say to pretty much anything PocketC.H.I.P. There was a collective woooweee passing through the NTC office when we came across forum user jezra‘s recent C.H.I.P. projects: a voice control input system housed in a wall mount rotary phone and a Bluetooth speaker disguised as an antique toaster. While they may seem like surprising choices for a hack, we can’t find any fault with his reasoning.

“All devices eventually speak, and they always say the same thing. Sometimes their words are a deafening roar, and sometimes they whisper ever so softly, but their message never changes. Take me apart! Who am I to ignore such a plea? :)” Well said indeed, jezra.

Phonos: The Smart Home Rotary Phone

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Hey! You could put a C.H.I.P. in there!

Rotary phones must speak to hardware hackers in a deafening roar. Like Dial-a-Grue earlier this year, Phonos packs a C.H.I.P. with the Blather voice recognition software into a wall-mount phone. Resurrecting the phone into second life required soldering wires to the cradle set and rewiring the handset with a new speaker and puppy-chewed microphone.

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The entire Phonos process is given a great two-part write up on jezra‘s blog (Part 1Part 2). For those interested in getting meta, hear jezra’s own words on this Hacker Public Radio piece about Phonos recorded on Phonos.


Life Beyond Toast: A Bluetooth Toaster Story

Antique Toaster, complete with mood lighting

Antique Toaster, complete with mood lighting

When an antique toaster came into his life, there was only one course of action: transform it into an audio playing web accessible thing. On his blog, jezra gives an entertaining run-down on the process (complete with code!) to empower the appliance to be a Bluetooth speaker, a web accessible text to speech device and a Muttonchip audio player.

Hey! There's a C.H.I.P. in the Toaster!

Hey! There’s a C.H.I.P. in the Toaster!


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If you have a C.H.I.P. project, we want to see and share it! Snap some pictures, record some video and tweet your projects to @nextthingco, post in the NTC forums, or write them up at Hackster.io!

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PocketC.H.I.P. Secrets Revealed! https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/pocketc-h-i-p-secrets-revealed/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/pocketc-h-i-p-secrets-revealed/#respond Fri, 24 Feb 2017 19:31:40 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=1437

This week, Dave joined PocketC.H.I.P. superfan Bryan Lunduke on The Lunduke Hour podcast to chat about the finer points of everyone’s favorite super handy fun computer.

Learn the NTC mantra, hear the story behind C.H.I.P.’s labeled pin headers and get the scoop on all the design decisions that made PocketC.H.I.P. what it is today; from keyboard construction, to screen selection and software.

For Reference:

Bryan’s PocketC.H.I.P. Review (written on PocketC.H.I.P.?!)

Fairies do not make a great product development metaphor.

Fairies do not make great product development metaphors.


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What is your thing to do with PocketC.H.I.P.? Tweet us at @nextthingco with the hashtag #keyboardbucket!

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Robot Arms, WetterBot and Pocket Operators! https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/robot-arms-wetterbot-and-pocket-operators/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/robot-arms-wetterbot-and-pocket-operators/#respond Fri, 17 Feb 2017 17:00:01 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=1429 Meet WetterBot.

Meet WetterBot.

The C.H.I.P.ster community continues its 2017 hot streak with Jan Van den Brink’s C.H.I.P.-powered Robot Arm, @RobertKatzki’s WetterBot and a PocketC.H.I.P. + Pocket Operator Collaboration by @emdkay. Let’s dig deeper!

WETTERBOT – Your friendly neighborhood weather robot

At Next Thing Co., we LOVE robots. When Wetterbot hit our Twitter account, it was very quickly circulated around the office to much excited giggling. Housing a C.H.I.P. in a rad robot shell complete with blinking eyes,  Robert Katzki created his own weather robot. With the Dark Sky API, Wetterbot fetches the current weather along with the next day’s forecast.

wetterbot-3

The code is available on Github and you can learn more about the project at Robert’s website.


MeArm – Your friendly neighborhood DIY C.H.I.P.-powered Robot Arm

C.H.I.P.-powered Robot Arm!

C.H.I.P.-powered Robot Arm!

When Jan Van den Brink and his son applied their new 3D printer to his son’s graduation project, a C.H.I.P.-powered robot arm was born. Prints from Thingiverse provided a wonderful way to calibrate the printer, while C.H.I.P. proved more than capable of running the servos with a simple python script and a web server for control. With their 3D printer already set up, the total cost of the project was under $20!

Instructions can be found at Hackerster.io, complete with python script. Make your own and tweet us your results!


PocketC.H.I.P. + Pocket Operator!

PocketC.H.I.P. and Pocket Operator play well together!

PocketC.H.I.P. and Pocket Operator play well together!

Even before using them for PocketC.H.I.P. product research, we had Teenage Engineering’s Pocket Operators floating around the office. We never expected they’d play this well together.

By connecting the pocket companions with just a 1/8 cable, @emdkay used SunVox on PocketC.H.I.P. to generate samples on the fly for the Pocket Operator. Twitter was just as excited as we were. We’re definitely going to give this one a shot.

A sampling of the twitter reaction. We agree with the sentiment.

A sampling of the twitter reaction. We agree with the sentiment.


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If you have a C.H.I.P. project, we want to see and share it! Snap some pictures, record some video and tweet your projects to @nextthingco, post in the NTC forums, or write them up at Hackster.io!

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PocketC.H.I.P. Keyboard Mods, Mini Apple II, and Dial-a-Grue! https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/pocketc-h-i-p-keyboard-mods-mini-apple-ii-and-dial-a-grue/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/pocketc-h-i-p-keyboard-mods-mini-apple-ii-and-dial-a-grue/#respond Fri, 10 Feb 2017 17:00:58 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=1408 Very Impressive PocketC.H.I.P. Keyboard Cover by Dichstudios!

Very Impressive PocketC.H.I.P. Keyboard Cover by Dichstudios!

The first C.H.I.P.ster projects of 2017 look great! Dichstudios has created a fantastic new PocketC.H.I.P. keyboard case (we have one on order!). Cupcakus created what may be the smallest Apple IIe ever in existence. Pneumatic is porting Zork, the classic text-based adventure game, to be played with only voice interaction, all encased within an old rotary phone! Let’s get to it!

DIY PocketC.H.I.P. Keyboard Mod!

Jutley was one of the first to get their hands on Dichstudios work.

Jutley was one of the first to get their hands on Dichstudios’ work.

One of our favorite forum posts to keep an eye on is this one about PocketC.H.I.P. custom cases. When Dichstudios released images of his new PocketC.H.I.P. keyboard cover, the forum went crazy.

xTHETRINCHOx was excited for the new keyboard cover.

Needless to say, xTHETRINCHOx was excited for the new keyboard cover.

Dichstudios sells the cover as a DIY kit on his website for $25. Check it out! We can’t wait to get ours!

Ready to order!

Ready to order!


Apple IIe Mini!

Cupakus' Apple IIe Mini. Powered by C.H.I.P. Quarter for scale.

Cupakus’ Apple IIe Mini. Powered by C.H.I.P. Quarter for scale.

We’ve seen our fair share of emulations on C.H.I.P. and PocketC.H.I.P., but Cupcakus when a step further. In addition to emulating the Apple software, he built the hardware around it.

With a series of 3D prints along with a 3″ LCD screen from Adafruit and a 12V drone battery, he created a portable Apple IIe workstation that gets 10-hours of battery life!

UPDATE: Cupcakus released his files on Github!

CONGO BONGO!

CONGO BONGO!


DIAL-A-GRUE

This phone is more than just a phone. It's a voice-driven adventure game powered by C.H.I.P.!

This phone is more than just a phone. It’s a voice-driven adventure game powered by C.H.I.P.!

A huge fan of Zork, the classic text-based adventure game, Mitch Patenaude is porting it’s text interaction to voice interaction using a C.H.I.P., ultimately encasing the project in an old Dutch phone. In honor of the game’s villain, he dubbed the project Dial-a-Grue.

 

Just pick up the phone, listen to the scenario, and speak what you want to do next. It’s a wonderful concept, and one we can’t wait to see progress further. You can learn more at dail-a-grue.com or hit up Pneumatic on the NTC forum!

Pneumatic's C.H.I.P. set-up.

Pneumatic’s C.H.I.P. set-up.


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Have a project you want to show off? Post in the forum or tweet it at us. We want to see how you’re using your C.H.I.P.s!

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All that Good Pre-Order Shipping Info! https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/all-that-good-pre-order-shipping-info/ Thu, 16 Jun 2016 15:59:31 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=660

Pre-orders are shipping soon and we’re just as excited as you (this post assumes that you pre-ordered and are excited).

UPDATED: For more up-to-date shipping information and estimates, please visit the NTC forum.

Pre-order shipments are scheduled to begin on June 25th!  Address confirmation emails will be sent over the next 48 hours. If for some reason you do not receive the email, you can confirm your address at track.getchip.com.

TL;DR

  • Address confirmations are necessary.
  • We’re shipping by order number, in batches over the next month.
  • Orders with PocketC.H.I.P. may be delayed slightly.
  • Shipping takes 2 weeks on average and is trackable.
  • Customers outside of the US may be subject to duties and taxes.

Now for detailed information in larger than fine print…


Address Confirmations Are Necessary

We’re only shipping to confirmed addresses because we want to be sure your pre-order gets to you. It is better to catch an address change before shipping than after. If you haven’t moved, confirmation is a breeze.


Order Number

We will ship to those who confirmed their address according to order number. Those who pre-ordered on Cyber Monday will have their orders shipped first.


Shipping in Batches

With tens of thousands of pre-orders, we’ll be shipping in small, manageable batches. Based on our recent experience fulfilling Kickstarter rewards, it may take up to 4 weeks to fulfill all of the pre-orders placed to date.

While it’s difficult to say exactly when your pre-order will ship, we can narrow it down a bit. The following are estimates based on pre-order date, and assume you confirmed your address. If your pre-order includes a PocketC.H.I.P., your shipment may not make these estimates.

  • NOV 2015 pre-orders are estimated to ship by JUN 30.
  • DEC 2015 – JAN 2016 pre-orders are estimated to ship by JUL 9.
  • FEB 2016 – APR 2016 pre-orders are estimated to ship by JUL 17
  • MAY 2016 pre-orders are estimated to ship by JUL 22.
  • JUN 2016 pre-orders are estimated to ship by JUL 25.

PocketC.H.I.P.s

The response to PocketC.H.I.P. has been nothing short of overwhelming. We’re already moving forward with another manufacturing run but the lead time for PocketC.H.I.P.’s battery grew while purchasing components, resulting in a slight delay in our production schedule.

If your pre-order includes a PocketC.H.I.P., your package may not ship until the last week of July. We recognize this is not ideal and we’ll be as transparent as we can throughout this process.


Shipping

Once your pre-order ships, you’ll be emailed a notification with a tracking number. Shipments come from our warehouse in Hong Kong. On average, Kickstarter backers in the US received their shipment two weeks from their notification.


Duties & Taxes

 

All shipments outside of the United States may be subject to additional duties and taxes. These are based on the value of the items in your pledge. Each country has a different cutoff amount. For more information, check your national government’s customs policies.


Tracking

Over the course of its journey, your shipment may appear “stuck” in one location for several days. It is still in transit, either between scanning points or moving through customs.

Once it arrives in your country, last-mile delivery is handled by your local postal service, which may provide an accurate delivery estimate.


Thanks for your enthusiasm and your patience through the shipping process. Your pre-order will be on its way in no time and it will be worth the wait.

If you have any questions, please check the NTC forums or email ahoyahoy@nextthing.co.

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How I Became a Hacker Using PICO-8 on PocketC.H.I.P. https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/how-my-programming-journey-began-with-free-software-pre-installed-on-a-49-gameboy/ Thu, 02 Jun 2016 18:07:01 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=478 Playing the PICO-8 game Celeste on Mega PocketC.H.I.P.!

Playing the PICO-8 game Celeste on Mega PocketC.H.I.P.!

To be completely honest, I didn’t get PICO-8 the first time I saw it back in October of 2015. At first glance, it was difficult to see why I’d love game developer software.

Now it’s June 2016, PICO-8 ships for free on PocketC.H.I.P. and I can’t stop playing with it.

PICO-8 is a modern interpretation of the 8-bit game consoles of the 1980s. Having grown up with the SNES and the SEGA Genesis, I was game to be thrown back into my childhood. Knowing that PICO-8 provides you all the tools needed to change any aspect of any game is a cool thought, but outside of context, it can be a difficult concept to grasp. Then I became obsessed with Celeste, a 2D jumping, puzzle game, and the gaps began to fill in themselves.


Leveling Up

Celeste is difficult, but in the best way. The puzzles themselves are challenging, as is the execution necessary to complete them. It’s beautifully rendered, the sound effects are fun, and the music is still stuck in my head. It’s the kind of game that you want to be really good at.

PICO-8_5

When I started playing, I was anything but good.  I wasn’t able to make the jump on the first level (yes, the first…) so I opened the editor to explore the creative tools PICO-8 offers. Discovering the map editor, I added a few ‘bridges’ to make level one a bit more beatable. It took about a minute and a half to make the change, load the game with my change and beat the first level.

PICO-8_9

Of course, level two was difficult as well, but the experience of changing the game was a game-changer for me. In addition to playing, my brain was actively looking what I would change next.


Change Everything

PICO-8_5
Celeste looks great as a redhead, but after entering the game editor, I thought “what if she went punky and dyed her hair neon green?”

PICO-8_6

After reloading the game with the hair change, I found that when she jumps, her red ‘roots’ show. If this ‘hair trail’ wasn’t in the sprite editor, how could I change it?


No Cheat Codes, Just Source Code

The answer certainly would lie in the source code. Somewhere. To be honest I still haven’t found it. While searching, I was distracted by a handful of other lines of code, namely the line that controlled Celeste’s jump height.

PICO-8_8

Thus began an intense period of trial and error, adjusting single values in the code to see what would happen to the gameplay experience. Speed. Acceleration. Gravity. Thanks to the help from a young girl at Maker Faire, I’m now experimenting with removing entire lines. Like the line that controls the death on the spikes. Exploring the source code is now just as much fun as the game itself.


The Game Within the Game

So now Celeste represents two different games for me. One in which I try to become the world’s best Celeste player (on PocketC.H.I.P.). That crown will be hard to win. Tina has been speed running Celeste for a month now, and she is really good.

PICO-8_9

The other in which I dig through code to see what I can change. Now that my feet are wet, I’m looking to see what lessons I can transfer to the other games available. It’s a sense of discovery that I’ve not had in a long long while and I hope (and foresee) others having a similar experience. Hacking PICO-8 games is fun and an organic introduction to the way games work.


What lies ahead

splore

With the tools available, the next step is making my own game. While I’ve not had the time yet, Crunch has! Using the tutorials in the latest PICO-8 Fanzine, he was able to make a game from scratch on PocketC.H.I.P. in around 3 hours. Check out CrunchBall.

I can’t wait to play (and hack) the games the C.H.I.P.ster community creates following Crunch’s footsteps. I’ll see if I can’t get him to write briefly about his experience. You hear that Crunch?! You’ve been challenged!

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So Shiny, So Chrome – The Brand Spanking New C.H.I.P. Flasher!!! https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/so-shiny-so-chrome-the-brand-spanking-new-c-h-i-p-flasher/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/so-shiny-so-chrome-the-brand-spanking-new-c-h-i-p-flasher/#comments Tue, 12 Apr 2016 15:00:57 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=445

C.H.I.P.s come pre-flashed with an operating system because we felt it should be usable out of the box. Installing an operating system can be an arduous process, especially when you’re raring to get started. We’ve definitely felt it ourselves…heck, even our own C.H.I.P. flashing process was arduous…until now!

Howie and Tina took to the challenge of a simple C.H.I.P. flasher and came back with our new C.H.I.P. web flasher for Google Chrome, now available in its Alpha Release. So what’s that mean?

You can now replace the operating system on your C.H.I.P. from your computer directly from the Chrome web browser. Just head to flash.getchip.com, and follow the on-screen instructions. All you’ll need is a C.H.I.P., a micro USB cable, a jumper wire or a paper clip, a computer with the Chrome web browser, and around 7 minutes. Keep in mind, this will replace the ENTIRETY of your C.H.I.P.’s storage. If there’s anything you want to keep, back it up before flashing.

The Flasher has 3 options: the C.H.I.P. boot repair tool, Debian on C.H.I.P. with GUI by Crunch (our most up-to-date factory flashed image), and Debian on C.H.I.P. without GUI by Crunch.

We’re super stoked to release this. It’s a vast improvement over our previous flashing process and the most exciting thing is it only gets better from here! Can’t wait to show you what else we have in store!

Let us know what you think in the forum. What works. What doesn’t work. It all helps us move forward.

Stay Tuned and Get Flashing!

mmmtc

Everyone at NTC especially Howie and Tina (and Barry Allen)

Thanks to Howie, flashing is relaxing!

Thanks to Howie, flashing is relaxing!

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