Categories: Technology

Mechanical Gaming Now Available For Donkey Kong Fans

Do you remember the first time you played Donkey Kong on one of those handheld monochrome things you could get as a child in the early ’80s? They had pre-etched characters positioned on the LCD screen, which made it look like your character was actually moving, jumping and climbing ladders. It was a gadget that could marvel even the most seasoned technology geek back in the day. How far we have come since then, right? When it comes to games, it is all about graphics, gravity and advanced game play these days. But, someone who looks at games a whole different way is Martin Raynsford, the creator of the mechanical gaming version of the Donkey Kong classic.

Mechanical gaming could of course mean all kinds of different things. However, this particular mechanical gaming invention is beyond geeky. It is somewhat of a steampunk solution for real time gaming with real objects, if that makes any sense at all. This intricate build will have you playing Donkey Kong in a way that you have never before tried, the mechanical way.

With the help of a pre-positioned rod and a Nintendo NES gaming controller pad, you will be able to avoid the “barrels” from hitting Mario on their way down. The barrels, which are actually metal balls, are transported down on rails and then transported up again behind the mechanical gaming build. It doesn’t look like Mario can move more than up and down, but then again, this is just the first version of this very iconic game. As always, I ask myself the question about whether this new way of playing games will catch on and reinvent the way we do things. The answer is, probably not anytime soon. I must admit though that it looks compellingly fun, and I sure wouldn’t mind trying out the mechanical gaming way of playing Donkey Kong. It has to be said, no matter if Mario looks to be stuck at his position in the game, a “well done” is definitely in order for combining a real Nintendo NES and mechanical parts. Epic retro build, Martin!

Mechanical Gaming – Donkey Kong By Martin Raynsford

Via: [Technabob]

Richard Darell

Richard Darell is the founder and CEO of Bit Rebels, a multifaceted online news outlet that reports daily on the latest developments in technology, social media, design and everything geek. Today this media entity welcomes more than 3.5 million unique visitors per month and is considered the go-to place for people in constant motion. As an Internet entrepreneur, he is dedicated to constantly trying to develop new ways to bring content faster and closer to the end user in a more streamlined way. His excitement for statistics has allowed him to further develop systems that continuously produce accurate and fast-paced analytics to better optimize the approach by which Bit Rebels presents news and content. His graphic design background has proven to be an important tool when designing new systems and features for Bit Rebels since the development of solid and stable code depends entirely on their structure and implemented procedures. Richard currently resides in Stockholm, Sweden and directs the Bit Rebels offices in both Stockholm and Atlanta. You can reach Richard at richard@bitrebels.com