This controller makes you shout to press the B button
I came across this video whichmakes you think about the sort of thing that really takes modding to the next level. Youtuber William Osman released a video where he modded a Nintendo 64 controller so that the B button only works by shouting into an in-built microphone. Think of it as the Hey You Pikachu’s deficient cousin.
The put a microphone on top of the controller, and wired it so that it shorts the B button connection out when there’s a loud sound, much like a simple press would do. It worked most of the time, but it looked like they had to adjust a potentiometer to calibrate it to each person’s voice.
The idea was to make the control as horrible as possible. Other ideas included a heat-activated button, or a moisture-activated one. Though these would be interesting, it would be really impractical due to the amount of hands you need and the fact that you can’t really ‘remove’ heat or moisture so the B button would be pressed for an undetermined duration. Maybe that would be part of the point though.
So this is a– …they didn’t ask for it but we made it– They didn’t ask for it, but we made it and sent it to them anyways. Don’t have a laser cutter, so it’s not gonna be laser cut, but it is gonna be a game controller, and it’s definitely, 100% going to Game Grumps, and we’re gonna go with it. They don’t know, I mean they know we’re coming, but they don’t know about this.
We’re gonna destroy the user interface of an N64 controller by replacing the B button, A button or Z button, with some other sensor, maybe like a microphone? So if you want to press B you have to scream really loud. There’s also a flame sensor and imagine every time you wanted to jump you had to… turn a lighter on… in front of… I think it’s a great idea.
I don’t know what do you think, sound sensor? We just pick- how about we just like discuss off camera and then come back to it and say like just scream it really loud- Sound sensor? Sound sensor!
Let’s take it apart, fun fact. This is actually camera man John’s Nintendo and controller. This thing is all sticky. Not the controller, the screwdriver. I mean no, but seriously the screwdriver is covered in something. Actually kind of feels like, you know when you get like a credit card in the mail, and you have to peel it off, and it’s… You know that weird, it’s like a really sticky booger?
What button did we decide on? Was it the B button? God, we don’t even have a TV to try this on so we’re kind of winging it. If we wanted to be smart about this, you could probably do a man-in-the-middle, where you read, you actually use the controller as a controller, have an Arduino on the output, and interpret it and then connect a sensor to it…
Mm-hmm, so what we’re gonna do instead is just guess at which button we think this would be most fun to have it on, and we can’t stop thinking about- Pikachu, and I think his lightning bolt attack is B… If it’s not B, I think we’re gonna be taking this thing apart frantically.
Let’s pull this off, see which button is the B button. We can literally take the B button out. Does this complete a circuit? You want to grab the multimeter? I think it’s in a cardboard box over there.
And doing a man-in-the-middle with an Arduino would have been cool, because then you could like you could interpret the commands, and then… inject your own command and then send it to the Nintendo so you could like swap. You know, the the most miserable gaming experience. You find it? All right, thank you, am I rambling? Yeah, alright, alright.
Cardboard box, wait wait, yeah, like an Amazon box. Is that weird? I’m describing a card like an actual regular folding cardboard box as an Amazon box. What do you call that when a brand sort of takes over? Like Taser or Kleenex or Jell-O? Brand appropriation or your brand is so successful that people are using it as a- Yeah! I’m not gonna finish, whatever I was talking about before this, so Arin messaged me on Twitter and… Egoraptor, he said that we should come down to their office, and I said “Okay!”
Oh nice that’s conductive, so all we have to do is find some points to tap into – whoa what is this? There’s like different circuits on here. Oh, wait what? There’s multiple ways for this to complete a circuit on the board? Maybe this is more reliable or something.
How do we connect the sensor to it? What if we stick a relay board, which is totally overkill, attach the relay somewhere – you know what we’re gonna need tape and zip ties.
We’re gonna take the sensor output, ground power, analog out and digital outs You can probably tune this, so that when the sound measurement gets above a certain level, it turns the digital pin high and we can use that to trigger a relay and the relay simply shorts this button together
Aaaaaaaahhhhhh Huh – Huhhhh! Oh, hey so that works But we gotta now I think adjust the potent- Well, okay, I don’t have an oscilloscope. I used to have an oscilloscope and then a friend let me borrow his oscilloscope, and now neither of us have oscilloscopes. Do I need to explain what happened? Let’s adjust the microphone sensitivity! Ahhhhhhh AaaaaAaaaahhhh! It’s not doing anything, this is like a 20 turn pot too.
How do we make a constant sound without me having to scream like a lunatic? Yeah, I’m gonna be honest, this seems to be doing literally nothing. Am I on the analog signal? What’s going on? How do I make this work? Ahhhh
Ahh Ahh Ahh Ahh
I was gonna go up on the hill.
Yeah.
But I thought I’d check in with you first.
We’re just over here, you know doing normal stuff? Are you raiding my stash of beer? We’re making a video game controller that you have to scream to press a button So if you yell Ahh!
So if you, like, mess up and you say **** what would happen?
You can’t- this is a family-friendly channel. No it- It’s-
You had Michael from Hawaii come on your channel and you say it’s family friendly?
Yeah, and I had to do a lot of editing. And we built a Taser to get him to stop swearing.
Did you threaten him with it?
No we actually used it.
Show me how it works.
You just scream A And it clicks, and that will activate a switch here I thought we were gonna be done with this like an hour or two ago, but… I don’t really have an excuse
Alright.
Remember in the cat alarm-clock video when the soldering iron was broken well turns out it’s still broken so we’re at Fry’s buying another soldering iron. Is that it? I need solder and flux… I Used to have both of those.
Also, I remember watching Eagle Rapper’s videos back in like high school now – You know what? It’s Eagle Rapper now. Man, it’s kind of funny like being a fan And then finally you know you sort of become – is he a fan? Is it weird to call him a fan? I feel like he is a fan, but we’re also fans. That’s like mutual – It’s like mutual fanship So it shouldn’t be that weird
So we’re at the address he gave us, but it’s literally a Wendy’s And I think we should call him because I know he likes Wendy’s and he maybe had just like copied and pasted Where he went to lunch. Could he not have checked that?
Hey, man you gave us an address to a Wendy’s. Are you serious? That’s… okay.
Arin – William Osmond? William – You living at Wendy’s?
Yeah dude, come on in!
Thanks.
We got the good food.
What do you got?
We have an N64 controller that looks –
That was here the whole time?
Oh god, we ruined this! W – We got rid of the B button and we replaced it with a microphone, and so if you want to press B you have to scream.
We were thinking of putting other sensors on it like there’s one. That’s like a moister. Sense just have to like lick it every time…
Are you ******* serious?
Yeah.
You should have done that one! W- Well, that was- I just- That one seemed a little bit like I don’t know like…
You would have had to test it.
Yeah.
And then You’d bring it and I’d have to lick it too.
Right.
I mean, we could clean it, but just I feel that would have looked-
Okay, oh, and this is cameraman John’s controller. No it actually is his childhood N64 controller, we dug it out.
He wrote “Cameraman John” when he was six? W- What? It doesn’t matter no one makes anything we do seriously.
Sweet, I guess let’s play Smash Brothers.
Alright. I am so excited for this.
I mean was that ever mentioned. We’re playing Smash Brothers We were talking about Pikachu at some point, okay cool I sort of you know how you that one thing you did we were like “Thunder Smash” yeah.
Well, Pikachu’s my favorite character in the play and smash so that’s perfect.
Yess
Unless you want to play as Pikachu
No I don’t I-I don’t I don’t even know who
Hey I’m grump! And I’m William! AAAAAAAGH!
Who’s copy of Smash Bros is this? You’re missing two characters Yah! Wait hold on. It says it is it B is it b blow on it. Yaah! (blows softly on controller) It’s not oh okay. I should have not turned it on and let that go on as long as possible B Button! B Button! B button! it seems like if I go too loud it’s not You- you ok there?
I’m trying to
Want a screwdriver? oh- well- you know what- is your pot not working…
B BUTTON! Ok, if i get like right up to it, it works. All right.
I’m Pikachu, what are you Kirby? Is that too stereotypical. No no Kirby’s good Okay I feel like I play nothing but Kirby Maybe it’s like that being able to fly around is sort of like it easy to fall off the edge. I gotta. I gotta Okay, so B is the specials
Okay, yeah, so if I wanna- if I wanna Thunder Thunder! THUNDER! This is awesome, Lightning Bolt! Pikachu! BIKACHU! Pikachu! Pikachu! Skull bash! oh wait that’s not in this game Pikachu! PIKACHU This controller is wei- PIKACHU! PIGACHEW! it’s not working!
Pikachu! Did I go the wrong way-Pikachu-try that okay? I’ll say this John your controllers definitely covered in saliva Oh, yeah, wow that is that is a significant amount. I don’t know if you can see that that’s looking like a sprite commercial Pikachu PIKACHU. That was reasonable. I feel like I should be yelling – but it does nothing to help me butter ah
Damn it Of course I lost Jesus you’re playing with the upgraded kick-started controller And I’m playing with it looks like a goddamn time bomb you couldn’t bring this on a plane
Oo shit I don’t Away! Hey, that worked. Jigglypuff. Nice, that’s a good choice. I’m starting to think we should have made two controllers but both with different.
Oh you had the lick one yeah, and I have the screamer yeah today You have a whole box of sensors There’s like a flame sensor see that’s like a lighter.
Where do you get these, like Radio Shack?
Puff! Puff! PUFF! JigglyPUFF You’re still beating me, god damn it!
You know I’m gonna do it cuz I’m telegraphic come here come here S I N G A SONG Yeah, gotcha ha PUFF!!
Screaming the actual command or what you want to do is completely unnecessary but you feel like that’s what you want to do.
It’s what you have to do yeah, but like you can you could just go like ah It doesn’t work as well, if I go PUFF it always works. DIE Survive don’t survive no Yes!
(William: it’s not fair)
Victory is mine, but I should be the one having an easy time.
You should just have like cones and each cone is a different button. Yeah, so you have to be like AAH four left and then DIE for A. Can we do a sequel or that that’s the invention?
I actually think that’d be funny to come back like try to invent something to like ruin your guys’s gaming experience
Because this is like I could side by parently I can still beat you FALCON PUNCH! No hands no hands look watch this: FALCON PUNCH. Wait, I can punch myself Falcon punch see it doesn’t work doesn’t work his now. I feel stupid now it knows me I –
*falcon* Don’t need a B button to win I got I got my wits and my skills and my A button like I’m not really not that crippled in this situation… FALCON KICK FALCON KICK, Damn it FALCON KICK fucking jack you’ve some No, I could’ve recovered. Oh, I could have covered with the scream!
Man alright,can I keep this. Is it something I can keep? Cameraman John gonna keep your childhood. Yeah. Yeah you go. That’s a question you gotta ask him. Yeah, I got an honorary place for your childhood controller.
Do you have another one we can take back and return? Oh, yeah, dude. We got like a thousand there game. Then we can make another terrible controller pretty soon all your regular n64 controller you have will be completely ruined…
Just letting you borrow them to mod them…
And we keep on coming up with worse and worse inputs! For this one, you have to run on the treadmill 30 miles an hour.
Oh my god, I’m kind of way into that. Like some like if we play like Mario 64 and like up on the joystick is like running on a treadmill. No that’s perfect That’s like real-life VR.
If you have problems screaming at it, it’s not doing it you want just play with that until it clicks
I would twist the pot?
Yeah, and then go right to when it’s off.
Hey whose last time you showered?
Uhh, can we edit this out yeah
[Beep]Are you rolling?
This is the outro. Thanks for playing along yeah, man.
Thanks for creating something-
that you could cover in saliva. I got a foot towards the screen.
Thank you for giving me this gift.
You’re welcome And if you have a suggestion for a project for us to make and send to someone unsolicited, leave it in the comments below.
It’s down there.
Yeah, right down there.
No you have to go up it or wait… No, actually that doesn’t make any sense alright. See you next time
While Aaron and I are shaking hands It seems like a good opportunity to announce the moist Pony winners so send us a message to claim your moist and to see your Name on the screen below.
Where’s the bathroom? The bathroom? I just realised we’re in the bathroom! Was that the gag? I don’t have any gag.
In the back Do you remember even drinking that much water today?
This is yeah, I think my body is created it.
I think that it would have been nice to see how it worked on games other than Super Smash Bros, since that is a game that can be played quite easily without using any special moves. Then again, it has a handicap feature which can allow there to be a bit of semblance of balance. The shouting alos made it easy for the opponent to telegraph attacks.
Other games that require the B button to be used could have been a bit more interesting, such as Ocarina of Time or Yoshi’s Story.
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