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The Versatile Bob-omb
This might give you some disturbing insight to my mind, but today I was installing the lights on my bike, I thought to myself: “You know what would be cool, is if they made blinking tail lights in the guise of a Bob-omb” Even just a flat disc-shaped version would be great. Read the rest of this entry
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Geeky Cameras Part 4: Pokemon
This camera design is for the kids, or the adults still hopelessly addicted to Pokemon. A camera that is in the shape of a Pokeball, so you can capture photos (okay I’m not proud of that one). Read the rest of this entry
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Toronto TTC Subway/RT Map - Super Mario 3 Style
Click To Enlarge
You can buy a high-res poster of this map here.
UPDATE: In light of the TTC finalizing the names for the new extension, I have given the map an overhaul. Apologies to those who have purchased this previously, I thought the original map was future-proof!
If you want to see this image “dance”, please head to my Tumblr (click the image to enlarge).
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Thinkgeek Remix Part 4: LED Jellyfish Mood Light
This series is meant to be my take on existing Thinkgeek products, but these are turning out to be completely Nintendo inspired. What can I say? Got Nintendo on the brain.
This cool Jellyfish Mood Light from Thinkgeek would serve as the basis for a Metroid container, much like the seen at the beginning of the SNES classic Super Metroid. I would just up the number of Metroids to three from one.
If the Metroids could retain the jelly-like property of the Thinkgeek product, they’d look lifelike. They’d appear to be flying in space, though somewhat drunkenly.
Note: picture not meant to be a size comparison, the Metroid tank would ideally be about the same height as the jellyfish tanks.
If you like this, check out this Metroid diorama, and smartphone design.
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Super Mario Curtains
You could probably accuse me of phoning this idea in, as it is merely a screenshot of curtains imposed onto an actual curtain (there’s an Inception joke in there somewhere). But what I am trying to do here is make this an actual product.
I’ve found a few Etsy people who specialize in sublimated bedding and curtains, and I believe this design would make for a good candidate. As for bedding, I’m hoping for something along the lines of the duvet cover pictured here. With matching cartridge pillow case!
This design is ideal for the shower curtain, especially if you have black and white checkered tiling present. It could also be employed for windows too.
Other articles: Super Mario Toaster, Super Mario Alarm Clock, Super Mario Maps, Donkey Kong Jeans, (deep breath) package concept, and Super Mario case.
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Thinkgeek Remix Part 1: Firefly Jar
This is a ‘what-if’ series where I apply my spin on actual products available from Thinkgeek.
Ah, Thinkgeek. Home to many cool and creative products. Every so often I will browse their wares and see what cool toys they have for discriminating geeks like myself. Once in awhile I’ll see something they’re selling and think, hey wouldn’t it be cool if…? Well I thought I’d share some of my musings, because that’s what I do.
First up we have the ‘Electronic Firefly in a Jar‘, which is a neat simulation of a real firefly trapped in a jar (video at the link). The fake firefly ‘flies’ around (it’s tethered to the lid), emits light, and sometimes parks itself on the side of the jar, where it reacts to your tapping. It flaps its wings too. Cool beans.
I’d just swap out the firefly for Zelda’s Navi, the true antagonist of Ocarina of Time (Ganondorf had nothing on her). The hapless Navi would still fly around and emit light, in addition I would also add a sound chip to the inside of the lid, allowing Navi to emit her famous phrases. And this would be brilliant because most sound chips have poor-sounding quality, but inside the jar it would sound muffled and mostly inaudible*.
If I had one of these on my desk, I would wring my hands and laugh maniacally every time I heard the faintest protest coming from Navi. It would be glorious.
There would need to be a switch where the frequency of her voice phrases could be determined (once every half hour would be ideal). I’d also add an on-demand button on the lid to trigger a line of dialogue too.
I’d try to make the jar look Zelda-ish too (above example was a stock photo). I think this would make for a nice ambient lamp as well.
If you like this product idea, I suggest you bug Thinkgeek about it. Get it? Bug?
*I suppose if you wanted to hear her you could crack the lid open a bit.
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IKEA RIBBA Papercraft Part 1: Super Mario Bros. 3
UPDATE: Here is a simple template, just cut and fold into a box shape, then affix to back of Ribba frame:
Click To Enlarge
Original post as follows:
A few weeks ago I posted this idea about using picture box frames to display video game dioramas - specifically screenshots. I even described what a Mario one would entail. Shortly after I decided to make that idea a reality.
Making this possible is the RIBBA, a picture box frame from IKEA. These are approx 9.5 x 9.5″, with a mat frame of 4.75 x 4.75″. The box is about 1.25″ deep, and is a popular item for displaying LEGO minifigs and other physical objects. These are only $10.
I could have discarded the mat and used the entire box to display this screenshot, which was my original intention. But then it became difficult, as the 9 x 9″ interior wasn’t friendly to my printer, with a max 8.5″ width setting. I also had concerns about wasting too much paper again, and the weight of objects sitting in the box.
Then I read the mat could sit at the back or the front of the frame (against the glass), thanks to an internal divider. I then decided to make a small 4.5 x 4.5″ screenshot, with a depth of only .5 inches. I could have went even further back, but I wanted the question mark block to be close to the viewer.
I am pleased to report this went quickly after I printed it out. The whole sky box is taped against the mat, which is great if I want to reuse the mat again. Much of it is taped, save for the characters being glued in.
Going forward, I’d like to do a version 2.0 of this design with an LED question mark block. There is plenty of room in the frame to store electrical guts and batteries. Might even illuminate the score board too, making it look like this old alarm clock design I made.
Here is the template. You’ll need a RIBBA frame (you can order them online, see above for the link). Do not re-size the images, print as-is to fit the frame. If there is a warning about cropping, ignore it. Everything you need is well within the safe printed area. Use Card Paper, not regular paper which is flimsy and won’t hold up.
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Click To Enlarge
I recommend you punch out all the yellow boxes on the background image first (a lot of tabs are to be inserted here), then cut out and fold. Tape to the back of the mat frame. The tape is so handy for this part, as you can reset and line-up to the frame easily. You just need scotch tape.
Then install the question mark block, the white block, the green/pink/green block combo, and lastly the the pipe — in that order (with tape). The pipe and white block have supports to keep them upright and away from the backdrop.
Lastly add all the characters with glue. It is impossible to cut these pixel-perfect, this being so small. Do the best you can! Lastly throw into frame and hang on the wall or sit on the desk. Enjoy.
It turned out really great being a smaller screenshot. Has the same kind of detail as a ship-in-a-bottle. Okay a slight exaggeration. It looks pretty darn cool on the wall. Very 3D, of course.
I removed the black drop shadow from the game graphics, as all the actual shadows look really nice. I managed to find this section in the first level of Super Mario 3, and it was perfect! The area was populated with 3 different enemies, a question block, a pipe, and a cloud. Vintage Mario.
I know it’s asking a lot to require an IKEA frame for this project, but if this is popular enough I will continue to output Papercraft models for the RIBBA. I already have Street Fighter II in mind.
UPDATE: I did a second version, which assembles much like the Question block from the first one. I also added clouds that are floating in space. This one is more advanced.
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Click To Enlarge
