You know how drummers tap desks, objects, and anything around them incessantly, often unaware of the fact that they’re doing it, until people get annoyed? Well, now you don’t need a drummer around: you can program a Game Boy to do the same thing.
Jowan Sebastian has built a brilliant, elegant application for Game Boys called kBANG. Wire up a Game Boy to other objects — like solenoids, simple mechanical devices that can perform a tapping action — and you’ve got a real-world drum machine. Enough glitchy beats: physical objects become percussion.
Here it is in action:
If you want to try this yourself, he has posted a ROM, but you’ll be on your own building the interface.
Related:
music albums and synths on Game Boy, a tracker-style music app for Nintendo DS, and, very much along these lines, how to build a mechanical “sequencer” controlled by Game Boy.
Thanks to Pedro Marques for the heads-up!
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As I read this, I was drumming loudly with two fingers on my laptop, completely unaware that I was doing it. Sort of a revelation… no wonder my CD drive is busted!
My mom used to like, literally kick me out of the volvo.
I want to see this guy "play" a full drum kit with his game boy. That would be spectacular.