shaunholley
Active member
- Credits
- 270CR
***DETAILS HERE***
emai: rorie27@gmail.com
Rorie (O'Neill)
Hi Shaun & Alex
I'm a recent convert to the 10 pence arcade podcast. I've been a fan of arcade games my whole life, going back to the late 70's. A couple of years ago I decided to look for some arcade specific controllers (with trackballs, spinners etc). I did find a few but they were either too expensive, or didn't really match what I wanted. So about a year ago I decided to buy a 3D printer and design/make my own (even though I mainly make slides for a living these days I was once a real engineer). The attached pictures show the results. I have made game specific controllers (like for Robotron, but also Battlezone and Tapper with one stick as the beer pump), 10 button controllers which work well for Defender, 8 button controllers compatible with most cabinets, as well an Asteroids specific controller (with bonus spinner) and a trackball controller. I also made joysticks for retro computers, including one which you can switch between DB9 and USB to use with emulators or original hardware. A key feature of my controllers is fast 4/8 way restriction switching (including dual ganged joystick switching for the Robotron/Battlezone joystick so you can play both properly) and some support 45 degree joystick rotation, also with 4/8 way restriction, for Q*bert and isometric games on the 8/16 bit micros (it is so much easier to play isometric games if the joystick is rotated through 45 degree). I have used arcade quality components and most joysticks have an OLED screen, which is useful as you can have different profiles which totally change the button mapping and different modes i.e. like for Switch, PS3. PC, mini consoles etc. I even imported some hollow Sanwa joystick shafts from the US, so I could add a fire button to the joystick top, allowing one to play Gorf, Tron and Mad Planets properly (as shown in one of the pictures with a spinner controller).
Anyway enough, if you and the listeners are interested I am happy to pass on more details.
