PunchOut!!! the Real Installation...

Hey, we previously posted a proof of concept instructable here, and just last week we built a full-on version for an exhibition in Seville called Over The Game @ Zemo98.

This instructable is for an exhibition version of the original game concept.

So, here we go!

t - j - m

WIRE (lots of it and preferably solid hookup... we use 22 guage).
1 usb pc game controller
1 designed box for the installation
1 flash for professional photography
1 arduino, with a relay setup for triggering the flash
1 computer
1 projector + ceiling mount
1 pillow (we use 2 layers, 1x 8cm thick firm foam + 1x 2cm thick soft foam, both 75x100cm)

soldering bits, lots of tape and some thin foam for touch pads

After working at Visualizar'09 in Madrid all night, catch a train to Seville at 6am, and immediately have a nap at your hotel (1hr)

Wake up and walk across the street to the exhibition venue and take a picture.

Get in, check out the equipment they gave you, make sure the computer works and that the NES emulator runs fine in full screen mode... Add Arduino and the MAX/MSP player.

get your controller out and start trying to make it work... then vainly realize that you've destroyed one already, try again on another, and vainly realize that the controller itself is designed very strangely and abandon all hope with these ones (after a couple hours)... P.S. these controllers were 8 euro each, so it's not such a hit to break them and forget about them.

In the meantime, check out the flash they've bought and make sure it works well and can be triggered by an Arduino... There should be a trigger pin on the back where you can hook up a cable.

Have a look at the box you asked to have built... It's always nice to see things you create in 3D come to life (we used rhino to make the design diagrams)... Make sure your punching pillow fits in the top slot.

Go out, buy new controllers, bring them back and rip them apart to see if they're going to work or not... It's really important how the connection pads are designed on the inside of the controller. Unfortunately, you can only check once you unscrew and take the controller apart. You need to make sure that there's "lots" of space to solder wires that will not touch the opposite pads.

Always keep organized! Or else everything turns to chaos (if it already hasn't)...

Before soldering, abandon yet another set of controllers (i.e. the black ones) in favor of one with connection pads that are much easier to solder...

Solder a bunch of pairs of wires to each one of the pads... we'll need 7 connections, but we've soldered 9 pairs just in case (the pads can be quite delicate sometimes).

Use tape! Make sure the wires don't rip off the pads...

Add some gator clips to the end of the pairs of wires... they're usually made of smooth metal, which is difficult to solder, so take some sand paper and scratch the surface of the clips... this makes it much easier to bind the solder.

P.S. I wouldn't use gator clips in the future, but something a little stronger and more organized... But, on the fly these were pretty easy to hook up.

Put the flash behind the box and see how they look together...

Organize the materials you need for your touch pads, and start working on them...
You need some kind of flexible material for the backing, we've cut our square 70mm... You can use cardboard (thicker stuff), just test around with different materials.

Start with two wires, a top and bottom pad (they fit snugly together with a 1mm space in between the two pads).

We designed a groove into the pads (if you're wonder how... we used a 3d printer to make them, just because it was easy and we had access to one!) where the wire fits... The wire is 22 guage solid hookup wire, so the grooves are .7mm wide / deep.

Cover the rest of the pad with more conductive tape... Aluminum tape is great because the glue doesn't interrupt the electrical connection, and it's very thin (you can get it from the plumbing department at most hardware stores).

Add a strip of tape to the pad, securing the wire a bit better, on both sides of the pad and at the top / bottom as well... This makes sure that the edges don't squish together and connect when they shouldn't. wash, rinse, repeat for the second pad.

Fit the two pads together and tape them into one unit, you need to do this 9 more times (total 10 pads for 2xUP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, 2xB, 2xA, START)

While some of the tech boys are mounting the projector for your installation, go to the electronics store once again and pick up the last couple of things you need (or, just buy way more wire than you think you need before starting)... (yeah, poor planning...)

Take the relay circuit you've built to connect an arduino to the flash. Check out the link: here.

Now, start building the floor pads... They have the same basic construction as the hand pads... Wood (instead of plastic), aluminum tape with wires connected to them, and a bit of foam to keep the pads separated make sure they're strong enough for people to jump on them... Make them pretty with nice woven gaffer tape (i.e. NOT the plastic kind of tape)

Meanwhile, start assembling the installation by placing the pads into the box. add the bottom layer of the pillow (for our pillow we're using 1x 8cm thick hard foam + 1x 2cm thick soft foam) and place the touch pads in the right positions that correspond with the diagrams on the pillowcase.

P.S. Benito, the lead tech for the exhibition, knew a friend who took our pillow case and added decals we designed to the top, it was great looking!

Connect the pads to the controller using the gator clips... (have a look at the controller/pad assembly document).

Start the game up, and set the pads using the emulator's input calibration preferences.

As per the hookup instructions, it's not important how the pads are connected directly to the controller, because you remap the controls at this stage anyways.

Turn off the lights, turn on the projector, and hook up some speakers.
PLAY!!!