Micabo a Minecraft gamepad

[jeff]

Hi

My son not only plays the cello (http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/an-o ... ml#p106236), he is also a Minecraft player.

As an holidays project management lesson we decided to build together a minecraft gamepad.

He wanted it to be inspired by the minecraft command block.



We completed the following split solution, right part is a mouse. He called it Micabo for MInecraft CommAnd BlOck or MIneCrAft BOard but this also means something like « I will bustle around » in latin.



The two blocks are carved inside thick particle boards. The right part contains a disassembled optical USB mouse and a MCP23008 to handle the switch matrix. The MCP23008 is connected to a teensy 2.0 which is on the left part and which also handles the left matrix and the thumbstick. Both teensy and mouse are connected to a USB port multiplier.

Switches are mainly cherry brown, a few specific keys use blue and there is one grey.



For the software, I reuse what I did for a previous projet (http://desktophority.net/workshop-f7/fo ... t5380.html), it then includes a chording capacity. Keymap is under development, my son has lot of ideas for macros.

After some feedbacks, a lighter version should be done.

[pyrelink]

This looks awesome! I am more of a trackball person myself, but this looks perfectly suited to playing something like Minecraft. I haven't played that game in a long while, but I do recall having set up a whole slew of macros for server commands and the like. How does the mouse hand slide around on the desk? I would think a nice sheet of plexiglass or something on the bottom, would help it to move with a lot less friction, on a mouse pad or something. Does your son keep both "hands" pretty close together? If that were me, I would want a much longer cable connecting them, so I could keep a pretty low DPI and have my hands spaced comfortably apart.

I really like this. What does that thumbstick do btw? Is that like an 8 direction switch, or a full analog stick? I am guessing its being used for character motion (WASD)?

[jeff]

Hi pyrelink,,

We left the coating of the particle board which is very smooth. It slide quite well. Maybe a better solution should be find later.

The left stick is a five ways switch (https://sites.google.com/site/imgevola/images/alps.jpg), you are right it intends to replace WASD keys.

As always for holidays project we began it to late and the physical part was acheived at the last minute. We need to work on it during next weekends with more feedback (cable length, wheight, key position...) .