How do you make a great Mario costume for your kids, complete with authentic sounds? You hack it.
Mario and Luigi were pretty popular costume choices for Halloween this year (I saw at least four or five people dressed as the characters over the weekend), but at one parent decided that his kids needed a truly authentic outfit if they were going to go as the Nintendo mascots. This, of course, meant that “Rob Hopeless” – a talented costume creator, technology enthusiast, and devoted dad – had to hack his kids’ costumes:
This year the boys wanted to be Mario and Luigi. Kind of boring right? Well my wife didn’t think they were ready for throwing real fireballs so we did sound effects instead. I wanted them to make the Mario jump sound when they jumped and be able to make the fireball sound too and maybe a few others. So I [took] a Wii Nunchuck, an arduino, a set of portable speakers and a birthday card to make this.
Rob used the accelerometer in the Wii Nunchuck to sense when his kids jumped (which triggered a corresponding sound) and also used the device to control the other sound effects. For the sounds themselves, he used a birthday card that can record up to four different sounds.
As you can see, the result is pretty great, and Rob should be proud of what he created. However, the man took it one step further and even posted a how-to guide for people who want to do the same thing. Not only is he classy, but he’s also a nice guy. A more deserving member of the Escapist Costume Wall of Fame is tough to find.
Source: Rob Hopeless
