Circuitry and Yoga Balls – The Giant Katamari Controller

For all you DIY-ers, gamers, and engineers, plus Katamari Damacy lovers: behold the Katamari Damacy controller. 

Using optical mice, the guts of Playstation 2 controllers, a mini processing board (or Arduino), a four-pronged base, and a large yoga ball, crafty fans created something to emulate rolling around in Katamari Damacy. An Etsy seller by the name of Kellbot spawned the idea and created it on a smaller scale with a mirror ball. Either size, it’s thoroughly clever and fun. 

Interestingly, we’ve seen an influx of gadgetry attempting to engage in games physically and also more realistically (the Omni by Virtuix, the Oculus Rift, the EPOC Emotiv, Wii Fit, etc.). This nifty idea is along that same vein and clearly the kids testing it out are enthusiastic and totally engrossed because they match the motions.

With neat inventions like this, people would be moving and gaming without feeling like they’re working, which is always an issue people are hell bent on solving. But it looks like these guys were just interested in making something purely for the fun of it. Sometimes that’s all it takes to create something phenomenal.