Technabob » tabletop

Surfacescape Redefines Tabletop Gaming

Lambert Varias — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:45:46 +0000

Anything that starts out of a suggestion from Penny-Arcade’s Mike Krahulik & Jerry Holkins – aka Gabe & Tycho – is bound to be geeky, and this one is no exception. The duo visited the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University and ended up chatting with a bunch of students that were using a Surface, Microsoft’s multitouch wonder computer. Says Krahulik: “After I was done doodling I started sketching out a game grid and we all got to talking about how you might be able to use this tech to play D&D. I drew out some rough ideas and Tycho and I gave them a wish list of things we’d want to see it do. Stuff like selecting spells from a menu around your figure and animates effects for attacks and auras. After we got home we received a mail from them saying they liked the idea so much they wanted to make it their next project.”

Months later, the students released a video with a proof-of-concept of the D&D-Surface mashup, which they named SurfaceScapes, including a look at how combat plays out.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Virtual d20 ftw.

[via Wired via Penny Arcade]

Wall Charger Keeps Gadgets Organized

Technabob — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:40:00 +0000

If your household is anything like mine, you probably have scads of electronic gizmos which need to be kept charged all the time. But who really wants all those unsightly cords and chargers lying around their countertop? This handy box neatly tucks away all your power adapters and cables.

The charging station lets you charge up to three mobile gadgets at once, and can be even be wall mounted with just a couple of screws. It’s got plenty of room for AC adapters, cables and up to a 10-inch power strip (not included) hidden behind its sliding front door.

The box measures 13″L x 3.75″D x 5″H and the slots can hold most mobile phones, PDAs, media players and other small electronic devices. It’s available in solid white, black and dark blue finishes from KangaRoom, and retails for $40.

Reactogon Interactive Sequencer Reminds Me of Star Trek

Technabob — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 23:03:13 +0000

I recently came across this rather cool user interface for a music sequencer called the ReactOgon. Looking like something you’d find on the deck of the Starship Enterprise, the instrument uses a large tabletop multi-touch interface to create music sequences in real time.

The creators of the ReactOgon call it a “chain reactive performance arpeggiator”, which dynamically shifts its patterns and sequences based on coded discs placed on the flat-panel interface.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Each hexagonal cell on the surface represents a fixed note on the harmonic table. The placement of the discs influences the whether or not a note is played, as well as its placement in the sequence. By stringing together a number of directional discs, an entire musical sequence can be created. Special discs can also initiate multiple sequences, for more complex patterns. A bank of touch-sensitive sliders are then used to change volume, timbre and rhythm of the notes.

There’s no word on if or when the developers of this technology plan on commercializing the concept.