Put down that controller. Dr. Tom Tilley has shown us the way to play Puzzle Bobble (also known for years as Bust-A-Move in the West) as the Gods of Finger Dexterity intended: by using a salad spinner.
If you’re like me, you don’t put dirty plants in your mouth, so you might not know what a salad spinner is. My research suggests that it’s a device used to remove water from leafy vegetables after you wash them. It uses centrifugal force to separate the water and dry the leaves. This means that when you drown the salad in ranch dressing, the creamy sauce will stick to it.
To turn this device of vegetal torture into a controller, Dr. Tilley used some cardboard, an optical mouse, and an external button. Then, when the crank is turned, the mouse movement is read on the game. I’m not sure if this is a PC port of Puzzle Bobble I’m not aware of, or if he’s edited the input. That seems like it would be the hardest part of the process for me.
This isn’t the first Puzzle Bobble controller that Dr. Tilley has MacGyver’d together. Previously, he has created a similar contraption using a coffee grinder. He also got a little more constructive with some tubing. On top of this, he made a Katamari Damacy controller with an actual ball. It’s pretty creative stuff. Meanwhile, I can rarely be bothered to set up my racing wheel.
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