Ich fühle wie Tron

September 21, 2004 4:02 PM

Pongmechanik is a fascinating physical incarnation of the classic video game.
posted by riffola (6 comments total)

With this post's crab, riffola is scoring
posted by Pretty_Generic at 4:10 PM on September 21, 2004

Great post! The video explains the workings in great detail.
posted by tss at 4:31 PM on September 21, 2004

fantastic! Riffola wins!
posted by mwhybark at 9:05 PM on September 21, 2004

Brill.
posted by neckro23 at 9:25 PM on September 21, 2004

If I understand it right, the motivation of the creators of this rather complex piece of machinery is to put together a version of Pong in which viewers can follow all the electromechanical systems that enable the game, rather than burying the game inside a computerized black box. I have two reactions to this:
1. In duplicating the electronic game using largely mechanical parts, they've done a fascinating and very clever piece of engineering.
2. They've also demonstrated why the advent of electronics was necessary to get us past the mechanical age. While showing that an electromechanical Pong is possible, they're also showing that this piece of equipment is so complex that an electomechanical PacMan is virtually impossible (perhaps it could be done with an army of engineers working for years), and an electromechanical Mario Brothers I is clearly impossible.
posted by beagle at 2:43 PM on September 22, 2004

Damn ... somehow this mefi post escaped me until just now. This is awesome! Thanks for posting.
posted by Peter H at 11:17 AM on September 24, 2004