How to Build a Giant Floor Mat Nintendo Controller
Remember the good old days before “aerobic gaming,” when you could just sit on your butt and wiggle your thumbs? Well those days are gone; time to get up, stand up, and put your feet to work.
Instructions
- Step 1: Take apart the controller Take apart the controller, and remove the green circuit panel. Each of the 8 controller button terminals has 2 leads - one that connects to ground, and the other that goes to one of 8 poles. Make a mental note of which button leads to which pole.
- Step 2: Solder wire to poles Flip the board over and solder a length of red wire to each of these 8 poles. Solder a length of black wire to the ground terminal.
- TIP: Make sure you attach at least 5 feet of wire to each pole; they’ll need to stretch a long way.
- Step 3: Cover cardboard with foil Cover the large piece of cardboard with aluminum foil, and tape the single ground wire to this base layer.
- Step 4: Stack construction paper Stack 4 pieces of construction paper together and cut several holes in them. Tape the stack along its edges to the aluminum foil in the same location as the button you’re creating.
- Step 5: Tape foil over paper Tape a smaller piece of foil over the construction paper – but make sure it’s not touching the base layer of foil.
- Step 6: Tape wire to foil Tape the corresponding button wire to the small piece of foil.
- Step 7: Repeat Repeat this process for the remaining seven buttons.
- Step 8: Cut out felt Cut out felt in the shape of the actual controller buttons.
- Step 9: Attach oversized buttons Flip the cardboard over, attach the oversized buttons, and get ready to hop around like Super Mario himself.
- FACT: The Nintendo company was founded in 1889 and originally produced handmade Japanese playing cards.
You Will Need
- A Nintendo game system and controller
- A 3-feet by 5-feet piece of cardboard
- About 40-feet of insulated red wire
- 6-feet of insulated black wire
- A roll of aluminum foil
- A roll of clear packing tape
- 32 sheets of construction paper
- Some gray
- red
- and black felt
- A soldering gun
- A screwdriver
- Some scissors