From Kidkade to Minecraft...let the quest begin

[stpcore]

I recently acquired a "KIDKADE" cabinet that was made in Schaumburg, IL by TLC Industries.  It's a smaller cabinet at about 50" tall obviously aimed towards kids but it makes a perfect sit down adult sized cabinet as well.  At some point someone had converted it over to MAME and when I received it there was no monitor or interface for controls not to mention the MAME computer was not working properly. 

I'm thinking this could make a nice little MINECRAFT machine for the kiddies since the CP already has the left joystick and trackball slots.  I can increase that three button setup to a clean 7 or 8 button set up.  I would just make a custom CP for this but it's actually glued into place and is not removable.  I actually have to go under the CP and remove a small panel to access buttons, wiring, etc. 

My biggest challenge on this is going to be me not ever really playing MINECRAFT so I would appreciate any input on very basic controls so I am not relying too heavily on the input of my 9 year old son!

Here are some pics (the first being the company stock photo of this cabinet) of the actual cabinet followed by complete tear down of this cabinet.  So this will either be a fun project or a disaster and a waste of time, lol.

[stpcore]

Reserved for future frustration!

[yotsuya]

I couldn't fathom Minecraft on an arcade cabinet. Seems like there's too many controls. Granted, I've only played it on the Xbox 360, but it's kind of the perfect sit down and play with a controller type of game.

[stpcore]

I see where you are coming from.  I don't like an overpopulated CP and it seems that Minecraft would definitely fall into that category.  If I use a 2 button flight stick for the left controller (flight stick for movement, 1 button for attack and 1 button for build) that may tidy things up a bit.  The trackball would be used to look around and at that point I would try to do another 5 or 6 buttons for very basic controls.  This isn't going to be built for the hardcore Minecraft player but something fun for someone to sit down at and have basic control of the game.

All that being said this project may not end up going anywhere if it looks like it's going to turn out like garbage!

[yotsuya]

Well, according to this site, you need to account for the following essential controls:

Movement Controls


W = move forward

A = sidestep left

S = move backward

D = sidestep right

Left Shift = hold to sneak while walking

Spacebar = jump


Action Controls

Left Mouse Button = swing arm to dig, mine, chop, pull switches or punch

Right Mouse Button = place blocks

Q = drop item in hand

Mouse Scroll Wheel = switch items in inventory toolbar

Mouse Scroll Wheel click = switch to block type highlighted by cursor

Interface Controls

I = open inventory

Escape = open options menu

Assuming you can re-map the last two to button presses, you'd need a minimum of joystick, mouse, and 9 buttons, unless you start getting into shifted function buttons. I dunno, maybe some 360 controllers hooked up to a PC would be better.

[stpcore]

I was looking into that and came up with mock up 1 of the CP.  As far as the "Options" menu goes I think I may want to keep that kind of hidden so that settings aren't accidentally changed so maybe I will place that under the CP in a far corner or something.  I'm sure there is a more fluent layout but since I'm not a Minecraft guy I wouldn't know.  If anyone plays and can recommend a more comfortable scheme here I would appreciate your input.

[pbj]

Save yourself while there is still time.

[stpcore]

Save yourself while there is still time.

LOL!  Now I'm going to attempt it for sure!

I saw a write up of a Minecraft arcade at Minecon and those that played it said it played remarkably well (for an arcade).  I just want to try it for my kids as they have always asked me to build one.  First thing I have to do is get that cabinet painted green!

[chrism]

I was looking into that and came up with mock up 1 of the CP.  As far as the "Options" menu goes I think I may want to keep that kind of hidden so that settings aren't accidentally changed so maybe I will place that under the CP in a far corner or something.  I'm sure there is a more fluent layout but since I'm not a Minecraft guy I wouldn't know.  If anyone plays and can recommend a more comfortable scheme here I would appreciate your input.

The [Attack/Chop/Dig/Mine/Open/Close/Use] and [place block] buttons are going to be the buttons that need pressing 95% of the time while simultaneously moving with the joystick and/or looking around- so placement should be in a comfortable arrangement. Maybe reachable with the thumb while controlling the trackball? (You don't ever need to press both simultaneously as far as I know). I can't help but think you need to move those button holes to below/left of the trackball.
Or maybe the two functions should be mapped to the flight stick buttons - just not sure how minecrafty that'd be. 

Are you going to use the Xbox or PC version?

[stpcore]

Thanks for that input as what you say makes perfect sense.  I'm going to be using the PC version of Minecraft.  The nice thing with Minecraft is the ability to remap the most common buttons easily through the options menu at any given time.  So during a game if I'm thinking "I wish that button did this and this button did that" I could go into settings and make that change.  It's crucial that I get button placement correctly however.  I also considered buttons above or below the trackball.  I thought above the trackball may be a better option so that you can rest your wrist below the trackball without hitting buttons. 

Thanks for taking the time to offer some input!

[chrism]

At very first sight I thought your project wasn't a very good idea at all... I was kinda leading toward agreement with the gasoline smirk...
But quickly I changed that opinion when I pictured my own kids (son and daughter, 13 and 8 ) at the controls of a two screen minecraft 'arcade' machine. They absolutely love minecraft - yes they play other games - but they always come back to minecraft, often playing LANed together. And it hasn't lost its appeal to the kids in over two years - almost unheard of for a game!

One or two player, the controls are going to be tricky and need to be right for the game to be more (or as) enjoyable than on a PC. My son has the XBox version as well, and although there are a lot of people used to it, the controls are awkward and he insists that he has more fun on the PC.
I think that trackball of yours is a brilliant idea - and will have to fill the roll (er, sorry - role) of the PC mouse.

Looking forward to see how it develops.
Best of luck!

[Slippyblade]

I'd use an AHK script or something and map sneak and jump to the same button.  Tap the button to jump, hold it down to sneak.

[sc23]

I have 2 buttons mounted under my trackball to simulate a mouse for PC games that need it, I don't find I bump the buttons at all, but I did have to mount them a fair way under to allow for the base of the trackball. Maybe use resessed buttons so you can rest palm on buttons without accidently pressing them?..
Anyway, good idea. Kids love Minecraft so hopefully you can find a good CP setup so the game is intuitive to play. Will be watching.

[sc23]

Sorry, double post.

[mildanti]

I like this idea alot, and i was thinking maybe it would be better if u almost emulate the keyboard

[stpcore]

I like where you are going with emulating the keyboard. I wanted to use the flight stick for 2 main reasons. First, I wanted to have a joystick to give an arcade look and feel to the game. Secondly, the flight stick has 2 buttons on it and that means 2 less buttons on the control panel making it a little cleaner. I'm leaning towards using those two buttons for "build" and "remove" since they are used most of the time.

I'm not 100% committed to any specific layout though so thanks for the input...I really appreciate it!"

[n3wt0n]

I have often thought about Minecraft on the arcade cab for the little ones but I always thought they used too many buttons. The one idea I did come up with was dual flightsticks (or dual joysticks with buttons) but I didn't put too much thought into it. Good luck on your project. I will definitely be watching to see how you end up setting up the control panel.

[stpcore]

I'm going to order the flight stick next week and play with the set up and see how it goes.  I hope to have the control panel situation figured out within the next 10 days.  I will definitely post updates as I go along.

I'm also trying to figure out full side art for this machine.  I was thinking of going with a Creeper theme throughout.  I hope to have side art, control panel art, and marquee completed by next week as well.

[Yenome]

Well if quake can have an arcade cab why not minecreft. altho quake has less essential buttons. I like the buttons in place of the stick my self as it reminds me of the hitbox that someone made for fighting games.  If the buttons for attack and place are closer to the trackball so they can be hit with the thumb i think it could work.

*UPDATE*

So i checked into the one that was at minecon. Seems the controls focused on playing the game. everything thing else. vol, level select was done with a secondary keyboard. they used an ipac for the control interface. but the one at minecon was locked into creative mode.

[stpcore]

It wouldn't be any big deal for me to have a small wireless keyboard tucked under the CP somewhere in the event you needed to access it.  Again, this machine is not set up for the hardcore Minecraft player but rather a casual way for the kids and their friends to pick up and play.  It could also serve as a nice piece of decor in their playroom.  They play Minecraft on tablets, Xbox, PC, so why not put an arcade into the mix and see how that goes?  Now that I think about it, I should probably start limiting some of their Minecraft, lol.

[mildanti]

I feel that the flight stick is going to be awkward because of how the game is played your always opening your inventory so that means u have to let go of the stick every time, also u could but small buttons for the 9 inventory slots

[pixelObsession]

Did anything ever become of this?


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[stpcore]

I'm sorry I didn't think to update this thread!

So "Kidcade" ended up with a classic Ms Pac-Man theme and was delivered to a center for handicapped kids because of its wheelchair accessibility. It ended up with the ever so famous 60 in 1 board with working trackball.

After much thought I just couldn't seem to get the Minecraft idea to flow without making a mess of the control panel. I guess it's OK since my kids are now on to Terraria. Hmmm...wonder if that would make a good cab? 

[pixelObsession]

Nice!  Kid Cade took to Ms Pac Man very well!

I have two boys into Minecraft and was looking into making some pint sized cabs for playing it but it's really meant for keyboard and mouse.

CoryBee took a stab at it too with a trackball mouse in a bartop but it really comes down to how it feels to play.

Terraria would make an awesome cab!


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