Tool:

Makey Makey Kit
https://amzn.to/2JzJ7It

Scratch Games for Makey Makey
https://scratch.mit.edu/search/projects?q=makey+makey

Google Offline T-Rex Game
https://apps.thecodepost.org/trex/trex.html

Disco is Dead game
https://thirdfloorgames.wixsite.com/discoisdead

MakeyMakey Project Gallery
https://labz.makeymakey.com/remixes

Transcript:

It’s time for another Cool Tool review. This time, I’m going to show you guys the Makey Makey kit. This runs for around $50 on Amazon and it allows you quickly interact with your computer using everyday objects. If you want to pick one up, using the Amazon link in the description helps support my videos and the Cool Tools blog.

If you haven’t heard of the Makey Makey board, it’s been around for a few years now, and has become a staple of the STEAM educator toolkit.

But what I’ve only just learned is that it’s also a very popular tool for game developers who want to quickly prototype unique game controllers.

For example, I met this group of students last week who developed a fun zombie chase game called Disco is Dead. The game is controlled by slapping the sides of a costume store zombie head and touching a little disco ball for extra power.

Their not-so-secret weapon for making their zombie head disco ball controller was to just use aluminum foil and alligator clips to attach it all to a single Makey Makey board.

The genius of this board is that there’s no setup or programming required. You plug it in to your computer using the included USB cable, and it basically acts as a very limited keyboard.

For example, by holding the bottom section (labeled Earth) with one hand, I can use my other hand to navigate up, down, left, right, press the spacebar, or make a mouse click.

Slightly more advanced, I could take one of the many included alligator clips, connect up one side of an arcade button to Earth and the other side of the button to Space, and now I have a one-button game controller I can use to play Google’s offline dinosaur game.

Taking it further, I can find free Makey Makey compatible games and interactive instruments built in MIT’s Scratch platform, make more elaborate controllers with foil or fruit or copper tape. And if I want more inputs or a way to breadboard this into a project, I can flip it over and access more options.

That’s the Makey Makey. It works with any computer. The kit comes with a USB cable, a bunch of quality alligator clips, some hookup wire for exploring the connections on the back, and illustrated instructions to get you started. There’s also a huge online community with projects and ideas to explore.

You can find a link to pick one up in the video description, and you can see thousands of reader recommended tools like this at Cool-Tools.org.

Find more Cool Tool reviews here:
http://kk.org/cooltools