Interviews: Ask Ben Heck About Gaming and Console Modding

Benjamin Heckendorn, better known as Ben Heck, has become famous for modding consoles and game controllers. Over 10 million viewers worldwide have watched The Ben Heck Show to see him create something new out of old gaming systems every week. Been has agreed to leave the Ataris alone for a while and answer your questions about console modding and gaming in general. As usual, ask as many as you'd like, but please, one question per post.

Re:

[jiriw]

Seems to be ok now? ... However, the second link is not clickable. HTML source says:

Over 10 million viewers worldwide have watched <a>The Ben Heck Show</a>

Maybe this link [youtube.com] is good enough instead?

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[rwise2112]

Really?

Been has agreed...

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[Nethemas the Great]

That's alright. The Ben Heck Show is an empty anchor.

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[oldmac31310]

Seriously, you spell summary incorrectly when criticizing the god damn summary?

Closed ecosystem

[i kan reed]

By attempting to inject openness into an intentionally closed ecosystem, do you see yourself as an enabler to that closed ecosystem?

That is to say, open standards are the default on modular personal computers, and almost invariably not present on video game consoles. By giving people who want flexibility a means to use consoles, do you see yourself as inflating those markets and doing long-term harm to actual open systems?

Design Workflow

[HideyoshiJP]

Ben, When you're generally designing enclosures for your hacked consoles, do you tend to start with an overall design first, or do you start designing around the mainboards and then attempt to make things look nice later in the design process?

Ever get any Law suits / DMCA / banned issues with

[Joe_Dragon]

Ever get any Law suits / DMCA / banned issues with the hacks?

What's missing from consoles?

[Anonymous Coward]

What new features or technologies do you do see missing from the current gaming systems that you believe would beneficial, and why?

Re:

[Urza9814]

You should be watching Jeri Ellsworth or Dave Jones if that's what you want.

He's building prototypes. Cheap, fast, and easy. That's the point. I suppose by your logic every web developer is a "tool" for using high-level languages instead of writing raw binary files? Our keyboards should just have two keys -- 1 and 0?

So somebody figured out how to reverse-engineer an iPod screen. Great. How long was that video? You can watch Heck build his X-Box laptop in about an hour. How long you think it would take to wa

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[dresgarcia]

Have you ever watched his show before attempting to flame? He does a lot more than just mod games. Also, Since when does being a hobbyist make you a poseur?

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[Urza9814]

So...what, everyone who isn't an EE is a "poseur" to you?

Heck isn't an EE. He doesn't claim to be. Nobody else claims he is either. He's more of an artist than an EE. If you want to watch an EE go watch Dave Jones or Jonathan Oxer or Jeri Ellsworth or whoever.

Best input device?

[martiniturbide]

What do you think it is the best input device that you used for consoles? why?

Weirder/non-common Input device?

[martiniturbide]

Which one is the weirder/non-common input device that you used? Any comments about it, why did you like it or not?

space

[freeze128]

When adding functionality to existing products that are made of molded plastic, what do you do when you just don't have enough room?

Name change

[Eddy_D]

Been has agreed to leave the Ataris alone for a while and answer your questions about console modding and gaming in general.

Ben, when did you change your name to Been?

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

After he watched Ender's Game

Minced profanity

[Anonymous Coward]

Have you ever considered legally changing your name to "Ben Heck&darn"?

Anyone else...

[g0bshiTe]

Other than me pissed there was mention of Bill Paxton pinball but no photos?

he working on a new pinball game now

[Joe_Dragon]

Bill Paxton pinball is in visual pinball right now.

His new game is cool and it was fun to play the test / show game with him there.

Any plans to improve your current designs?

[twocows]

I looked into the Access Controller a while back for my mom (she doesn't get out much and she has a tremor in her right hand), it looks like it might be good for turn-based games, but the design doesn't seem like it would work well for anything requiring real time input on both analogs. I don't know if it's even possible to improve on that design in that way, but more generally, I was just wondering if you have any plans to go back and look at ways of improving some of the older hacks and designs you've don

Breakfast?

[Charliemopps]

I live about 2 miles from you. Yet I've never seen you at Bennets for breakfast! What gives? Where's your sense of community?!?!?

clay + sculpting...

[Fubari]

About the the "clay" you use for sculpting (I've always thought of you as an artist + sculptor): Any tech you wished was mainstream, or maybe soon to invented, that you'd like to sculpt with? Any older more retro components that are limiting what projects you'd like to do? p.s. Love your work, followed for a while here & engadget.

Iron Man Armor

[readacc]

Ben, have you ever considered building Iron Man armor? Bonus points if it's an autonomic prehensile propulsion suit.

Effect of new hardware design trends

[Sockatume]

Computer hardware is tending to be more and more integrated and consolidated, not just within each console generation (the first PS2 eventually consolidated the GPU and CPU in one component) but between generations (the PS4 launches with a single component for GPU and CPU). Does this help you hack by giving you a smaller device, or does it hinder you by giving you less flexibility?