Final Project Plans

Not even a week and my project has already changed. This seems to be a pattern with my projects.

Before, my plan was to build a custom drum practice pad that doubles as a stick bag and holder. While this seemed like a cool idea, I eventually ran into a thought: Any time I use this, I am actively damaging the stick holder and bag. A practice pad is designed to take repeated hits from drumsticks. A bag, on the other hand, isn’t quite as durable. Because of this, I ended up shifting plans to another one I had.

Within the different genres of video games, there is a genre known as Fighting Games. These harken back to older, arcade styles of games, and the ways that they are played are no different. Custom controllers known as Fight Sticks are incredibly common, with their designs mimicking those of old arcade cabinets. My new project is to make one myself.

While this may seem like a complicated project, the actual electronics are quite simple. The buttons are sold quite readily and in large amounts for very cheap.

These can be connected to a very basic, pre-programmed PCB which can then be connected to a PC, PS4, or Xbox. This is very appreciated as I am notably horrible with electronics and the programming of them. The main part of this project that will have an aesthetic involved is the casing for it.

The casings for Fightsticks are incredibly versatile and can be heavily decorated. I want to make a casing from scratch, likely through laser cutting acrylic, and creating an outer shell that I will make a design for. As for what aesthetic it will be, I talked last week about wanting to use a rock aesthetic. Fighting games actually have a long history with rock music, with one of the most influential developers behind them being heavily influenced by classic rock and metal. Because of this, I will keep the rock aesthetic that I wanted before.

The specific type of Fightstick I want to make is called a Hitbox. These features only buttons and no joystick, which I feel will give it a sleeker look.

References:

Featured Image: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hitboxarcade.com%2Fproducts%2Fhit-box&psig=AOvVaw32tosR7sGqJVaQTsEvu_QH&ust=1741309429736000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBcQjhxqFwoTCLDImaOh9IsDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ

Figure 1: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMayflash-F300-Arcade-Joystick-Switch%2Fdp%2FB019MFPLC0&psig=AOvVaw1Qw9T248QvRxDLqaRATtuJ&ust=1741308929369000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBcQjhxqFwoTCNiEprSf9IsDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

Figure 2: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffocusattack.com%2Fsanwa-obsf-30mm-pushbuttons-vermillion%2F&psig=AOvVaw1c_Z1H78PJlEWbWZpXqjh2&ust=1741309075697000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBcQjhxqFwoTCKiyx_mf9IsDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

Figure 3: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.decalgirl.com%2Fproducts%2Fblue-willow-mayflash-f500-arcade-fightstick-skin&psig=AOvVaw35WO8z4Xn7n352yltN5H5Q&ust=1741309560632000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBcQjhxqFwoTCLiS–Ch9IsDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

Figure 4: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hitboxarcade.com%2F&psig=AOvVaw32tosR7sGqJVaQTsEvu_QH&ust=1741309429736000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBcQjhxqFwoTCLDImaOh9IsDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAQ