The Scrapyard Challenge is a global workshop started in 2003 by Jonah Brucker-Cohen and Katherine Moriwaki that teaches basic interaction and interface design through hacking recycled materials, electronics, and trash. The workshops have been held hundreds of times in over 15 countries on 5 continents! Click on the map markers to explore each workshop that we have held since 2003! Double click to zoom the map.
This version of the workshop is an interactive, classic arcade game controller design workshop where participants will build novel controllers for classic arcade games such as Street Fighter, Ms.PacMan, Pacman, Donkey Kong, Crash Bandicoot, Super Mario Bros, Mario Kart, and more. Participants were split into 4 groups and chose a classic video game to design a novel controller (the crazier the better!) to control all aspects of the game such as 1, 2, 3 player controls, action buttons including jump, kick, punch, shoot, magic and controller directions such as up, down right, left. The goal was to make each game as interactive as possible with full-body control systems built from scrap materials and junk. The workshop uses USB encoder boards and RaspberryPi computers running RetroPie for game emulation.
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Coney Island Ampitheatre
This workshop was run at Maker Faire Coney Island – 2024.
This workshop allows anyone to create a controller for classic arcade and console games using Raspberry Pis and USB encoders.
The Scrapyard Challenge: Classic Arcade Controller Redesign Workshop is an interactive, arcade controller design workshop run by Katherine Moriwaki and Jonah Brucker-Cohen where participants will build novel controllers for classic arcade games such as Street Fighter, Ms.PacMan, Pacman, Donkey Kong, Crash Bandicoot, Super Mario Bros, Mario Kart, Centipede, and more. Participants are split into groups and can choose a classic video game and design a novel controller (the crazier the better!) to control all aspects of the game such as 1, 2, 3 player controls, action buttons including jump, kick, punch, shoot, magic and controller directions such as up, down right, left. The goal is to make each game as interactive as possible with full-body control systems built from scrap materials and junk. The workshop uses USB encoder boards and RaspberryPi computers running RetroPie for game emulation.
Video
Photos
The Scrapyard Challenge: Classic Arcade Controller Redesign Workshop is an interactive, arcade controller design workshop run by Katherine Moriwaki and Jonah Brucker-Cohen where participants will build novel controllers for classic arcade games such as Street Fighter, Ms.PacMan, Pacman, Donkey Kong, Crash Bandicoot, Super Mario Bros, Mario Kart, Centipede, and more. Participants are split into groups and can choose a classic video game and design a novel controller (the crazier the better!) to control all aspects of the game such as 1, 2, 3 player controls, action buttons including jump, kick, punch, shoot, magic and controller directions such as up, down right, left. The goal is to make each game as interactive as possible with full-body control systems built from scrap materials and junk. The workshop uses USB encoder boards and RaspberryPi computers running RetroPie for game emulation.
Video:
Photos:
This workshop is an interactive, arcade controller design workshop where participants will build novel controllers for classic arcade games such as Street Fighter, Ms.PacMan, Pacman, Donkey Kong, Crash Bandicoot, Super Mario Bros, and more. Participants are split into 4 groups and can choose a classic video game and design a novel controller (the crazier the better!) to control all aspects of the game such as 1, 2, 3 player controls, action buttons including jump, kick, punch, shoot, magic and controller directions such as up, down right, left. The goal is to make each game as interactive as possible with full-body control systems built from scrap materials and junk. The workshop uses USB encoder boards and RaspberryPi computers running RetroPie for game emulation.
This workshop was an interactive, arcade controller design workshop taught by Jonah Brucker-Cohen and Sebastian Bidegain where participants built novel controllers for 4 classic arcade games, Street Fighter, Ms.PacMan, Pacman, Donkey Kong, Crash Bandicoot, and more.
This version of the Scrapyard Challenge had participants building their own physical “Like” buttons for Facebook.
Scrapyard Challenge Workshop at Expo 2020 Youth Connect
Columbia University, Teacher's College, New York NY
Scrapyard Challenge workshop taught in the class “New Media” at Lehman College, March 25, 27, 2015
Scrapyard Challenge, Creative Activism in Climate Change, Central Park Zoo, New York, NY, USA.
Scrapyard Challenge, Parsons MFA Design and Technology, New York, NY, USA.
“Spaghetti and Beat Balls” – 2013
Scrapyard Challenge, Fourth Arts Block: LOAD OUT, NYC, USA
Scrapyard Challenge, Habits of Living Conference, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Scrapyard Challenge, October 12, 2012, GE Garages, NYC, NY, USA.
gadgITERATION, USA Science and Engineering Festival 2012, Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.
Redesigning Reality, Visions and Voices, University of Southern California, University Park Campus
USC School of Cinematic Arts Building (SCA), Los Angeles, CA.
Scrapyard Challenge, The Banff Centre, RIP Workshop, Banff, Alberta, Canada, July 8, 2011.
Scrapyard Challenge, Baruch College, New York, NY, USA.
Scrapyard Challenge, Eco-Arts Festival 2011, Cedar Rapids, IA, USA.
Scrapyard Challenge, Parsons, MFA, Design Technology, NY, NY, USA, October 3, 2010
Scrapyard Challenge, Techcrunch Disrupt!, New York, NY, May 22-23, 2010
Scrapyard Challenge Workshops @ Techcrunch Disrupt! from Jonah Brucker-Cohen on Vimeo.
Scrapyard Challenge, Commissioned by the Ammerman Center Award, Connecticut College, New London, CT, USA
Scrapyard Challenge, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
Art And Code, Carnegie Mellon University, College of Fine Arts, November 6-8. 2009
Old American Can Factory, Sentient City, Brooklyn, NY, September 26, 2009
Scrapyard Challenge from Architectural League of New York on Vimeo.
Scrapyard Challenge, Parsons School of Design, MFA-Design & Technology, September 19, 2009
Scrapyard Challenge / EWaste Workshop, ISEA 2009, ReFunct Event, Irish Museum of Contemporary Art, Dublin, Ireland
Scrapyard Challenge, Ormeau Baths Gallery Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 15, 2009
Scrapyard Challenge @ Grounding Open Source Hardware (GOSH), The Banff Centre, July 10-18, 2009
Scrapyard Challenge Workshop, Maker Faire Bay Area, San Mateo Fairgrounds, San Mateo, CA, May 30-31, 2009
Scrapyard Challenge Workshop, Palais De Tokyo, Paris, France, April 23, 2009
Scrapyard Challenge,SangSangMaDang Gallery, Seoul, Korea, November 27-29, 2008
Scrapyard Challenge, London Science Museum, London, UK, October 30th, 2008
Scrapyard Challenge, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, Colorado, USA, August 11-15, 2008
Hybrid World Scrapyard Challenge, IMAL, Brussels, Belgium, May 19-23, 2008
Scrapyard Challenge, BLIP!, Telefonica Foundation Gallery, Lima, Peru, November 5-9, 2007
Scrapyard Challenge, BBC Blast Bus, Glasgow, Scotland, UK, September 22, 2007
Scrapyard Challenge, Urban Learning Space, Glasgow, Scotland, UK, September 21st, 2007
Scrapyard Challenge, ZS Associates, Evanston, IL, August 10, 2007
Scrapyard Challenge, Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology, NY, NY, USA, June 30, 2007
Scrapyard Challenge, Intermediae, Matadero, Madrid, Spain
Scrapyard Challenge, Six Cities Design Festival, The Tolbooth, Jail Wynd, Stirling, Scotland, UK
Scrapyard Challenge, GEL Conference, Spark Art Space, NYC, USA, April 19th, 2007
Viral:Culture Design Symposium, Columbia College, Chicago, IL, USA, April 7th, 2007
Scrapyard Challenge, Distance Lab, Forres, Scotland, UK, January 19, 2007
Scrapyard Challenge, Urban Learning Space, January 17th, 2007
Stetson University, Deland, Florida, USA, October 13, 2006
Scrapyard Challenge, OBORO, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DIY Urban Challenge, ISEA 2006, San Jose, California, August 7-8, 2006
Scrapyard Challenge Workshop, Machine Project, 1200 N Alvarado St, Los Angeles, CA 90026
STEIM, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 21, 2006
DIY Wearable Challenge, Art Interactive, Boston, MA, USA, December 10, 2005
Scrapyard Challenge @ ANAT Media Lab, Melbourne, Australia, October 11, 2005
Scrapyard Challenge, MFA Design and Technology, Parsons, September 24. 2005
DIY Wearable Challenge, Siggraph, August 1, 2005
Scrapyard Challenge, ArtBots , Saints Michael and John Church, Dublin, Ireland Dublin, Ireland, July 15-17, 2005
Scrapyard Challenge Workshop
Aesthetics Technology Lab, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, May 27, 2005
DIY Wearable Challenge I, Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallin, Estonia Photos
Scrapyard Challenge Workshop held during Outside IN Festival
Scrapyard Challenge Workshop held at Electrofringe, 2003.
This was the first workshop we held at the DATA:BASE event.
Scrapyard Challenge Workshop, Transmediale, Berlin, Germany, Feb 2, 2004.
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