Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
It's funny. Laugh. Entertainment Games

Donkey Kong Recreated Using 6,400 Post-it Notes 164

Posted by Zonk from the time-on-their-hands dept.
NickFitz writes "Students at UCSC have recreated the first level of Donkey Kong using 6,400 Post-it notes stuck to the windows of the E2 building. It took a team of about 10 people five hours to complete the work, which will remain in place until May 1. There's a time-lapse video of the construction process."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Donkey Kong Recreated Using 6,400 Post-it Notes More

Donkey Kong Recreated Using 6,400 Post-it Notes

Comments Filter:

  • If MIT students did it (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 14, 2007 @11:36PM (#18738035)
    It would be playable.

  • I've Never Felt This Way Before. (Score:4, Funny)

    by MankyD ( 567984 ) on Saturday April 14, 2007 @11:40PM (#18738061) Homepage

    While this game's early '80s arcade popularity predates most of today's engineering students...
    I suddenly feel so old :(
    • I suddenly feel so old :(

      Actually it was like a slap in the face. Donkey Kong is timeless. Today's generation has it way too easy. They don't appreciate what they have. In my day, we had to pay a quarter for each time we played Donkey Kong.

      • Re:I've Never Felt This Way Before. (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 15, 2007 @12:28AM (#18738325)
        Actually, you did not need a quarter to play Donkey Kong (or any Nintendo game using the same cabinet). I had to get my DK fix and paper route money was not cutting it. Remember, back in this time frame, Atari was just about all anyone had for video games and cabinet games were a craze. Anyway, when I was was 12, money was tight but you could get around that. The front Plexiglas panel on the Donkey Kong cabinet could be manipulated so that you could lift it up get your hand in through the bottom of it. With your arm down inside the unit, you could play around for a little bit and find the metal clicker that a quarter would trigger when dropped in. You could simply keep clicking this and get credits up to the 99 max. Every time a credit was given (like from a quarter or you simulating a quarter), the game made a loud "blowwap" noise. To prevent being obvious, you could add one credit, hit the 1 player button to start a new game, then click that metal arm over and over again without that obvious noise. This trick worked better in the pizza shops and smaller venues then the full sized game rooms because the smaller places often did not pay attention or had no one around because the games were often in some side room or in the back somewhere. Full game rooms typically had too many people and employees around. I knew about the generals of how this worked because I had a few full sized video games in my basement, like Clowns, some tank game and a third that I don't remember, all back and white and all played to death. Yes it was wrong but I had to play DK somehow.

        • Re:I've Never Felt This Way Before. (Score:5, Funny)

          by ari_j ( 90255 ) on Sunday April 15, 2007 @01:57AM (#18738789)
          Just so we're all clear on this: You couldn't afford to drop a quarter on DK but you could afford to keep three full-size cabinet arcade games in your basement.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by asninn ( 1071320 )
            The three full-size cabinet arcade games were probably the reason he didn't even have so much as a quarter left in his pocket...
        • Another method was to make a hole in the coin, then use a thin fishing line to insert the coin, then get it back out as soon as the credit is registered.

          • Another method was to make a hole in the coin, then use a thin fishing line to insert the coin, then get it back out as soon as the credit is registered.
            Does this realy work outside of cartoons?
        • what happened to stringing a quarter ? that worked on all the early games. we used to string defender at the 7-11 while one of us distracted the cashier....

    • Re:I've Never Felt This Way Before. (Score:5, Funny)

      by Jeff DeMaagd ( 2015 ) on Sunday April 15, 2007 @12:14AM (#18738267) Homepage Journal
      What's worse is that when we played DK, we just accepted the idea that DK threw fire. I don't remember anyone that questioned it.

      I think what really happen was that he was supposed to throw feces but the focus group refused to play the game.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Sepper ( 524857 )
      I suddenly feel so old :(

      I know the feeling. I work at a College, and most of the new students don't remember the Berlin Wall. Some were not even born when it fell.
  • I'd love to take part in something like that. Reminds me of freshman year, we'd have fun by making things out of our crappy food.
    My favorites were the Lettuce Luigi, and the Mario Question Block that I made out of a stale bagel, the different colors on different sides made for a fun effect!

  • Bravo! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Kid Zero ( 4866 ) on Saturday April 14, 2007 @11:43PM (#18738077) Homepage Journal
    Nice to see students remembering the past. :)

    • Nice to see students remembering the past. :)
      Or "reviving" as the case may be, as the game came out in 1981, a few years before many of these students were probably born.

      Still an awesome effort though.

  • Monkeys aren't donkeys (Score:5, Funny)

    by aurb ( 674003 ) on Saturday April 14, 2007 @11:45PM (#18738085)
    Stop messing with my head!

  • It's pretty friggin cool... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by posterlogo ( 943853 ) on Saturday April 14, 2007 @11:50PM (#18738119)
    I saw it last week -- some great 8-bit action going on over at the engineering building. Ironically, it's the 8-bit stuff that's even remotely feasible to do with post-its, but its so old I wonder how many of those students actually played that game when it first came out...

  • First level? (Score:5, Funny)

    by oneiros27 ( 46144 ) on Saturday April 14, 2007 @11:56PM (#18738157) Homepage

    ... recreated the first level of Donkey Kong ...

    How can you tell the first one apart from any of the other levels of Donkey Kong? That sure looks like the sixth level to me.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Sigma 7 ( 266129 )

      How can you tell the first one apart from any of the other levels of Donkey Kong?

      The "first" level means that it uses the first possible layout - it doesn't mean that it's the sixth one you encounter in the game (although incidently, the first board does appear as the sixth in the rotation.)

      The boards are as follows (although I think the order is a bit different):
      - Ladders - a series of bent floors.
      - Conveyors - some floors push you left and right
      - Elevators - has to elevators on the left hand side.
      - Roof -

  • This makes me happy (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Conspiracy_Of_Doves ( 236787 ) on Saturday April 14, 2007 @11:57PM (#18738161)
    Hooray for geeks with way too much time on their hands.
    • And no desire to do their bit not to needlessly waste resources for something that'll be amusing for a good fifteen minutes.
    • Hooray for geeks with way too much time on their hands. .... Obviously way too much time. 6400 notes, 10 people, 5 hours equates to only one note posted every 28 seconds, or around two a minute. Anybody want to offerr these guys a job??
      • The article didn't say if they were using all 5 hours to just stick the post-it's up there, but I'm sure it required some set up on site. I imagine the easiest would be a painter's laser level and a few other gadgets, but it isn't just walk up and start.

    • Re:This makes me happy (Score:5, Funny)

      by MobileTatsu-NJG ( 946591 ) on Sunday April 15, 2007 @05:02AM (#18739657)
      "Hooray for geeks with way too much time on their hands."

      Said the guy posting on Slashdot.

    • Hooray for geeks with way too much time on their hands.

      Styx said it all:

      Sitting on this barstool talking like a damn fool
      Got the twelve oclock news blues
      And Ive given up hope on the afternoon soaps
      And a bottle of cold brew
      Is it any wonder Im not crazy? is it any wonder Im sane at all
      Well Im so tired of losing- I got nothing to do and all day to do it
      I go out cruisin but Ive no place to go and all night to get there
      Is it any wonder Im not a criminal?
      Is it any wonder Im not in jail?
      Is it any wond

  • Not with Donkey Kong but with Super Mario Bros (1)? I thought it got taken down cause they didn't get permission beforehand. Hopefully they have permission this time.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by gsn ( 989808 )
      They did I think in '03 or '04. I had a friend from high school who was part of that endeavor. Those were individual characters not a full scene though, but still pretty impressive. I read this time its supposed to stay up till May 1 so I guess they got permission. They weren't the first [kotaku.com] either though. Not sure if I'd call it art but definitely fun to come across if you aren't expecting it. It will be interesting to see how the subject matter changes as we get older.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Amigori ( 177092 )
      Here [slashdot.org] is the thread from last time they did it, Super Mario Bros. style.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by coaxial ( 28297 )
      Actually, only the killjoys in the econ department on the 4th floor destroyed the mural. The CS, EE, CompE, and School of Engineering offices departments on the 2nd, 3rd and 5th floors didn't have with it. They later got "revenge" by putting the game over scene on 4th floor after removing the notes from the other floors.

      This time there's a sign on the back of the 4th floor (the bottom floor in the video and pics is actually the 2nd floor) barrel indicating that this artwork was actually comissioned by Jim [ucsc.edu]
  • What does UCSC think of this? How long will it stay up?

    I'd like to do something like this on my UC campus... See you on the front page of slashdot in a week!
  • seriously any slashdotter could do that with only 640 postits!

    --

  • Good thing they didn't have any, you know, work to do.
    • It's pretty much the beginning of the spring quarter (most UCs have Fall, Winter, Spring and optional Summer quarters rather than Fall and Spring semesters with a shorter Summer "semester") so they don't yet have the really hard work to do. This might have even been put up during spring break. Maybe it was done by Freshmen...could have even been some Winter quarter grads...

  • Wasted time! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ProfessionalCookie ( 673314 ) on Sunday April 15, 2007 @12:05AM (#18738215) Journal
    If they're going to make it so big the least those billy goats could do is use 2xSaI [tudelft.nl]. *sigh*

  • Must've used quality post-it notes... (Score:3, Funny)

    by LighterShadeOfBlack ( 1011407 ) on Sunday April 15, 2007 @12:09AM (#18738227) Homepage
    If they used the ones I have at work they'd still be trying to get the first one to stick for more than 3 seconds right about now.

  • Quit messing with our minds! (Score:5, Funny)

    by suv4x4 ( 956391 ) on Sunday April 15, 2007 @12:10AM (#18738237)
    Quit messing with our minds! [ytmnd.com]

  • May I be the first to say... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Lazbien ( 788979 ) on Sunday April 15, 2007 @12:10AM (#18738239)
    NNNNNeeeeerrrrrrrrddddddsssssssssssss!!!!!!
  • I wonder how feasable it would be to do this on walls in bedrooms and such. Maybe a simple Mario or mushroom could at least be done.

    I just hope they branch out a bit more from Mario, stuff like Zelda and Metroid need love too

  • 6,400 (Score:5, Funny)

    by Disharmony2012 ( 998431 ) on Sunday April 15, 2007 @12:39AM (#18738377)
    6,400 post-it notes ought to be enough to re-create any level.
  • Are they "infringing" on copyrights?

    Is this legitimate, licensed use of Post-It notes -- or will 3M send a cease and desist notice?

  • I just walked right by this building on Friday but didn't have the presence of mind to look up.

    Woops. I'll have to check it out tomorrow.

  • Meh... (Score:2, Funny)

    by mattmacf ( 901678 )
    640 post-its should be enough for anybody

    *ducks*

  • about 10 people? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Ruvim ( 889012 ) on Sunday April 15, 2007 @01:27AM (#18738619)

    a team of about 10 people
    What, was like 9.5 people?

  • Reminds me of Freshman Year (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Nyeerrmm ( 940927 ) on Sunday April 15, 2007 @02:12AM (#18738869)
    Reminds me of my freshman year in the dorms. We never did anything this impressive or visible, but we did spend most of one weekend making a movie, and designed a 'shack' for a Habitat for Humanity fundraiser that was two stories with running water (kind of). Now I'm a senior with more practical projects, drinking, and living in an apartment getting in the way... I suppose I did learn video editing along the way though.

    Is it bad that I'm not even graduated and already reminiscing?

  • game vs. art resolution (Score:4, Informative)

    by xPsi ( 851544 ) on Sunday April 15, 2007 @02:16AM (#18738895)
    I believe the orginal Donkey Kong had a screen resolution of 224 x 256 pixels. I don't think the art quite matches that resolution (with a 3" x 3" post-it covering 4 floors, you would need 16-foot floors to obtain the same effective vertical resolution). To be fair, they condensed the first level a bit on the top (the girl used to be on a raised platform, no?), so they are looking at fewer vertical pixels in the game -- and those do look like pretty tall floors...


    [sigh] I'm saddened that I even bothered to think about this...

  • They were going to do Duck Hunt.... (Score:3, Funny)

    by rubberbando ( 784342 ) on Sunday April 15, 2007 @02:31AM (#18738959)
    but someone kept shooting at the window....
  • The E2 "building" is right here [everything2.com]. Dang kids; get off of my lawn.

  • I wonder.. (Score:2, Funny)

    by n1hilist ( 997601 )
    Who got first post(it) ? :)
  • respect - nice scheme to have a free post-it ad presented to a crowd the size of the /. audience.

  • The irony of it (Score:5, Funny)

    by ciaran.mchale ( 1018214 ) on Sunday April 15, 2007 @05:49AM (#18739795) Homepage
    Years ago, people predicted that computer technology would result in the "paperless office". Now, people are using paper to create the "computerless video game".

    • Now, people are using paper to create the "computerless video game".
      This has been the case since the Pokémon trading card game if not earlier.
  • When I read the headline I thought it meant that they had reproduced the first level programming as a flow chart using Post-it notes. Modern programmers won't remember this, but once upon a time you diagrammed the program logic before coding, rather than coding first and then using tools to produce the diagrams. Post-it note programming isn't a bad idea. You can create all the major code points on post-its, then join them up on a board, then rearrange the sequences for optimisation.

    I just made myself feel s

Slashdot Top Deals

Our OS who art in CPU, UNIX be thy name. Thy programs run, thy syscalls done, In kernel as it is in user!

Close