Minecraft started out as a lovable indie game, and became an unstoppable billion-dollar juggernaut in a remarkably quick fashion. Over time, it’s become a favorite among modders and those that seek to explore what’s possible with the game. [Eric] decided that the game could be more immersive, and built this awesome pickaxe controller.
The controller is built around an off-the-shelf Minecraft pickaxe toy; a popular piece of merchandise given the tool’s importance in the game. [Eric] added an Arduino, an accelerometer, and buttons. This lets the controller act as a mouse, allowing the user to control the camera by moving the pickaxe. The buttons unlock further functionality, with the red button allowing the user to mine by swinging the axe. Reportedly this is a lot of fun, albeit tiring in long sessions. Other features are still controlled by the keyboard, such as movement and accessing inventory screens. We’d love to try it out; carving out a tunnel block by block would be quite satisfying after all the exertion!
[Eric] is actually giving the controller away to a lucky subscriber, so head over to the Youtube video if you’d like a shot to own the nifty pickaxe. We’ve seen other advanced Minecraft controllers before, too. Video after the break.
Now reimplement it with PICAXE.
I read that as PICAXE and was totally confused!
Me too…
Me four.
I 2 C that aint no PIC. Doesnt look hand comfortable and long hours of ‘minin’ going to stress the wrist. Is cool idea and probably will sell to MineFreaks who buy anything associated.
Hey, I’m the creator! It is surprisingly hand comfortable because your fingers go between the notches in the handle. Swinging does get tiring though. Not super into tech, so I assume PIC is a type of microcontroller. It is arduino based, so yes, it’s uses I2C.
It looks pretty fun and is a great for fun build. you deserve to be proud.
Plus IRL exercise when playing this game is a grand idea.
PIC is a line of MCU and host of support chips made by Microchip. PICAXE is a value added IDE line of MCU and periphery based on PIC. Atmel makes the AVR line which is MCU in many of Arduino/Genuino another value added development environment. Then theres Parallax and… Ya Gonna stop here.
MineCraft a whole subculture in itself. Seriously should put some made units up and see how they sell. Kits not so much. May not make a killing but might make some extra for funding next idea.
Ruining horrible puns. So sad.