Wii remotes + devil sticks = WiiSticks

by Kyle Orland { Jan 11th 2007 at 1:25PM }

We've featured more than our fair share of Wii hacks on this site, but while using the remote to simulate drums or air guitar is pretty cool, it doesn't hold a candle to the ultimate Wii remote killer app: Virtual devil sticks!

WiiSticks, currently available in beta, makes the obvious intuitive leap of using Wii remotes as stand-ins for the two control sticks used to balance and flip a virtual baton. A video of the program in action shows how the on-screen sticks move almost perfectly in sync with the actual remotes, though there does appear to be some jumpiness when the remote moves too quickly. The program also only seems to support up-and-down movement, making some of the more complex devil stick tricks nearly impossible.

Still, an impressive proof of concept and an interesting new direction for the Wii hacking community. Now all we need is Wii remote support for a juggling simulator and the the Wii-controlled circus can finally begin in earnest.

[Via Digg]

Tags: 3D, devil sticks, DevilSticks, hack, juggling, remote, wii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

ill trooper @ Jan 11th 2007 1:33PM

Rave on. See you at Burning Man... I'll bring the hackysack.

FISS @ Jan 11th 2007 1:38PM

That's F@·king AWESOME!!!

some person @ Jan 11th 2007 2:00PM

it's cool and all, but this is old news

Brandon Bloom @ Jan 11th 2007 1:50PM

This is by Walaber, an active member of the Newton Game Dynamics (free physics engine) community:

http://www.newtondynamics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3189&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Nick @ Jan 11th 2007 3:00PM

Man i had devil sticks when i was like 10. I loved those things

roshi @ Jan 11th 2007 2:17PM

Great, now hippies can be virtual.

Dale @ Jan 11th 2007 2:23PM

I really wish there were more actual games for the system that let you do fun things with more than one Wiimote.

For example, special straps to attach a Wiimote to each limb that then let you physically perform karate moves against an on-screen opponent.

bpops @ Jan 11th 2007 2:32PM

Cheater. He's using the holodeck of the Enterprise to simulate it.

Drew2u @ Jan 11th 2007 3:06PM

How about bundling all these together with pois and having Wii Acrobatics or something. (Hey, they're already having Wii Music, so why not?)

I'm also going to vote for the virtual karate idea. That's too cool to pass up.

Gavin @ Jan 11th 2007 3:16PM

Another awesome hack. The Wii might already be the most-hacked console of all time.

I've been gathering the best of these hacks at my site Tenspotting which does dynamic topten lists.

Check out my list of Top Ten Coolest Nintendo Wii Hacks if you're interested:

http://www.tenspotting.com/ts/lists/256/system

Huzzah!! @ Jan 11th 2007 7:49PM

Cool, but entirely pointless.

Aux @ Jan 11th 2007 4:29PM

Hooray! Renaissance Festival go-ers around the world rejoice!

ackmondual @ Jan 11th 2007 7:02PM

@ #9
Wii Acrobatics is another stellar idea if implemented well. Some of my pics for games to include in this bundle would be:

1-Devil Sticks, as demonstrated in that linked Utube video clip

2-Diabolo, aka Chinese YoYo

3-juggling - several ways to implement...
a) the Wiimotes themselves are the balls!!! You'd ideally want multiple wiimotes to juggle more than one ball at a time. Also heavily carpeted floors to prevent wiimote breakage.
b) the wiimotes are the hands and you press/release buttons to catch/release the ball

4-baton swinging - Like what twirlers do at American football games. WOuld need a physical centerpiece attachment to connect 2 end piece wiimotes

5-ball throwing - like a carnival game, similar to wii bowling

Heck, unlike Wii Sports, maybe even throw in a storyline/plot, like starting your own Cirque Du Soleil, and even base it off physics and even "fantasy/magical" rules

.

@ #10
""Another awesome hack. The Wii might already be the most-hacked console of all time.""

I'm not exactly keeping track, but I believe this title is still left with XB1. AFAIK, it's hacks include bigger hd, play burned game discs, Linux, wireless connection, emulators, play even more types of multimedia files, and full fledged web browser functionality. SOme of these may be wrong, but I'm sure there are others that I don't know about and didn't include.