Road Fighter was one of my favorite arcade games. I think the same goes for many ’80s kids who spent countless hours either playing it or staring at the screen while someone else took their turn at the game parlor. Driving a pixelated car down the highway, dodging oncoming vehicles and obstacles, collecting fuel along the way; all this time silently praying, “please don’t crash, please don’t crash,” because no one wanted to give up their turn to the next person in line. Those were truly heart-pounding times!
Times have changed now. Video games are a staple in most households; thank you PlayStation. But as some grow tired of hyper-realistic graphics, they look back to the classics. Case in point, this DIY arcade revival, a 3D-printed racing toy built by wontonnn, which is perhaps a clever nod to Road Fighter. It brings the game to life in a non-digital, portable format, maintaining the fun, or you could say doubling it, since now it’s also multiplayer!
Designer:
This Mini Arcade – Steering Dodge Car Toy, as it’s called, is nearly as close a rip-off of the classic as possible. The arcade machine comprises a steering wheel that moves the mounted (on the steering arm) red car left or right in its path to dodge the oncoming cars that move on their tracks. As soon as the red car clashes with the oncoming blue or yellow cars, it falls off the hook, and the game is over. Just how it happened in the real thing!
The little arcade machine is and so are the cars in the game. The game starts with the user sticking the red car (magnetically) to the arm on the steering wheel and driving it, avoiding the oncoming cars. There are two versions of this racing toy. One has an automatic, conveyor belt-like system, where the cars roll on a moving track powered by a built-in battery and motor. The other is a manual, hand-cranked option, where a second person can toggle the speed of the obstacle cars. This makes the game more strategic and brings the fun of the arcade to two people. In either case, if the player’s red car gets knocked off the magnet, the game’s over.
In the crank mod, the 3D-printed racing toy features a crank and a handle to hold the arcade machine stable while the second person steers the red mobile through the onslaught of oncoming cars. Interestingly, the wontonnn’s idea of fun is replicable, i.e., users can build this racing toy at home. This is achievable with the available on the Bambu Store. It comprises a mini motor, battery, and connector, gear set, along with screws and magnets. Users can 3D print and build cases for the motor and battery, then screw the kit together, place the cars, and finally hit the ‘go’ button. Or hand crank it if that’s a couple’s idea of fun!
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