Play tekken with a piano

Tekken is arguably one of the best fighting games out there. The series is coming up on its 20th anniversary and has been hugely successful in Japan and abroad during the past two decades. Tekken has recently been gaining a lot of buzz online, not for the game itself, but for a new way to play it. In a YouTube video titled, “Tekkenpiano Docu,” user Peter Oehler shows us how he invented a way to play Tekken using a piano.

Peter created this music/gaming hybrid as part of a class. It took him an entire semester to complete his rig, which uses an Xbox360 in the video demonstration.

Peter explains how it works in the video’s description: “The piano sends a Midi-Signal, which is transferred to an arduino. According to the signals, the arduino triggers transistors, which then trigger inputs on a paewang PCB (This is the PCB of an arcadestick). The paewang is connected to an Xbox360 (you can also use it on PS3).” Let’s take a look at it in action:

You would think that using a piano as a controller would be a disadvantage, but as you can clearly see in the video, with a little practice, you can get really good at it. If you’d like to check out more of Peter’s work or get a little more information on exactly how he created his piano controller, you can check out his website here.

The sound of Yoshimitsu impaling his opponent or Law screaming a high pitched “Yaaa!” has always been music to many gamers’ ears. Now with a piano controller, the sounds of Tekken will no doubt appeal to a wider audience.

Images: YouTube (Peter Oehler)
[ Read in Japanese ]