Go Go TV

[BigO]

I just picked up a "Go Go TV" video game at the local thrift store. I remember seeing it advertised some time back and was interested in the user interface. As it's only obvious game controller mechanism, it uses a video camera built in to the unit to point at the player(s) and react to motion detected in appropriate regions on the screen.

http://www.toyquest.com/GoGoTV/index.htm

 

Can't tell much about the "blob on the board" processor in the unit.

 

I took the included "4 in 1" cartridge apart. It's a 4 Megabyte Flash memory chip.

http://www.datasheets.org.uk/search.php?q=...&sType=part

I don't currently have the equipment to read the Flash memory.

 

In the "Penguin Maze" game, there are "ghosted" triangles at the 4 edges of the screen. Waving your hand (motion) in space such that the motion appears on the screen in one of the triangles causes the player to move in the direction that the triangle is pointing. It would be an interesting, albeit highly challenging project to build a more universal controller that worked this way and could be used with other video games (thinking of the Atari 2600 specifically.)

 

Just curious if anyone around here has any specific technical knowledge of this unit's inner workings or any knowledge of a "universal" controller system that uses the motion detection/video overlay methodologies. Seems unlikely that anyone has ever homebrewed games for this little gizmo.

Edited March 13, 2007 by BigO

[Technosis]

Was any additional cartridges ever released for this system?

[BigO]

Was any additional cartridges ever released for this system?

 

Yes, the website lists 8 other games and proclaims "Plus more games coming soon!"

http://www.toyquest.com/GoGoTV/games/default.htm

 

Interestingly, most if not all of the other games include special equipment for playing each of the games: tennis racket, mallet for whac-a-mole, baseball bat, etc. It appears to still be a living, breathing console system with games available at major retailers (according to the website anyway).

 

Some additional games/accessories can be found at Amazon.com. The console and accessories appear sometimes spelled "go go tv" and sometimes "gogo tv" and sometimes "go-go tv". The logo contains the words Go Go separated ambiguously by a possible space overlaying or overlaid by the word TV. Some ebay'ers refer to it as "TV GoGo". Probably a poor choice in terms of creating a clearly recognizable brand.

 

Even with the additional paraphenalia that goes along with the new games, they seem to be less than $20.00.

 

I find the more physically interactive control mechanism to be the most compelling part of the game play (hence, my tinkering with a "balance board" analog controller for the 2600). That's the thing that makes the Wii the only "modern" game console that I found interesting: it exercises more than kids' thumbs. I see it as a Wee Wii in that regard.

 

One thing I'd say is missing from the GoGo games I've seen is head to head play. I think they might be able to implement that with colored gloves or somesuch. Of course, the proximity of multiple players might lead to similar injuries as those associated with Wii-play.

 

The peripherals with the GoGo games require batteries, so there is presumably some sort of light being transmitted to allow the device to be clearly recognized by the game consoles image processing stuff. That sort of mechanism might also be used to distinquish multiple players if the console has the horsepower. Maybe the horsepower isn't all that limiting if you consider what the early pioneers and probably more so today's homebrewers have done with/to the Atari 2600.

 

Given what (little) I understand about the Wii's architecture, I imagine that it could support a web cam and thus duplicate the interactive, on screen control methodologies of the "GoGo TV". Not that the GoGo unit is setting the market on fire, but it seems like Nintendo could take the GoGo out of the market if they could match the functionality and price point of the games. And, of course, full blown desktop computers and more practically "media center" computers could do this same thing.

Edited March 4, 2007 by BigO

[Technosis]

Thanks BigO for the awesome info regarding Go Go TV! I had been totally unaware of this until now

[BigO]

It occured to me earlier today that one might be able to improve the safety of head to head play with this thing by using an add-on "image splitter" of some sort to allow the camera to pick up both players in the frame while they're separated by, say, 3 or 4 feet, but could both still clearly see the TV screen.

 

Possibly a thin reflective wedge with it's pointy end near to and centered on the lens could provide the same separation, but would reverse the image(s), so I guess that would be unworkable.

 

(Can you tell I don't know a lot about optics?)

 

Might be interesting to see what games could be controlled effectively with a half-screen wide field for each player.

[BigO]

Just in case someone curious person wanders in here:

I forgot I had taken a picture of the cartridge guts.

The Flash memory chip is a M5M29GT320VP-80.

The other side of the board is nothing but the connector that plugs in to the console.

Edited March 11, 2007 by BigO

[Trooper]

I haven't been able to find a base unit yet but I've seen them selling off the tennisgame here in Sweden for like $2

 

/T

[BigO]

I haven't been able to find a base unit yet but I've seen them selling off the tennisgame here in Sweden for like $2

 

/T

 

Sweden you say? Rats. I'd have me one o' them just for the heck of it if it were in the US. Maybe I should wander through some toy aisles around here soon.

 

I was thinking about writing to the manufacturer to see if the thing was still in production. It might not be. I wanted to see what the possibility was of them opening up the game design information. Based on other experiences, I think they'd just let it die rather than release information that they think they may at some point be able to profit from in the future. It would be very intersting to see what a community of homebrewers would come up with for this thing. I love to look at the creativity the homebrew community has brought to bear on the Atari 2600. Amazing stuff these 2600 fanatics have come up with, though I know there wouldn't be the same interest in an obscure console like GoGo unit.

Edited March 16, 2007 by BigO