Random: Disney Engineers Play NES Classics In Innovative Fashion

Disney has always been known for its innovative flare, including within the videogame industry through its licenses and Disney Infinity titles. However, Disney Infinity is not the topic of discussion here, for the Disney Research team has revolutionised a way of revisiting NES classics in the form of eight-player, eight-projector mayhem. The project was the result of Disney Research's Bob Sumner being given the challenge of coming up with "a cool concept" during the Eurographics conference in May this year - and that's exactly what him and his team delivered.

In a nutshell, the entire setup consists of a modded NES that allows up to eight controllers, which connects to a 360-degree projector that outputs an upscaled picture of the games in action (Super Mario Bros., Excitebike, and Castlevania) onto the walls of the room. How are these games played by eight players, you ask? A tracking PC is used to project players' progress through the level being played, where control is passed between each player after certain periods of time or checkpoints.

For a full breakdown of the technology used in the setup, you can download the open-access research paper titled "Unfolding the 8-bit era". If you're not one for reading, the video below should tell you everything you need to know!

What are your thoughts on this invention? Would you like to see a more compact version of this perhaps make a piece of household tech one day?