The guys from SteLuLu Technologies are hoping to revolutionize the way hardcore gamers play with the STINKY Footboard. They’re bringing your feet into the game. And you can get one for as little as $89 on their Kickstarter, where they are seeking the funds to launch into production.
I’ll admit, it’s been awhile since I’ve done any sort of real gaming – especially anything that requires more than a few keys. But from what I remember of my WoW days, it would have been useful to have another hand every now and again – and this seems to offer that.
The concept is basically that there are four ways to tilt the board (front, back and the two sides), giving you four “buttons” you can press with your foot. Each of these can be mapped to a keyboard button. You can also tie modifiers like Shift, Ctrl and Alt to give alternate inputs, which gives you up to 16 different commands that can come from your foot. If you’re in the middle of an intense battle, it could indeed be quite the advantage.
It connects through USB (HID), though for now it only seems to be compatible with your PC – Xbox and PS3 gamers might have to wait if you were hoping to use it there.
They’ve also in-built a tension adjustment mechanism called “tbox” (tension boxes) to allow you to customize the stiffness and responsiveness of the footboard. This ensures that even if you have jelly legs or thunder thighs, both can use the footboard easily.
And if you reckon your athletic feet are bound to wreck the board in no time, they’ve considered that too. In fact, they ran it over with a car to prove how durable the Stinky board is:
The footboard can also be cleaned with soap and a damp cloth because the electronics are underneath, protected by the top plate. And if that isn’t enough for you, they’ve even offering a 1-year limited warranty – so they’re reasonably confident it’s going to last.
I must say, besides the rather strange name, I’m rather impressed. It seems like it’d be insanely useful in the complex MMOs out there these days that require a million keyboard shortcuts.
And apparently, they’re not only for gaming. They’ve had people use the footboard with graphics and video programs such as Photoshop, AutoCad, and Visual Studio, and even with sound and music programs as a guitar pedal and for DJ effects. They also suggest it would be great with the Oculus Rift, which I think would actually be really awesome.
But like I’ve said, it’s been awhile since I’ve dunked myself in the gaming world. I don’t know whether having a pedal to worry about would really benefit your gameplay or whether it’s just a bit of a gizmo that simply wouldn’t be useful in the heat of the moment in a game.
So what do the real gamers out there think – game-changing peripheral device or a novelty that will ultimately prove ineffective?
[Stinky Footboard’s Kickstarter expires May 2nd 2013 – Donate now]