Playable Smash Brothers Costume

My kids picked characters from Smash Brothers Wii U to be for Halloween this year and I always dress up to match them. I really enjoyed last year's costume when I was a playable pacman arcade game. The interactive part of it was great! So I really wanted to be playable again.

Of course, I wanted to be the Wii U game since its where their characters come from but you can't get an emulator for such a new game and you can't easily and cheaply take the Wii u system on the go.

Next best thing was to get the dolphin emulator on my laptop and run super smash brothers brawl (Wii) or smash bros mêlée (GameCube). But, unfortunately, my laptop's graphics card was not good enough to run either.

That left me with only one choice: smash brothers on the Nintendo 64.
So this 'ible is how I made a playable Smash Brothers 64 costume.

First thing to do is to get the emulator and download the game.

You will need:
A laptop

I am new to the whole emulator thing so I just googled it and found a few YouTube videos and sites that helped me figure it out.

You will need to download the emulator and then download the game ROM.

The emulator is called Project 64. You can download it from several sites. One of which is:

http://www.emulator-zone.com/doc.php/n64/project64...

You can get the game rom here:

http://www.emuparadise.me/Nintendo_64_ROMs/Super_S...

Open the emulator and load the ROM and make sure it works. You may need a program to unzip the file like winrar.

you will need:
2 Wii classic controllers
controller USB converter

So you can buy a little converter thing to use Wii classic controllers on your laptop to play the game. I got mine on Amazon for just a few dollars.

Plug in the converter and plug in the controllers. You will need to configure the controllers in the emulator before using them. Once you have done that, test them out.

I would recommend marking on the device which port is 1st player for future reference.

Now that the electronics are good to go, it's time make the costume.

You will need:
cardboard boxes
blade ( exacto or boxcutter or such)
hot glue gun
measuring tape
pencil or pen
scissors
your laptop

I got extremely lucky and found the PERFECT box at Sam's Club. It took all the work out of it. If you aren't so lucky you will have to construct one yourself like I did last year with pacman.

This box was for sonicare tooth brush refills. It had the rows of slits on both sides that had held the product which made for a perfect way to hold the laptop. The box was also the perfect width. The laptop slid right in with great tension to hold it firmly. AND the box was wide enough to cut out a section in the back and fit on my hips. There was very little to do to get this box ready.

1. Cut the section between the first the second slit on both sides out to make one big slit on each side. This will accommodate the laptop.

2. Test the fit of the laptop. Position it in the box so that the screen is in an upright position. The laptop will not open completely flat so you have to play with this to get it to take up as little room as possible but still have the screen upright.

3. Use a pencil or pen to draw around the laptop to mark where it will be positioned and remove the laptop.

4. The laptop fits so snuggly that you cannot plig in the USB cord and then insert the computer. You must cut out a section in the box around where tthe USB port on the laptop will be. This box has wide sides that have many layers of cardboard walls so you then cut a channel through the side of the box. When cutting into the outside of the box, leave one side of the rectangle opening attached to create a door. See photos. This will allow you to plug in the USB cord when the laptop is in place.

To cover the keyboard you need:
cardboard
measuring tape
pencil
scissors
box cutter

1. Put lap top in box and use measuring tape to measure from bottom of box to top of keyboard(x), from the fold of the laptop to the end of the front of the box(y), and the width of the laptop(Z).

2. Draw a rectangle with sides measuring Z+ 3/4in and x+y+ 1/2in.
See photo. This will give you the size you need with a little extra.

3. On the xy sides of the rectangle, measure from the tops the length of Y. For me it was 9. Draw a line from the y mark on one side to the y mark on the parallel side to divide the rectangle into two. This line is where you need to score the board so that it will bend here.

4. At the top of the rectangle which is the Z side, measure a quarter inch I from each side. Cut in the quarter in at the score mark. Fold the thin flap back. This will make it so that the bottom section is wider than the top.

5. Here is more of the box's awesomeness. There is a crack on both sides and along the bottom where we need to put this cover. That is why we made it a little bigger on the bottom. You can just slide the cover right in and the cracks hold it in place. This makes the cover easily removable.

Now we need to make something to support the computer, to give it something to rest on. I used the corners of the box I used to make the cover from the last step.

1. Cut off the corners of a box.

2. Stand two of them up inside the costume and put in the laptop. See the angle at which the laptop's bottom needs to be placed and try to cut the stands at the same angle or close to it. Test the fit after each cut.

3. Trace around the stands to mark the placement and remove laptop.

4. Hot glue stands in place.

*Step Not Pictured*
Cut out section for body.

Like I said before the width was perfect to fit me so I simply cut out a section from end to end so that my body could fit into it. Not the whole body, just about half so that the box is more comfortable than it always banging against you when you walk.

When I cut it out, I had a little section that was left so I used it by bending it back and resting it against the stands. I hot glue it against them for extra support. You can kind of see it in the photos.

Simple step, just paint it.
I used a coat of cheap back spray paint and then a layer of blue over it. I chose those colors simply because that's what I had on hand and I want the costume to kind of resemble a TV stand so I wanted it darkish.

We need straps to make it wearable. I used what I had which was a length of nylon strap and two cloth belts.

We need a strap at the front of the box and one at the back.

Again, the box shows its greatness by already having a convenient slit on the top at the front. Just thread one end of the nylon through each slit. Put the strap over your head and adjust for fit. Hold this position with bag clips on the straps.

For the back strap, I just put the 2 belts together to make a long one and slid it under the end of the box at the back. Then put the belt over your head. You don't have to secure this strap because your body holds it in place.

Put the laptop in and both straps over your head and check the fit. Adjust the straps if needed.

Sew the ends of the Nylon to keep in place around the slit.

Now to spruce up the keyboard cover.

1. Print the photo of the N64 and cut it out.

2. Glue the picture on the keyboard cover as seen here.

3. Use a sharpie or paint to add shaded areas around the 64 to give is some depth and try to look like it is on shelf.

4. Use the box cutter or exacto to cut out the player 1 and 2 control ports.

5. Thread your controllers through the holes.

6. Insert the cover in the costume.

1. Take your controller adapter and thread its USB plug through the opening cut out earlier and out the door on the side.

2. Plug your controllers into the ports on the adapter.

3. Insert the laptop.

4. Use the door to plug the USB into the computer.

5. Test it out.