Custom Pac-Man Themed ColecoVision Controller

[doubledown]

While we are all waiting for Opcode Games’ highly-anticipated and soon-to-be-released Pac-Man Collection for the ColecoVision, I thought I’d make up a special Pac-Man themed ColecoVision controller in its honor. I had a couple ideas for a few different directions I could go with this, but I figured that since I’ve never modified or cosmetically altered a standard ColecoVision hand-controller, why not start now. I started with a beige ADAM hand-controller for two very good reasons; first, I’ve got a dozen or so of them that I would never sell with a ColecoVision because they’re not black and they don’t match the console (though this never seemed to bother Coleco), and secondly I assumed that the thin dye I use would cover the beige a whole lot easier than the black (and as usual I was right).

 

Now since it is just a controller, there aren’t a whole lot of bells and whistles that could be added, but I did manage to come up with a couple of decent upgrades, and some nice cosmetic alterations as well. First and foremost I had to clean and refurbish the controller. I will tell you all right now that this was the filthiest CV/ADAM controller that I’ve ever worked with. I disassembled the controller and using my “magic” plastic cleaner I got all the controller parts cleaned inside and out, and looking sparkly new. Then all of the directional contacts and buttons were disassembled and burnished, de-oxidized, and conditioned for a long trouble-free life. I know that a lot people complain about their own standard ColecoVision controllers not being worth a damn, but believe me, a cleaned, refurbished, and responsive standard CV controller actually works quite well.

 

Next, the cosmetic alterations; I decided that the best way to make a Pac-Man themed controller would be to model it after the original arcade cabinet as much as possible. The obvious starting point was Pac-Man’s infamous yellow cabinet, which I chose to use to dye the controller housing (front & back) a nice matching shade. I realize that Pac-Man doesn’t require any in-game buttons, but the arcade cabinet used white buttons for the “1 Player” and “2 Player” game selection buttons so I matched the theme by dyeing the controller’s buttons as such. After that was the keypad. Originally the ADAM hand-controller keypad was tan, like the front of its mating system, with black numbers/symbols. But that didn’t really match my vision, so I made a new keypad underlay that is black (matching the original arcade cabinet’s CPO) with yellow numbers/symbols in the Namco font, and I even used a line-drawing icon of Pac-Man as the “*” symbol. I laser printed the underlay on glossy presentation paper, heat-laminated it for durability, and permanently mounted it to the keypad. I refer to this as an underlay, because it is not in place and removable as a game’s keypad overlay would be, but rather actually affixed to the keypad permanently and completely internally to the controller, allowing you to still use overlays for any games which require them. My final “cosmetic-only” touch was to add the Pac-Man logo. I made a label that is a reproduction of the cabinet’s marquee and affixed it to the bottom edge of the controller. I figured this way if people see it and think “man that looks like a Pac-Man controller”, they’ll see the marquee label and think “hot damn, I was right” and then feel good about themselves. I would have liked to have placed it in a more visible spot, but the lack of “smooth” surfaces on the controller led me to either the top or bottom edges, so I chose the bottom. And as the norm for me, the marquee was laser-printed, heat-laminated, and permanently attached, blah, blah, blah.

 

Finally onto the functional upgrades; again we’re talking about a controller here so let us not get too overly-excited. I figured I’d address the two major problems that have plagued the standard ColecoVision hand-controller from its conception; number one, the cord. When I was a kid, I used to sit on the floor about 4 feet away from my TV with my Atari 2600 on the floor right in front of me, and that’s the way it was and I liked it. At my friends Sammy’s and Carl’s houses we would sit on the floor about 4 feet away from their TVs with their ColecoVisions on the floor right in front of us, and that’s the way it was and we liked it. Now that I’m 32, I ain’t sittin’ on no damned floor, no 4 damned feet away from my damned TV, with my damned ColecoVision on the damned floor right the hell in front of me. The “easy fix” (obviously not my style) would be to simply connect a Sega Genesis controller extension cable between the 12” coiled cord from the controller and the ColecoVision console itself. Seeing as how that’s not, “how I roll,” I decided to internally re-wire the controller with a 6’ straight wire cord. This way I’m not concerned with an extra connection point potentially failing me by becoming unplugged in the middle of some incredible high score run, as well as not having the extra bulk of the connectors in the middle of the cord. Now the controller has a very nice lengthy cord that doesn’t require that you sit on your floor, 4 feet away from your TV, with your ColecoVision on the floor right in front of you! The second upgrade was done both for functionality as well as aesthetics. As hard as this may be to believe, there wasn’t one Pac-Man arcade cabinet produced with a 3/4" tall, flat-topped, mushroom-shaped joystick like those on the ColecoVision controllers. So I figured my controller wasn’t going to have one either. In all actuality I believe, the main reason why most people hate their standard ColecoVision controllers, besides the fact that they need refurbishing, is the stock joystick. The joystick’s mushroom-topped shape isn’t helping anybody, and the extremely short stick makes long gaming sessions hell on your hands. In simple physics we learn that work done is given by force applied multiplied by distance; or to dumb it down a shade, the longer the joystick is, the easier it is to push, pull, or move it in whichever direction you choose. There is a trade-off to this however, in that, the longer the joystick, the further you’ll have to move it for it to make its internal electrical connection to thusly achieve an on-screen reaction. So to keep the new joystick height reasonable and under control, I took a few measurements from the 3rd party joystick extensions that have been made for the ColecoVision over the years and tested out which length is the most comfortable. I’m still using the controller’s original lower joystick actuator/shaft and spring (why re-invent the wheel), but I’ve added an extension shaft to it, along with an arcade style ball knob. The extension shaft I used adds an extra 1/2” of length to the original, and is made of aluminum for strength; I guarantee that some other component will fail long before this shaft ever does. The knob I chose is 1-1/4” in diameter, made from impact resistant Polypropylene, and sits atop the new extension shaft, adding up to an additional 1-1/4” in length depending on where your fingers make contact with it. As usual, no half-assing with super glue or the likes went on here. The new joystick assembly is screwed together from the underside of the original actuator/shaft, up through the new extension shaft, and into the ball knob. The new ball has a brass threaded insert to accept the screw without fear of it stripping out over time and I’ve also applied LOCTITE thread-locker to the threads so that there won’t be any need to worry about the ball spinning off during use, but it can still be removed and replaced if necessary. Since to me, cosmetics and aesthetics are just as important as functionality, and this is a Pac-Man themed project, I couldn’t just choose any random colors for the joystick components. The flyers I’ve seen for the game, show the joystick to have a translucent white shaft, and a black ball knob. While on the other hand, most, if not all of the actual cabinets that I’ve seen, have a black shaft and a red ball knob. To me the latter is correct, so that’s the version I copied. The original actuator/shaft I used was pulled from a black ColecoVision controller that I had already opened up for some reason. I could have dyed the beige one from this controller black, but I already had the black one so thought what the hell, one less step. I was able to find the shaft extension in black anodized aluminum, and the new ball knob in red Polypropylene to help recreate the look and feel of the real deal. Bing, bang, boom…5 screws later…and the controller is all back together again, but now it’s a whole helluva lot more pleasing to both the eye and to the touch.

 

So there you have it, in just over 1500 words, what I’ve been doing for the ColecoVision community over the past couple of days. If there’s any interest in these from you fellow gamers/collectors, post it here and maybe I’ll be convinced to offer a limited edition run of these. Now that I think about it, Pac-Man Collection will contain Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man…maybe I should make a Ms. Pac-Man version too and offer them as a set. You’ll have to give me a couple more days for that one!

 

Here's a nice overall pic:

 

 

Here's a comparison pic with an original ADAM controller:

 

Edited September 18, 2008 by doubledown

[Breakpack]

CRAP!!That looks AWESOME!I'd buy a couple of those!I bet the joystick is a dream to control!

[jboypacman]

Am out of the CV scene but man that looks so nice!

[doubledown]

It's definately a helluva lot easier to throw the directions now. I like all of the D-Pad style ColecoVision controllers I've made recently, but games like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and the likes are still best played with a joystick!

[uosipa llamxew]

Hot dang... I'm sorta broke, but wow... I want a set!

 

mojofltr drools on his keyboard

[Dr. Van Thorp]

What's the source for the red ball?

[2600Lives]

You have a tutorial on exactly how to disassemble and clean the internals of a Coleco controller? I've got a couple that really need a good cleaning, and I've taken them apart and done what I can with alcohol and Q-tips, but would love to do a more thorough job.

[doubledown]

What's the source for the red ball?

 

I don't remember...I just found it...patent pending...trade secret, take your pick!

 

You have a tutorial on exactly how to disassemble and clean the internals of a Coleco controller? I've got a couple that really need a good cleaning, and I've taken them apart and done what I can with alcohol and Q-tips, but would love to do a more thorough job.

 

Nothing written up. I desolder and remove the directional contact domes, and burhish, de-oxidize, and condition the domes, and the contact points. And I do the same for the buttons, but they're a little tougher as they need to be disassembled by bending out the 4 crimped legs, and make sure you don't lose the tiny contact slide inside each one.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Dammit man! it's not fair you have such awesome modding skills! I am so jealous but congrats man, you do beautiful work!

[AJ_Maine_Man]

WOW,

 

that looks great,,, Is there anyway that you will be making more and selling any of these??? since the mini coleco's are out of my price range maybe I can get a sweet pac-man controller instead

[doubledown]

The Ms. Pac-Man version is officially underway. I got the controller refurbished last night, and I designed the keypad underlay and marquee label last night and got them printed, and laminated. I'm currently dyeing the plastic pieces and should have pics up tonight.

[darthkur]

That is truly beautiful. I can't wait to see the Ms. Pac-Man version. And yes, I'd love to have a set of them.

[Lord Helmet]

Great idea, and a really nice mod once again. Can't wait to see the MPM version.

[Ikrananka]

Doubledown that looks truely awesome. Add me to the list for a pre-order of two if you're going to do a limited run.

 

Outstanding!!!

[retroillucid]

Too Cool!!

 

Beautifull works as usual

[Vic George 2K3]

Nice color scheme. I'd prefer a ColecoVision knob controller with a ball on top instead of the flat mushroom knob.

[classics]

You are a sick, sick man. But in a good way.

 

Color me mega impressed.

 

Steve

[doubledown]

Nice color scheme. I'd prefer a ColecoVision knob controller with a ball on top instead of the flat mushroom knob.

 

I assume you mean just a standard black CV controller with the joystick mod. Do-able, but I was trying to tie this in with the whole Pac-Man Collection release. The ball knobs are also available in black or I could dye one silver too to replicate the original mushroom-top's silver disc.

[doubledown]

The Ms. Pac-Man controller is done, at least cosmetically. I'm waiting on some some new straight wire cords before I can get it wired. The blue is definately a little darker than the arcade cabinet, but I've only got so many color choices with the dye I use.

 

 

Notice the pixelated Ms. Pac-Man pic in place of the "*" symbol.

 

Edited September 18, 2008 by doubledown

[Vic George 2K3]

Love the pink keypad contrasting with the deep blue controller casing.

[doubledown]

Normally I wouldn't use pink for anything, but I kinda had to for the Ms. Pac-Man version. It does look really good with the blue though!

[darthkur]

Very nice yet again.

[doubledown]

I made a small cosmetic change. The original maruqee label was outlined in black like the Pac-Man version, but since the blue is darker than the cabinet medium powder blue it blended together too much I think, so I changed it to a pink outline. Which one do you think looks better.

 

[retroillucid]

I made a small cosmetic change. The original maruqee label was outlined in black like the Pac-Man version, but since the blue is darker than the cabinet medium powder blue it blended together too much I think, so I changed it to a pink outline. Which one do you think looks better.

 

 

This one's looking much better ... better contrast

 

You should made the side buttons pink too

And the Pacman side buttons black

Edited September 19, 2008 by retroillucid

[Vic George 2K3]

I liked the earlier version with the marquee outlined in black.