Arcade, Instruction Cards

Second Monitor Game Info Using Hyperspin, EDS and Slideshowpro

Posted by Marlon Lopez on

I had been looking for a way to display game information on my second monitor, when running Hyperspin. But the current apps don’t display flash based content, so I finally decided to put an app together using flash and slideshowpro. This became an option for me after leveraging the work of forum member Antos, and his EDS application. The EDS, (event dispatch system) works with Hyperspin and LEDblinky to send out events and trigger stuff (like launching other apps). Without this crucial App, I don’t think I would have tried making my own App to display my SWF based content. So thank you Mr. Antos!

The video above shows how the content is displayed. The content is a combination of flash animation, PNG’s, and audio. When you select a game in hyperspin, EDS launches my gallery viewer and displays all the content from an XML file. If the Hyperspin wheel begins its attract mode and starts spinning, then the EDS launches a different viewer for displaying amid spin type of content (posters, short movie clips, or anything that can be viewed in a few seconds). There is also a third gallery viewer, which is not shown in the video. The third gallery viewer is launched (again by the EDS) when a game is selected to be played.

The “game guide viewer” is what I’m using to display specific game info, eg. fighter game moves, game trivia, hidden character info, Character animations, and game cheats. I will try to demo this last viewer on my next video for those who are interested in this way of displaying content.

For now I’m displaying everything in a vertical format. I chose this format mainly because I wanted to display poster art at a high resolution. The vertical format also works well with my rotating monitor since it doesn’t get in the way. The viewer could be changed to a different format, say a horizontal format. The tedious part is in making content that displays well in the chosen format.

Through a series of photoshop actions, I’ve been able to change the dimensions of the Hyperspin theme art with relative ease. But I still need to supervise the process, since all of the Hyperspin themes are not standardized. Once the art is correctly sized, the presentation really shines because you don’t get anything that is elongated or chunky. If anyone has any ideas for this project, let me know. I know not everyone has a second monitor, much less a vertical oriented one. But I’m interested in hearing your thoughts. Cheers!

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About Marlon Lopez

I enjoy collaborating with artist, photographers, designers and gear heads. I find inspiration while driving the most perfect driving roads imaginable in California. I have experience in print design, web design, advertising, corporate identity, brochures, printed directories, direct mail, interactive design, and 3D printing. My design solutions emerge from a comprehensive design process, and a understanding of my clients needs.

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