Trombone Champ is an indie rhythm game that keeps blowing us away (opens in new tab)When Chris Livingston started posting videos of his first attempt at a game, the PC gamer chat was filled with laughter. Coupled with his frenzied avatar and a screen flashing “NASTY” to mock your attempts, these hilarious bad notes are simple comedy brass.
But of course it gets better. We’re not the first to see the Trombone Champ’s bell fall over on his slide as fans get in on the action. A seasoned fan recently showed off his VR implementation. (opens in new tab) This looks like it takes the game to the next level. Naturally, trombone peripherals are the next step here, and here too people’s ingenuity comes into play.
You may have heard of Rudeism, hardware madmen who love to play games in unconventional ways.We’ve seen him punch his way through his Sifu with his control (opens in new tab)play the untitled goose game as a goose (opens in new tab)kill Hades with a pomegranate (opens in new tab), more heaps. He’s the king of controller cheats and trombone he’s working on the next step in the natural evolution of the champ.
Rudeism posted a video of him working with a trombone controller. twitter (opens in new tab)It explains that an ultrasonic sensor controls the slide part of the trombone and a microphone controls the tooth. Typically this is a mouse move for slides or a keyboard button click or press for tools so you can see how this translates.
He also explains that the slide doesn’t move as it should, and that’s exactly what it is. You can see in the video that you can’t stretch beyond the bell. The trombonist realizes this is not enough and can only reach about the 3rd position of the slide (even from the video). That’s only 3 out of 7. Of course, cool trombonists like me don’t mind either.
But Rudeism isn’t the only one doing the hard work. Trombone Champ developer Twitter account (opens in new tab) We share shots of all kinds of fan-made peripherals.
See, the trombone controller ultrasonic sensor controls the slide and the microphone controls the prank. Ultimate way to play a trombone champ if you know how to play IRL 😅 @HolyWowStudios pic.twitter.com/Lvm5m2CT44September 27, 2022
I have a small controller made by On Theremin Hero’s Twitter, (opens in new tab) It is very cute. Using arduino controls and a mic trigger to power a trombone that looks as big as a laptop from the video. Scaling down the build probably helped Rudeism solve a distant problem it had with slides. Plus, with that username, I’m glad to see more of Theremin’s love out there. (opens in new tab)
I made a custom #trumbonechamp controller from Arduino and Kazoo with ToF sensor + mic trigger. Full video coming soon! @HolyWowStudios pic.twitter.com/ATZoB5sOiQSeptember 25, 2022
Another big effort Nonochigu Dora (opens in new tab)This is another arduino build, but its configuration looks more DIY friendly.Another example of a good working slide that seems to have issues with the distance option as well. their project on github (opens in new tab)feel free to check it out if you want to improve your own Trombone Champ setup.
I made a custom #trumbonechamp controller from Arduino and Kazoo with ToF sensor + mic trigger. Full video coming soon! @HolyWowStudios pic.twitter.com/ATZoB5sOiQSeptember 25, 2022
There’s something wonderful about a charming indie darling going viral soaring. Especially when it comes to a game as bizarre and hilarious as Trombone Champ. With all these people already using it, I’m sure the V2 Round Trombone Controller will be even better. Nothing inspires community creativity like the challenge of creating something amazing.
