Nintendo’s non-traditional interface for the Wii console lends itself to any number of odd controller hacks and designs, and the latest is this prototype Wiispray can. Part of Martin Lihs’ final thesis at Bauhaus-University in Weimar, Germany, the can-style casing contains a dismembered Wiimote coupled to a nozzle button. It can be used to manipulate an on-screen virtual spraycan, with different paints and color options that are controlled by realistic graffiti movements.




Although still early in the development process, it suggests another type of game platform and a fresh twist on the tired “art” app. The success of custom controllers for specific titles suggests that gamers are interested in a more realistic interaction than permitted by a standard joypad. Lihs plans to integrate a communal wall for collaborative graffiti in the eventual software title, that would allow ‘players’ to work on the same art project.

Rather than a specially designed can, though, it would seem easier to make a Wiispray ‘caddy’ into which the Wiimote could slot. Some clever thinking could link the nozzle button to one of the Wiimote’s controls via mechanical rather than electrical means; price would also be reduced.