DIY Vegetal Cow-Shaped Game Controller for Attack of the Bric-a-Brac

In this tutorial we will be building a cow-shaped controller for the free game "Attack of the Bric-a-Brac," which can be downloaded here: mechbird.itch.io/attack-of-the-bric-a-brac. It works with 7 buttons connected to a microcontroller.

A project made by : Tom GOURLAY, Madlyn DUMOULIN, Emma FISCHER, Aylan MENASRIA, Keo FRANCESCHINI, Cécilia BOUCHERON and Nicolas DAVID

- Polystyrene plates 

- Newspaper

- Paintbrushes

- White glue

- Cardboard

- Paint

- 7 Buttons

- 6 Condoms

- Cotton

- Cans

- Cutter

- Cisors

- Fake or real flowers

- Moss / Grass

- Plasticine

- Iron Wire

- 1 Microcontroller

- 6 Elastics

- Scotch

- 1 USB Cable

Start by gluing the polystyrene plates together and carve them in the shape of a rounded leg. Repeat 4 times.

Do the same for the head.

Mix glue and water (50/50) to make liquid glue.

Cut the newspaper into strips and apply it with the glue on the polystyrene to make paper mache.

You can now start painting over the paper with a first white layer and then with the colors of your choice.

You can use the plasticine to add details like horns.

Fill a condom with cotton and put a button in the middle.

Close it with an elastic and carefully let the wires out.

Repeat 6 times.

Give the iron wire a cylinder shape for the body.

Cut cardboard into strips and scotch them around the cylinder, leaving space for the condoms to get through. 

Connect the wires to a microcontroller you will put inside the body.

Leave one button outside, then fill the body with cotton and cans in order to straighten it. Wrap the body with newspaper to paint it later. Cut two circles in the cardboard to fill the ends of the cylinder. On one of them, cut a hole in the middle and a line to let the button and the USB cable pass.

Now you can start painting the body and gluing the head and the legs. The legs can either be under the body, or along it to make it look like it’s lying down.

Let’s decorate ! Cut some polystyrene in the shape of a mushroom’s cap (6 times), then paint them with the color of your choice. Put them on the top of the condoms and now you can add grass, flowers, moss, wood or anything else to give it a vegetal look.