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ARCADE SCAM SCIENCE (not clickbait) - Mark Rober

Mark Rober is a YouTube creator who uses a range of scientific and creative methods to solve curious problems. This project is a robot designed to cheat a specific arcade game where you have to press a button at just the right time. What I love about this project is that it's a perfect example of how the curious mind can discover the hidden order of chaotic events. When he doesn't get the result he expects, Mark tests each system of his device independently to narrow down where the problem is arising . From here he discovers how the arcade game he's testing is actually programmed to only allow a certain percent of plays to result in a win.

Mark Rober designed the concept and built the prototype with a friend (only referred to in the video as "John") over the course of a few weeks in his home studio.The device was made with 3D-printed parts and includes an Arduino programmed to depress a plunger when a flashing light is detected. This connects via WiFi to an app developed to give the user fine control of the delay between when a light flashes and when the plunger is activated.

Mark's whimsical and flashy style of projects can be seen in many YouTube creators' works. Channels like kipkay, Household Hacker, and G3AR are a few examples of makers who use engineering and critical thinking to produce the gadgets and technology they imagine. Videos like these are a fantastic way to introduce audiences to the creative and scientific process because they present it in a way that's fun and easy to relate to, not one that's confusing and alienating.

I would like to see an entire portfolio of different mechanisms to cheat arcade games. With all of the different mechanisms and goals/incentives of arcade games, it would be interesting to see a range of machines designed to give players the advantage over their master.