Console Modding

Recently I spoke to Chris Taylor, who some of you may remember from the very first Geek Nation, about the progress of his modded out Xbox 360. When I had conducted the interview for the “Game Night” article, he told about his idea to mod his console. I told him that once it was done to let me know. So here we are. I interviewed Chris once again, and I would like to thank him for taking the time to do the interview. So let’s move on then.

What appealed to you the most in modding process?
 
I guess what appealed to me most was the idea of making something that was custom and only mine. I had seen many different things on the internet that people were doing and hadn’t seen anything quite like what I have done.

What was the toughest part?

Well, I would be lying if I said the toughest part was coming up with the concept. Really the toughest part was trimming the case to make the outline of Rorschach. I actually had to have help doing this and it turned out to be a bit more complicated than first imagined.

Why did you choose to focus solely on Rorschach?

I chose to focus on Rorschach because he has always been my favorite of the Watchmen. Ever since reading the graphic novel I fell in love with this character. He had the deadliest ways of dealing with villains and just had that mystique about him. I found him to be much like the comic hero I might have been.

What took the longest to complete?

The painting actually took the longest to complete. Although this was the case it looks stunning and is nicely done. Chris Frasher, the painter, really took my idea to the level that I was looking for and managed to bring Rorschach to life in his rendering.
Overall how many hours would you say that you put into the modding process?

I would say all together, planning and assembly took me somewhere between 5-10 hours to complete. Most time was spent developing the concept and bringing it all together in one complete form. Actual disassembly and re-assembly of the console took less than 30 minutes to complete.

Are there any plans to mod out any of the other consoles that you own?

I definitely have plans to mod the other consoles I own. I already have plans for another one of my Xbox consoles, but at this time I’m gonna keep the concept to myself.

What tips do you have for people looking to do this to their console?

The first thing in modding a console is to remember you are doing this for yourself and not everyone else, so do something you will be happy with. Modders will also need to have patience because some mods can take a little planning to make work just right. The last major tip I have is, use only specified tools to open your console’s case. This is a must as many tools  can cause damage to key components.

Are you happy with the finished product now that it is complete?

I am very happy with the finished product. It has actually become the center piece of my gaming collection. I get many compliments on it and I do believe I may have inspired a few people to take the task on themselves.


Did it end up the way you imagined it or was it better?

Actually, it ended up much the way I imagined it would. The one thing that didn’t was the paint, which turned out much better than I thought it would,  it really turned out stunning and every time I look at it I feel that I can see Rorschach coming to life.