PianOS

When I worked at Q42 there was a yearly hackathon called the w00tcamp. While hackathons normally focus on solving complex real-world problems overnight, the w00tcamp takes a much better approach. Teams are encouraged to create something silly! It’s all about finding the perfect balance between not too useful and not too useless.

I’ve always wanted to design my own game console, and creating it out of something as ridiculous as a piano seemed the perfect amount of silly. We wired buttons under the keys which send input to a game emulator.

A bit of technology alongside beautiful woodworking means people can play Super Mario on a piano now!

Does it have games to help you study the piano?

Of course not, that would be too useful!

Does it still make sound when you play it?

Of course, otherwise it would be too useless!

We did create a Simon Says type game that two people could play competitively.

The piano stands tall at the Q42 office, making guests do a double take: “Wait, why does that piano have a screen?”

Update:

As of late 2025, Q42 has moved their office. The piano now stands tall at my house, at least it will until I find another destination for it :)