Category: Uncategorized

Introduction

Storytelling has been a vital part of human culture for centuries, and as technology advances, the ways in which we tell stories continue to evolve. Prompt engineering, an AI-driven technology, is now redefining the art of storytelling in entertainment, from movies and television to video games and virtual reality experiences. In this article, we’ll explore how prompt engineering is revolutionizing the entertainment industry, creating immersive, interactive, and personalized stories that captivate audiences like never before.

A New Approach to Storytelling

By leveraging prompt engineering, content creators can generate unique and engaging narratives that adapt to the preferences and choices of individual users. This cutting-edge AI technology allows storytellers to explore new concepts and styles, pushing the boundaries of traditional storytelling and enriching the entertainment landscape.

The Rise of Interactive and Personalized Narratives

Prompt engineering enables content creators to develop interactive and personalized stories, empowering audiences to shape their own narrative experiences. By tapping into the user’s preferences, emotions, and choices, stories can unfold in unique and unexpected ways, fostering a deeper connection with the audience and ensuring a truly memorable experience.

Creating Immersive Worlds

The use of prompt engineering in the entertainment industry not only revolutionizes storytelling but also enhances the creation of immersive worlds. Content creators can generate rich and detailed environments, populated with dynamic and lifelike characters, that draw audiences in and encourage exploration. This level of immersion is particularly valuable in the context of virtual reality and video games, where users can actively participate in the narrative and interact with the environment around them.

The Future of Entertainment

As prompt engineering becomes increasingly prevalent in the entertainment industry, it has the potential to transform the way stories are told and experienced. By offering audiences personalized, interactive, and immersive narratives, content creators can forge deeper connections with their audience and redefine the art of storytelling for the digital age. As we continue to explore the limitless possibilities of prompt engineering, we can look forward to a future filled with captivating and innovative entertainment experiences that truly capture the imagination.

Introduction

The gaming industry is no stranger to embracing cutting-edge technologies, and prompt engineering is no exception. This AI-powered tool is opening up new horizons for game developers and designers, enabling them to create more engaging, immersive, and personalized gaming experiences. In this article, we’ll explore the impact of prompt engineering on the gaming industry and how it’s reshaping the future of gaming.

Revolutionizing Game Design

Prompt engineering allows game developers to rapidly generate unique characters, environments, and assets, streamlining the game design process and offering unparalleled creative freedom. This groundbreaking technology enables designers to experiment with various styles and concepts, resulting in innovative and diverse gaming experiences.

Unleashing Interactive Storytelling

With the power of prompt engineering, game developers can create highly interactive and dynamic narratives that adapt to player choices and actions. This level of personalization and responsiveness creates a deeply engaging experience, allowing players to truly shape the outcome of the story and forging a strong connection with the game world.

Transforming the Metaverse

As the metaverse continues to grow and evolve, prompt engineering offers unique opportunities for game developers to create immersive and interconnected virtual worlds. By leveraging AI-generated content, developers can build vast, dynamic landscapes filled with diverse characters and experiences, enhancing the overall appeal of the metaverse.

The Future of Gaming

As prompt engineering continues to make waves in the gaming industry, its potential to transform the way games are designed, developed, and experienced is undeniable. By harnessing the power of AI-generated content, game developers can create captivating and immersive gaming experiences that push the boundaries of what is possible in the world of gaming.

Easter is a time for family, friends, and, of course, Easter eggs! And hiding Easter eggs can be a lot of work, especially if you have a lot of eggs. That’s where zero-knowledge proofs come in!

Zero-knowledge proofs are a type of cryptographic technique that allows one party to prove to another party that they know a secret without revealing the secret itself. This can be useful for a variety of applications, including hiding Easter eggs.

The Game

Here’s how it works:

1. The parent hides a certain number of Easter eggs for each child.
2. The child asks the parent how many eggs are hidden.
3. The parent uses a zero-knowledge proof to prove to the child that they know the number of eggs, without revealing the actual number.
4. The child is satisfied that the parent knows the number of eggs, and they can start hunting!

The Hunt

Here’s an example of a zero-knowledge proof that a parent could use to prove to their child that they know the number of eggs:

1. The parent chooses a random number between 1 and 18 (assuming your using the big cartons, <insert joke about price of eggs…>) .
2. The parent DOES NOT tells the child the random number.
3. The parent then marks & hides an egg for each number from 1 to 18, except for the random number.
4. The children then race to collect all of the eggs!
5. After some time, when the child is “done”, the parent asks the child to guess the random number.
6. If the child guesses the random number, the parent can reveal how many eggs are really hidden (If you don’t want to leave them for yourself) .
7. If the child does not guess the random number, the parent does not reveal which eggs are remain and the hunt continues!.

More Fun!

This is just one example of how zero-knowledge proofs can be used to hide Easter eggs. There are many other ways to use this technique, so get creative and have fun!

Here are some additional tips for hiding Easter eggs with zero-knowledge proofs:

• Use a variety of hiding places. The more places you hide the eggs, the harder it will be for the child to find them all.
• Make it challenging. The child should have to work for their chocolate!
• Have fun! Easter is a time for family and friends to come together and enjoy each other’s company. So relax, have fun, and enjoy the Easter egg hunt!

Introduction

As the advertising landscape continues to evolve, brands and creative agencies are constantly seeking innovative ways to capture the attention of their audiences. Prompt engineering, an AI-driven technology, is emerging as a powerful tool that enables advertisers to generate completely unique visuals and concepts, transcending the constraints of traditional design software and stock images. In this article, we’ll explore how prompt engineering is shaping the future of advertising, resulting in higher engagement and conversion rates.

Harnessing the Power of AI

Prompt engineering involves the fine-tuning of Text-to-Image prompts to create consistent, usable, and high-quality images. This cutting-edge AI technology allows advertisers to quickly and easily generate tailor-made campaigns that resonate with their target audience. By tapping into the limitless potential of prompt engineering, advertisers can bring their concepts to life, creating captivating visuals that stand out in the competitive marketplace.

Reimagining Ad Campaigns

With prompt engineering at their disposal, advertisers can create highly customized campaigns that cater to the specific needs and preferences of their target audience. By generating one-of-a-kind visuals, brands can better communicate their unique selling points, ensuring that their message resonates with consumers. Moreover, prompt engineering allows advertisers to experiment with various styles and approaches, fostering a new level of creativity and flexibility in the industry.

Unleashing the Potential of the Metaverse

As the metaverse continues to gain traction, advertisers have a unique opportunity to leverage prompt engineering to create immersive and interactive ad experiences within this virtual space. From designing dynamic billboards to crafting engaging product demonstrations, prompt engineering offers a wealth of possibilities for brands looking to make an impact in the metaverse. By incorporating this AI-driven technology into their advertising strategies, companies can forge strong connections with their audience and drive brand awareness in the digital realm.

The Road Ahead

As prompt engineering becomes more widely adopted, its potential to transform the advertising industry is undeniable. By unlocking new levels of creativity and innovation, this technology empowers brands and creative agencies to craft memorable ad campaigns that captivate audiences and drive results. As we move forward into the age of the metaverse, prompt engineering will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in shaping the future of advertising, heralding a new era of creativity and boundless possibilities.

Fellow futurists:

In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing business world, companies are constantly seeking ways to innovate and stay ahead of the competition. One approach to achieving this agility is using a process known as the OODA loop, a decision-making framework developed by US Air Force Colonel John Boyd. By adopting this approach, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators can learn valuable lessons on how to accelerate innovation and gain a competitive edge.

Observation to Action: Using the OODA Loop to Make Informed Business Decision

The OODA loop is a four-step decision-making process that includes observe, orient, decide, and act. The first step, observe, involves gathering information and data from the environment. The second step, orient, involves analyzing and interpreting this information to gain a clear understanding of the situation. The third step, decide, involves making a decision based on the analysis, and the fourth step, act, involves acting based on the decision.

By following this process, organizations can make informed decisions and act quickly to capitalize on opportunities in the market. It also allows organizations to respond quickly to changes in the market and adjust their strategies accordingly.

As a business leader, entrepreneur, or innovator, adopting the OODA loop can help you stay ahead of the competition and drive innovation within your organization. By observing the market and orienting yourself to the latest trends and technologies, you can make informed decisions and act quickly to implement new strategies. The OODA loop is a continuous process that allows you to constantly monitor and adjust your approach based on feedback from the market, enabling you to stay ahead of the curve and drive innovation within your organization.

Using the OODA Loop for Innovation

The OODA loop can be a powerful tool for driving innovation within organizations. By continuously observing the market and orienting to new information, organizations can make faster and more informed decisions, allowing them to stay ahead of the competition. Here are two practical examples of how the OODA loop can be applied to drive innovation:

1. Developing a new product: Using the OODA loop, organizations can continuously observe the market and orient to new trends and customer needs. This allows them to develop a product that is more aligned with customer needs, reducing the risk of failure and increasing the chances of success.
2. Streamlining operations: The OODA loop can also be used to improve operational efficiency by continuously observing and orienting to new information. By identifying inefficiencies and making informed decisions, organizations can improve their processes, reduce costs, and increase productivity.

By using the OODA loop to drive innovation, organizations can make faster and more informed decisions, stay ahead of the competition, and achieve greater success. The OODA loop is a continuous process, and organizations that embrace it as part of their culture will be better positioned to succeed in today’s rapidly changing business environment.

A Use Case for the OODA Loop in Action

In this section, we will explore the four stages of the OODA loop and how they can be applied to drive innovation in technology strategy. By applying the OODA loop, we can gather and analyze relevant data, make informed decisions, and take action to continuously improve and innovate our technology solutions.

Observe:

In the OODA loop, the “Observe” stage involves collecting and analyzing relevant data to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current situation. As a technology strategist, this could include understanding the client’s business goals, market trends, and the potential use cases of blockchain-based digital collectibles. By using data to inform our decision-making, we can make more informed and strategic choices that are backed by evidence rather than gut instinct.

For example, let’s say we are working with a client who wants to enhance their brand image and increase customer engagement. We would start by collecting and analyzing data on their target market, competitors, and customer feedback. This would allow us to identify areas for improvement and potential opportunities for implementing blockchain-based digital collectibles.

Orient:

The “Orient” stage of the OODA loop involves interpreting the data collected in the “Observe” stage and using it to develop a comprehensive understanding of the current situation. This involves analyzing the data and identifying patterns and trends that can inform decision-making.

For example, after analyzing the data collected in the “Observe” stage, we may identify that the client’s target market is interested in unique, personalized products and experiences. We could then interpret this data to understand that implementing a blockchain-based digital collectible platform could provide customers with a new and exciting way to engage with the brand.

Decide:

The “Decide” stage of the OODA loop involves using the insights gained in the “Observe” and “Orient” stages to make informed decisions. This involves selecting the right technology and tools to address the identified areas for improvement and meet the client’s business goals.

For example, based on our analysis in the “Observe” and “Orient” stages, we may recommend implementing a blockchain-based digital collectible platform to enhance the client’s brand image and increase customer engagement. We would work with the client to select the right technology and tools to implement this solution, taking into account factors such as budget, timeline, scalability, and the business value we are wanting to achieve during this transformation.

Act:

The “Act” stage of the OODA loop involves implementing the decisions made in the “Decide” stage and monitoring the results. This involves tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and making adjustments as needed to continue driving value for the client.

For example, after implementing the blockchain-based digital collectible platform, we would track KPIs such as customer engagement, brand awareness, and sales. We would use this data to monitor the success of our strategy and adjust as needed to continue driving value for the client. This could include expanding the platform to include new products or features, optimizing the user experience, or exploring new technologies to stay ahead of the competition.

Reinforcement Learning and OODA Loop: Two Sides of the Same Coin

While it isn’t the focus of the current AI hype/news cycle, I can’t write an article about the OODA loop without talking about one of my personal favorite ML fields: reinforcement learning.

Reinforcement learning, like the OODA loop, is a process of continuous improvement based on feedback from the environment. The difference is the RL is focused on solving complex computer problems. It has been used to solve problems in gaming and robotics and has shown promise in a wide range of industries. In fact, it’s not hard to draw parallels between the OODA loop and reinforcement learning — both involve a cycle of observation, orientation, decision-making, and action. As we continue to develop new technologies and strategies for innovation, it’s important to keep in mind the lessons we can learn from these iterative approaches to problem-solving.

A famous example of reinforcement learning in action is the development of AlphaGo and AlphaZero, two artificial intelligence programs developed by Google. AlphaGo and AlphaZero were trained to play the games of Go and chess, respectively, using reinforcement learning. By repeatedly playing against themselves and learning from their successes and failures, these programs were able to achieve unprecedented levels of success and defeat human champions. By using feedback from the environment to continually adjust and improve their decision-making, these AI programs were able to achieve unprecedented levels of success in complex games that were once thought impossible for machines to win.

This highlights the importance of adopting a similar mindset in our approach to innovation and problem-solving, whether it’s developing new technologies or enhancing existing products and services. By continually gathering data and feedback from the market and our customers, and using it to inform our decisions, we can stay ahead of the competition and drive value for our clients and customers.

Innovation can benefit greatly from the application of reinforcement learning principles. By testing and leaning from various strategies and tactics, organizations can quickly adapt to changes in the market and make better decisions. The OODA loop can serve as a useful framework for applying reinforcement learning concepts to the innovation process, helping businesses stay agile and competitive in a rapidly changing landscape.

Conclusion

During my time serving in the US Marine Corps and in emergency services, I witnessed firsthand the power of the OODA loop in dynamic situations. We used this framework to rapidly assess chaotic situations, understand changing environments, and make data-driven decisions in response. The OODA loop allowed us to move with agility and respond quickly to both decentralized threats and opportunities.

Adopting this iterative approach to problem-solving allowed the military to better combat networks of sparsely connected insurgents, marking a fundamental shift from traditional hierarchical thinking. Today, it has been adapted for use in a variety of fields, including technology innovation and machine learning. The OODA loop is a prime example of this philosophy in action. By constantly gathering information, orienting ourselves to new developments, and making informed decisions based on that information, we can stay ahead of the curve and succeed in even the most challenging environments.

Whether we are on the battlefield or in the boardroom, the principles of the OODA loop (and policy gradients) can help us make better decisions and achieve our goals more effectively.

What is Text-to-Image AI?

Text-to-image AI is a type of technology that uses natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to generate images based on text input. This technology can be useful for a small business in a number of ways. For example, a small business owner could use text-to-image AI to automatically generate product images for their online store, saving time and effort. The technology could also be used to create marketing materials, such as social media posts or advertisements, by generating images based on specific keywords or phrases. Additionally, text-to-image AI could be used to create personalized content for customers, such as custom product designs or personalized promotional materials. Overall, text-to-image AI can provide a small business with a convenient and efficient way to generate images for a variety of purposes.

What You Need to Know

The three most important things a small business owner needs to know about text-to-image AI are:

• Text-to-image AI can save time and effort by automatically generating images based on text input, allowing the small business owner to focus on other tasks.
• Text-to-image AI can be used for a variety of purposes, such as creating product images, marketing materials, and personalized content for customers.
• Text-to-image AI is not a replacement for human creativity and judgement.

While the technology can generate images automatically, it is important for the small business owner to review and approve the results to ensure they are accurate and appropriate.

The images generated by the system are based on algorithms and pre-determined rules, so they may not always be as creative or unique as those created by a human. Additionally, the system may not be able to understand the nuances and context of a given situation, so a human may be better equipped to make decisions and judgements about what images to use in a given situation. Therefore, it’s important for small business owners to use text-to-image technology as a tool to assist them in their work, rather than relying on it completely.

How Can You Get Started?

If someone is interested in getting started with text-to-image AI, there are a few steps they can take. First, they should research the various text-to-image AI tools and platforms available, and compare their features and capabilities to determine which one is the best fit for their needs. Next, they should gather the necessary text input and any other required materials, such as image templates or pre-existing images. Depending on the tool or platform they are using, they may need to set up an account or install the software. Once they have everything they need, they can begin using the text-to-image AI tool to generate images based on their text input. It may take some trial and error to get the desired results, but with practice and experimentation, they can learn how to use the technology effectively.

Endnote

This article was:

Written by chatGPT,

Images created with Midjourney,

Edited by Cody Burns

Come with me and you’ll see a world of pure imagination — Willy Wonka

Intro

In the near future you will be looking to hire a new type of thought worker(or potentially see this skill as often as ‘proficient at excel’ on resumes). This up and coming talent is known as “prompt engineering” and it is time everyone started the discussion and using this amazing new tool.

Huh, Say what?

Prompt engineering/hacking/designing is the practice of crafting Text-to-Image prompts in a way that to create consistent, useable, high quality images for others to use. Text-to-Image is the latest generation of AI which lets users provide a “prompt” similar to a search engine. Unlike a search engine, the images created are completely generated from the engines models “imagination”. The more accurate the prompt, the quicker and more accurate the results are. To be clear, the AI is not searching a database of images to find the closest matches; everything is generated from latent space, in real time. From your mind, to the prompt, to a never before seen creation. You are not constrained by physics, reality, your artistic ability, software licenses, etc, etc, etc. Think it and it comes into existence. Prompt engineering is the art of tuning the words, weights, and perspective into what a customer actually wanted. This technology is not limited to 2d images and is rapidly evolving to AR/VR and everything in between.

“How could a business possible use this?”

Lets talk clip art. There is an unusually large market on the internet for art that can be used in presentations. Businesses pay large amounts for clean professional images that capture the idea they are trying to convey. If I want a clipart coffee cup, a quick google search brings up their best options with various licensing fees and usage rights. Using prompt engineering skills we can generate a basic(ugly) object with relative ease:

This prompt created a useable, image that at least gives the general IDEA of a flat art coffee cup. With a little prompt engineering magic we can produce a much better image:

And since this is a computer program running in the background we can add some spice to the prompt to make it capable of generating many more items in the same style.

Building A Metaverse Business Model

Having a prompt one person can use is good. I want more.

So, how can others benefit from (or pay me for) my newly found creative skills? There is a service called “prompt base” which is an emerging market place for prompts. Since we are hoping to push the frontier, this article calls for a bit more…. pizzazz 😁.

I’ll spare the exact details in this post, however, I created an ERC-1155 NFT token on OpenSea which will allow me to create unique assets with unlockable content. Instead of a picture of a monkey, I will allow up to 500 users to purchase the NFT and the owners can reveal the prompt without me ever having to be involved. When a customer buys my prompts they are not buying 1 unique image, they are buying the ability to generate endless variations of my prompt’s styled objects with anything they want(🤯). Bought it for office art, use it to make cars or sunglasses. If they decide to resell their access, I will get 2% of any future trades. At the time of writing this I am offering these custom prompts for ~$1.50 worth of crypto coin. These are also carbon neutral NFTs, the code sits on Polygon network(a L2 for ETH) and the transfer fees are almost non-existent.

Lets do more…. As a prompt engineer I need to drive traffic to my new store, so customers can sample the quality of the products first hand. I have seen others using Spatial.io for their NFT collections and I think this is the perfect opportunity to set up my shop and let the world know we’re open for business. Spatial is a virtual world platform where users can interact with each other, share experiences, showcase art & NFTs.

From zero to a metaverse business in a few hours worth of time. No coding, the future is amazing. Check out The Collection here!

Dive in 🏊‍♀!

Ready to start the journey down the rabbit hole? The engines are available to the public and most are free to use with a paid model once you get hooked

Engines:

• Dall-e — https://labs.openai.com/
• Stable diffusion — https://huggingface.co/spaces/stabilityai/stable-diffusion
• MidJourney — https://www.midjourney.com/app/

Market place:

• Promptbase — https://promptbase.com/
• [Designer]prompts — https://opensea.io/collection/designer-prompts

How-to:

• Prompt book — https://dallery.gallery/the-dalle-2-prompt-book/

Think of the internet 20 years from today. Tens of billions of people, trillions of IoT gadgets, millions of data centers; all using currently unimaginable connected devices, all wanting to access data from around the world instantly. What do you think that will mean for the system holding all of this together in the background, the humble file transfer protocol used to move all data around?

Enter the Interplanetary File System(IPFS for short)! A fundamentally different network designed around creating a more secure, open, and flexible system. Learning about and using IPFS today is important because now is the time to be placing your bet on how the internet evolves from here. Fortunately understanding the 3 really important things you need to know will be a piece of cake 🍰

#1: It is NOT a Blockchain⛓️

Blockchain is hot these days, and everyone wants a piece of it. If you’re here to learn how a new one works you will be greatly disappointed with this article because first and foremost: IPFS IS A FILE SYSTEM.

Blockchains are a form of distributed database where all the nodes share the exact same information set (very_broad_brush.jpg). These are very useful for a very specific set of problems. Cryptocurrencies, supply chains, and digital identity are examples of use cases being built on them today. If a large group of people want to make sure everyone has the exact same unforgeable data, they can use a blockchain. If everyone on earth wanted to share the ultimate cake recipe and ensure everyone had the exact same version, they could use a blockchain. 👩‍🍳

File systems are much, much more useful. You likely send and receive files everyday and equally likely never give too much thought of how they are stored, addressed, our distributed. And one thing everyone can be certain of is that they do not have all of the files that exist(nor should they try). In fact, the entire internet was invented to figure out how to arrange and find information when you don’t have all the files you need.

If a blockchain is a recipe(🧾) that everyone shared, files can be thought of as the individual ingredients(🛍️) you have/need. IPFS(🛒) is then a very efficient way to get the ingredients to you kitchen. 🧾 + 🛍️ + 🛒 = 🍰

#2: It’s about the Content🛍️, not Location🗺️

The traditional internet is location based. You tell a web browser where to find a website and it goes to the server and asks for the information. IPFS turns this concept on its head. With IPFS, you tell the network which file you want and it asks the network of peers who has it.

This concept isn’t as strange as it sounds. Recall the last time you were looking for an ingredient you needed to make a cake. You called ahead to the store so you can do curbside & have two options of hopefully finding it; you can either ask the sales associate to get some flour for you (this is content addressing because you’re asking for what the ingredient is) or ask them for the ingredient on isle 4, 3rd shelf, 15th item from the right (the last location where you knew your ingredient was, location addressing)

Since we don’t care where the flour comes from, only that it is the exact ingredient we need, this is a much more efficient way of ordering and receiving – and content addressing is up to 60% more efficient for online videos as well.

#3: It can Literally Save the Internet 🌐

The internet of today has a huge problem that tech folk don’t like to talk about. Our collective demand for streaming content is literally crushing the decades old infrastructure that hosts and delivers our favorite content to our homes and devices.

The hard truth is that “the cloud” is just some mega corporation’s data center and it is limited by same physics as everything else in the universe. A finite amount of data can go in and out at one time.

If you have ever seen the result of a video or website ‘go viral’ and kill a small hosting service you have seen this experiment conducted before. IoT and entire digital native generations are coming to hog all the bandwidth, and they are closing in fast.

The Interplanetary File System will allow the next generations of our beloved infotainment services (ie Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube) spread out the load across a decentralized mesh with absolute guarantee that the data you are getting is exactly what you wanted and unaltered.

For our cake🍰; instead of everyone going to the to same store to get flour (causing shortages and poor social distancing) in the future everyone will just ask their neighbors for flour!

Conclusion

What do you think ? Do you want the world to be powered by distributed networks like IPFS or not ? What about your business? What do you think about the risks of this paradigm shift ? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Links:
A real deep dive on the tech: https://proto.school/course/ipfs
The paper that gave birth to the internet: https://www.w3.org/History/1989/proposal.html
60% faster videos: http://math.oregonstate.edu/~kovchegy/web/papers/p2p-vdn.pdf

I have dreamt of apocalypse many times, but never did I imagine one during which I would have to have a day job and attend endless online meetings.

Since the lockdowns, video calls have become my day to day life. They consume countless hours a week and are the primary use of my computer now. The tools of the trade I use most are Powerpoint and Teams, but the steps that follow can be modified to the limits to your imagination.This setup could be useful to students, podcasts, streamers, and anyone who uses a computer and wants to do less. The first rule of apocalypse is to have fun and be yourself. 🙂

The Plan

The goal of this project is simple: Create a macro keyboard for the things I use the most without breaking the bank.

Like many who have ended up on this blog; I am a gamer, a technologist, and like shortcut keys. I am always looking for a way to blend these things together.

I’m a classic gamer with a preference for 8-bit NES. As such, I already have a USB controller(which everyone should) so this is what I would prefer to use in my day to day gig. If you want more buttons you can go for a different controller, but your loss in the gaming aspect.

For project budget and costs, this is the only item needed. An NES gamepad costs ~$12 for a 2 pack and are available at all the finest online retailers.

Next, with the hardware settled, we need to decide what matters most in day to day use and can be mapped over 8 keys

For me it is these:

• Mute/unmute
• Video on/off
• Join a meeting
• Admit to the lobby
• Volume up and down
• Scroll slide decks

The actual layout will be something like this:

I would have liked a “hand raise and lower hand” key but there isn’t a hotkey I could find so, if you work on this product I really need this.

Obviously everything on the software side needs to be open source so no funny business is going on under the hood. I found antimicro and it fits the bill. Though it is currently unmaintained, it is functional and works well enough for my needs. You can find the releases and source code in their github: https://github.com/AntiMicro/antimicro

The Execution

Putting it all together took about 30 minutes, counting troubleshooting and blogging.

First things first; plug in controller and install the software

There are some parts which are less intuitive and I will cover them to close out this article, but this the sky is the limit once you figure out shortcut keys you need for an application.

To get the shortcut keys in Teams, press `Ctrl + <period>` and you will get a menu similar to this:

Now press buttons on the controller to see which button it is associated within antimicro. It is very intuitive

For volume keys (up and down on D pad), you can select the option from the “others “ dropdown on the key assigner.

For the complex key combinations, use the advanced mapper on the bottom left of the keypad to sequence your keys.

Having now successfully customized your rig, you are now one of the coolest console cowboys at the end of the world. Good luck!