Honolulu Weekly

“In any city’s video game crowd, you’ll always find people like me.” Humble in his craft, arcade stick builder, network administrator and 2Face4 band member Ray Farias noted that anyone can build joysticks (or “(joy)sticks” as he prefers– arcade sticks, really) or get them made from a company such as Mad Catz. However, as far as Farias knows, no one else on the island makes arcade sticks for other people.

As a kid, Farias dissected and reassembled numerous electronic items in his home. As a student at McKinley High, Farias’ interest in creating No Wave music lead him back to the world of electronics–specifically circuit bending.

And of course, what good would an electronics geek be without an obsession with video games? Naming King of Fighters as one of his favorites, Farias shared that arcade stick playing is more accurate than handheld pads for video game consoles. However, he could never afford a stick as a teen, but with encouragement from his woodworker uncle, Farias started building his own arcade sticks with wood boxes his uncle would create. After high school, however, Farias stopped building sticks. It wasn’t until the release of Street Fighter IV this year that his desire to build was rekindled. Turning to gamer site [shoryuken.com], or “SRK” to insiders, to refresh his memory on arcade stick construction, Farias has struck out on his own in going back to a craft that brings him joy.

So how does this builder go about making these mini masterpieces? He starts by building the wooden box. He then orders parts such as buttons and sticks from Japan. After going to a local gaming store to buy video game pads, he pad hacks and essentially “solders point A to point B.”

His sticks can be dual-console compatible, if you want to use your stick with both your Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. One can choose the color of the buttons, as well as the button layout–American or Japanese style (Farias favors the Japanese layout, with the ergonomic curve of of the two rows of three buttons). As far as the actual stick, Japanese sticks move more nimbly, whereas American sticks are stiffer. Farias is also able to make sticks game-specific. As for the bells and whistles, customers can choose the image they want on the wooden box–often a favorite character–or leave it plain or make it clear on the bottom to display the wire work. He can even add lights to the thing.

“I mostly do it for friends. I can only make two to three a month. It’s a hobby,” said Farias. However, the ripple effect from the popularity of Street Fighter IV is causing a shortage of buttons and sticks, since so many people are building sticks for themselves now. But the gamer lends his own stick out to customers while they wait for orders to be completed. Farias may be surrounded by sticks, but rest assured that there’s definitely not one up his ass.