I used the Xbox Design Lab to (almost) make a GameCube controller

It seemed like such a good idea at the time. After all, wasn't the GameCube a modern design classic, an example to the rest of the industry that you didn't have to make a gaming machine look like a slightly edgy DVD player to have it sell well?

To celebrate the Xbox Design Lab finally making its way to the UK I had been given a code to make one controller of my choice, and I was in the process of making a complete hash of it.

Xbox Design Lab is a Microsoft service that allows you to customize your own Xbox One controller. As well as adding optional extras like a rubberized grip and metallic D-pads and triggers, you can also completely change the color of all of the controller's key components.

An inspired choice

Rather than try and forge my own design path, I decided to keep it safe and stick to imitating a classic controller design.

The only problem was that, when you think about it, most of the controllers out there have a fairly boring color scheme. The PS2? A black controller with grey and black buttons. The SNES? Colorful button, but still a grey shell. The PS1? Pretty much the same.

The GameCube was different. By default it came with a bright purple controller, featuring a yellow C-stick. It was perfect for the Xbox Design Lab.

But whether it was the somewhat limited customisability options of the Design Lab configurator (no option to have two different colored analogue sticks? Come on Microsoft!) or simply the fact that my body remained staunchly on Californian time despite being back in the UK, the controller didn't quite turn out how I'd expected.

My controller is, to put it bluntly, completely hideous.

Still, at least I'll be able to know it's my controller while in couch co-op scenarios, because there's not a chance in hell that anyone else is going to imitate its style any time soon.