Greek Mythology includes some of the richest stories in the world, filled to the brim with epic tales composed of valiant heroes, evil monsters, and immortal gods. With this in mind, it comes to no one’s surprise that centuries later we are still reading and analyzing these epic stories. Our project takes inspiration from Greek Mythology and aims to recreate the infamous Labyrinth maze from the great tale of Theseus. In creating our Labyrinth, we plan to stay true to the original by making sure it invokes the same fear for those who enter the maze, and of course, there will also be the mythical Minotaur. Our goal is to engage an audience that enjoys obstacle games by using an interactive game two-player game where we combine both education of Mythology and entertainment.
The Labyrinth is famously known for its vastness, deliberately confusing design, and the Minotaur. Our maze will adhere to the original structure of a large square shaped confusing contraption with numerous dead ends. It will be a two player game where one player, the runner, begins in the middle of the maze, with the intent to escape, and the other player as the Minotaur which intents to capture the runner. Before the players are dropped into the maze, there will be a minigame to determine the speed of the characters. This minigame will use a heart rate sensor and depending on how high each player’s heart rate gets it determines the base speed of their respective characters. After the minigame, the runner will have a grace period to explore the maze, and after that grace period has ended the Minotaur will be unleashed. Once again, the goal of the runner is to escape, while the Minotaur’s goal is to catch the runner. Currently, we are finishing up our design of the maze, and after that, we will begin coding the maze. The mini game’s code will follow, and then the joysticks, which will be used to control the characters, will be coded. Afterward, we will do a test run making sure everything works and depending on the outcome we are thinking of adding special powers. Maybe some abilities for each character like a quick sprint option, or teleportation for the Minotaur.
Mythology has always been something I have been interested in, and I hope our project can share my interest. I hope to introduce the rich stories of mythology to those who try our game and maybe inspire them to further explore Greek myths. Through my preparatory research and analysis impacts, I have realized that my project must foremost be fun. I believe this project aligns with my definition of interaction because if executed properly, people will be want to try our project again, whether that be to try a different character or escape faster. Our project must be engaging and interactive for the players for the whole duration, hence the mini-game in the beginning and then the maze. I have also learned from my past projects, multiplayer breeds a much richer game in terms of replayability. Games are inherently competitive therefore we decided, instead of a leaderboard with high scores, direct competition between two players is much more engaging. Also from the research of projects, we have learned how to present and incorporate ideas of the Labyrinth much better. The name is simple and obvious, and the design of the game is natural; when dropped in the middle of a maze who would not want to escape? I believe the uniqueness of our project will come from the maze itself. We will create a vast maze where every corridor and dead-ends are carefully planned, and the huge efforts we have put forth will be obvious. When I was younger, reading epics and learning about the obstacles of these brave heroes filled me with happiness. I would get lost learning about Theseus’s battles, or Odysseus’s arduous travels on the high seas. I truly hope I can inspire more people to read myths because these stories truly encapsulate the best of human creativity. Maybe, if this project is successful we could continue making other interactive recreations of mythological destinations. We could explore the deadly seas filled with Sirens and the monstrous Scylla, or maybe the majestic land of the gods, Olympus. Our options are as vast as the Labyrinth we hope to create.