A. The Labyrinth Maze
B. PROJECT STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Based on our task to create an ongoing, interactive experience using Processing and Arduino, I aimed to create a device that would engage the user and would provide for a fun gaming experience. Inspired by traditional corn mazes and labyrinths mazes, the intended audience for this device would be anyone aiming to challenge themselves through utilizing strategic forms of strategizing a way to solve a complex maze. The maze could additionally boost the user’s patience and persistence level, whilst improving their hand-eye coordination and concentration levels. I seek to address the challenge of successfully combining virtual projection upon a physical object, in which its complexity challenges the player in completing the challenge. I hope for the device to cause the user to strengthen their cognitive thought processes and heighten their abilities of problem solving.
C. PROJECT PLAN
I plan to create an interactive one-player game, with the physical labyrinth placed on top of a surface that would allow for it to rotate. The player would utilize a joystick in order to tilt the surface of the maze, wherein a marble would navigate the paths of the labyrinth. The marble would act as the physical “player” in the game, starting from the point of entry to the point of exit, while navigating various “obstacles” throughout the challenge. The obstacles would be virtually projected through Processing, through projecting an image onto the physical maze. For the first week, I will first create a cardboard prototype of the physical maze, that would include the maze and the walls surrounding it. I would additionally work on the Processing image for the projection, utilizing Photoshop to draft an image of a maze with its obstacles integrated throughout it. I would Photoshop a visual of a complex maze for the player to solve that would act as the physical labyrinth. For the second week, I would work on the codes that would connect the hardware and joystick to Arduino, and that would also connect the image in Processing to the maze. I would additionally work out the details of the projection through Processing, and making sure it would correspond to the physical maze smoothly. I would utilize the laser cutting for the box and prepare the materials for the maze, including the joystick, marble, and a smaller-scale projector. For the third week, I would finalize the design and assemble the materials together, while focusing on ensuring the final design would hide the wires and hardware of the game.
D. CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Inspired by these wooden labyrinth games, this project would be highly reliant on the user’s input in order to work successfully. They would have to play the game and focus on navigating the marble throughout the maze from one point to the other, making for a continuous loop of interaction between the user and the device. Similar to a conversation, interaction can be closely defined as “a cyclic process in which two actors alternately listen, think, and speak,” as outlined in The Art of Interactive Design (5). For a continuous loop to occur, the user needs to be constantly using and interacting with the device, as the device responds to the user’s endless input. This sequence consists of three steps: input, output, and processing, as outlined in Introduction to Physical Computing (Igoe & O’Sullivan, 20). This device closely aligns with interactivity, as the player is constantly giving input through using the joystick to rotate the maze, while the device is moving the marble for the player to navigate the pathways. After successful completion, the project may lead onto more advanced mazes, including adding levels of difficulty or an increased number of obstacles for the player to navigate.