Project Title: Ready, Get Set, Guess!
Partner: Lana Henrich
Project Statement of Purpose
For our final project, we want to create an interactive game in which two individuals will have to race against the clock to guess a pixelated image before the clear image appears. The players will be given choices of what the image is, there will be three buttons for the players to choose from their three choices. In addition, we plan to incorporate different categories the players may choose from, from celebrities to animals. The goal of this game is to be able to create an entertaining competitive game that tests people’s knowledge. By incorporating different categories this game will speak to different audiences. From pop-culture lovers to history junkies.
Project Plan
From doing research on examples of interactive projects I realized that a lot of projects focused on audience interaction, keeping this in mind, I knew that our project had to be easily navigable. Our project will utilize Processing to display the images and Arduino to add controllers to the project. The game will have different rounds, so whoever guesses the correct choice the fastest for each round will win. One game will contain three different rounds so whoever guesses two out of three the fastest will win.
Lana and I will work together on both Processing and Arduino. We will start off by building the circuits for our project utilizing Arduino boards, wires, and buttons. We hope to get this part completed between April 27-30. We will then create the visuals for our project. We will find images and store them within Processing and create a code that will make each image start out very pixelated and then gradually become clearer. On the bottom of the display will be three choices for individuals to choose from. I think we have enough coding experience with pixelating images and utilizing images from outside sources. The challenge I can see us running into is storing a lot of images, creating multiple categories, and combining interactive buttons on the screen with external buttons. We will also need to find a way to connect the buttons connected to Arduino to Processing. We plan to work on this portion of the project between May 1-13th. That way we will be prepared for user testing. We also plan to 3D print or laser-cut two boxes to house the buttons, and in essence to create our own controllers but will leave it till the end when we have the code working. We hope we will have enough time before user-testing to create a visually appealing display, if not at least we will still have a working game. After the user-testing, we will make last-minute alterations based on the feedback we receive.
Context and Significance
In the preparatory stage of the final, I came across interactive projects that focused a lot on human interaction and visuals. For instance, the ‘Ghost’ installation incorporates each visitor into the actual display. This influenced what we decided for our final because it made rethink what interaction entailed.
The project we are creating, these type of brain games already exist. However, by making our game multi-player and having a physical aspect to it, it enhances each individuals interaction and experience with the game itself. Each time two people or groups of people play with our game, each round they will experience something different depending on the result of their previous round. For instance, if they lose the first round, the next round they will be more motivated to beat the other player. Not only does our game encourage interaction between the player and the game itself, but it also encourages interaction between the players.
Our game is intended for individuals ages 7 and older. It is simple enough for everyone to understand how to interact with it. I can see this project placed in school settings or offices for when people want to engage in a competitive game and take a break from work. This game holds value because it mentally challenges people and brings out the competitiveness in people. After successful completion, there is always room to expand the game. Perhaps by adding more categories, and creating more devices so that more than 2 people/ groups can play. This would create more possibilities and allow people to be more engaged and make the game more competitive.