User Test results:
I had my friend try the game by just giving her a general idea of the game. I forgot to mention that she had to pair the Arduino board first by pressing the space bar so that is definitely something i will keep in mind when finalizing the user interface for the project. I had explained to her how to use the card against the ultrasonic sensor because I had not yet designed the board for it. I think it was working fine but the movement of the car was glitching a little bit due to the tilt of the card and unstable hand movements. Because of the random motion of the card against the ultrasonic sensor and lack of proper hardware, the car movement was haphazard and missing the ‘game end’ condition.
I think this is particular user testing helped me realize a lot of the issues with my design. I had not laid out clear instructions for the Arduino board connection which meant that for someone who was new to this sort of implementation, starting the game would not have been possible. The lack instructions on how to navigate the card and the limits of the card distance was also another factor I had not yet implemented which I had to verbally explain to my friend.
I am however happy with the serial output from Arduino because I was experiencing issues before with consistent output to p5.js and that has been sorted out now. I am also happy with the p5.js visuals as I was able to extensively work on that as well and make it fitting to the theme.
Further work:
I think the number one thing I will focus on for now is fixing the haphazard motion of the car due to the unstable card motion. I am thinking of limiting the movement of the card by placing it in slider that I have yet to design. This will make sure that the card does not tilt and stay within the limit of horizontal distance that I have chosen for the game.
I also need to add the LEDs so that there is a green light for when the game is in ‘game state’ and red for when it has not yet started. I need to refine the p5.js code by adding last final components. I have yet to add music, code to send data to Arduino for the LEDs, and edit the interfaces further.
I also need to add instructions for the Arduino board connection at the start of the game and then instructions to navigate the card holder and its movements as well.