Concepts
When we first began working with the Arduino, I was excited about all the possibilities that arose for my final project. Additionally, I found working with Arduino quite intuitive and am hoping to implement unique features for the final project. As of now, there are two main ideas that I have in mind.
Idea 1 – Virtual Arcade with a Twist
My first idea for the final project revolves around creating a virtual arcade, using P5, and implementing the control for the minigames using analog and digital sensors with Arduino. The p5 sketch would present a virtual arcade with at least two or three different minigames that you would be able to select using a physical component, for instance, a button with an arrow right to highlight the object on the right or left and vice-versa. Once the player decides on what game they would like to play by pressing the select button (digital switch), the game screen would change to that of the selected minigame. As of now, I have two interesting and unique ideas for the minigames. The first is a game where a character has a jetpack and is stuck in a box. Randomly, different objects will be generated and move horizontally at different speeds. The character will be controlled by a sound level meter, and the louder the input of the player, the higher the character will float on the screen. Each object avoided is 1 point. After the player dies, the score will be saved as a high school and displayed for other players to try to beat. The next minigame idea I have is to create a Wack-a-Mole but with a twist. In this version of the game, there will be an array of digital switches and LEDs above them. However, every round, two of the buttons will light up, with different colors. This would make the game more challenging as the person would have to press the button with the correct color. If the player presses the button which has a different color, then a point is deducted from the score.
Idea 2 – Unique Controller
My first idea might take a lot of time to fully implement, and if that were the case, then my other idea would be to create just one game that would rely on the input of a unique control. This idea was inspired by the lack of innovation that I have noticed when it comes to gaming console controllers. Evidently, the current controllers are popular because they are ergonomic and intuitive. However, I believe that it would be interesting to explore and try to create a unique controller that relies on different inputs for controlling a game. One such unique controller could be a special glove that uses flex sensors to determine the bending of finders in a hand. A game that could go well with this would be a Plants vs. Zombies type of game, in which a character can be controlled to move on the vertical axis and could shoot projectiles to stop the incoming enemies from reaching the other side of the screen, which would result in a loss of health points. Additionally, the game would have waves of increasing difficulty, in which the enemies would move faster, and there would be more enemies in total. The hand controls for this game would involve bending your fingers into different positions, which would indicate movement and actions for the game.
Possible Challenges
For my first idea, I believe the main challenge would be time and physically constructing the different sensors and interfaces for the minigames. Even though I am confident this idea is possible to implement, I am not too confident about the amount of time that I have to make it happen. This makes me lean towards implementing my second idea. For the second idea, I believe the biggest challenges would be ensuring the accuracy of the flex sensors and creating a well-designed glove for the control of the game, as well as ensuring that the gesture recognition works well. As I am writing this, I have also realized that a glove-like controller, like the one I would like to make, could be used as a translator for sign language. This implementation, of course, would also require additional elements such as an accelerometer and extremely precise readings from the flex sensors; however, this could be a unique opportunity for a future project.