Physical Computing 10.17

This week, Martin and I discussed how to expand upon our midterm project, “Zombie Boot Camp” We got a lot of great feedback during the midterm when we showed our game.

• Make it clearer that the player is controlling the Zombie

• Make progress indicators so players know how much longer they have until the end and how well they are doing

• Clean up the graphic movement (e.g. time jumps properly)

• Fix music issues

We also came up with some ideas on a more immersive control experience. We’re very happy with the controller that we made for the midterm game, for the final, we’re thinking about how to create a standing arcade game. One idea that came up is the use of a large pad for the player to lean into with their chest to control the speed of the Zombie. The more they lean into it, the faster the Zombie goes, and the less they lean into it, the Zombie will slow to a stop. To prevent players from simply using the pad with their hands, there will be an added mechanic to the game that requires the players to keep their hands out in front of them. The idea would be that anyone who is playing the game is actually moving like a zombie. For the hands, we thought of buttons, hand loops (like on the subway trains), pulleys, or even blocks that would hang down and require the player keep them balanced on their hands.

We’re still very much in the ideation phase, but it’s exciting to think about the possibilities. Here’s a rough sketch of what we had in mind at this point.

Rough sketch of what the “Zombie Boot Camp” arcade game could look like. There are indicators for a pressure sensor that the player would lean into with their chest. That sensor may also have accelerometers attached. The screen is marked where a traditional arcade screen would be. There are also markings indicating that loops or buttons may be placed above/in front of the player to keep their arms busy.