MA Games Design: Experiential Digital/Physical Playgrounds

Description

As part of my Master’s thesis into Experiential pop-ups (Disneyland-in-a-box), I devised and built several physical-digital games using an Arduino and multiple tracking inputs.

Force Injection

Comprising of LED’s and multiple insertion points, this game revolved around preventing incoming bacteria moving to the heart by using coloured medication (obtained by using a bespoke syringe) and injecting into designated areas around the body.

Force Glove

A combination of Kinect skeleton tracking and modifying a glove with micro-motors, the purpose was to enhance the feeling of Force-control of objects. Significant research was spent identifying hand pressure points to maximise user response to motor vibrations.

LED Light Saber

Rather than using traditional accelerometers, lightsaber orientation was performed via light tracking and skeletal positioning. This was used to realise a lightsaber training exercise and give further immersion for guests.