Design Process
Conception
Iterations
We wanted to explore how to bring usual video-game verbs to become more physical and intuitive. Utilizing the simplicity with a Makey-Makey Kit, we challenged ourselves to create an Alternative Controller that was simple but striking.
Without the use of more advanced technologies such as gyroscope, we wanted the feeling of tilting. The initial inspiration came from an alpha prototype which consisted of a ball on a piece of suspended cloth.
The elasticity and rolling motion you can get from simply putting your hand on it was intriguing.
Very quickly onto development of the game and controller, we realized that the physical feedback of a push and tilt-to-hit was not as strong, giving playtesters the illusion that they are not acting on strong verbs.
We looked into sturdier materials that our Alpha prototype, which mostly consisted of styrofoam and tin foil. We found that wood, which can be decorated and has a sound-on-impact, was the obvious choice.
The mere physicality of it was enough to deepen the player experience of our game.
Takeaways
We made the game following the solidification of the controller. Essentially, it is an arcade-styled game with projectiles that spawn and move towards the center of the screen. Players spawn a laser horizontally to destroy them.
It was surprising to see that players required some time to calibrate rotation direction (clockwise vs counterclockwise) with lateral direction (left and right input).
While this was a difficulty, it intrigued players, and many playtesters insisted that they found the dissonance enjoyable. Dissonance being something that should be leveraged was a new thought for me.
