The small displays on the control box are not useful at all when playing the game. I finally focused on building the large four digit seven segment displays. It took two trips to Tap Plastics for the acrylic and three laser cutter sessions at Techshop this week to prep the parts for assembly. I ended […]
hardware
Frustration with LED flashlights
The small control box has a light sensor in it to sense when the bat is swung above it. There needs to be a light shining down that is strong and direct enough so that the bat casts a shadow as it goes by. I’ve been using a mic stand with a small Maglight flashlight […]
To Do List for Next Event
The next time I set up the game for other players will be at a party in mid-May, less than three weeks from now. My wish list for that event includes: Must Haves Software Rework the ball algorithm. Bunts and slow swings absorb energy Slower ramping up to high speeds Cure false serves Finish adding […]
New Main System Box
Time to upgrade the control box before Playtest #3. The current box is just a floor and face for the controls. The guts hang out – it’s ugly and probably dangerous. I designed a new box to hold the Arduino Mega, it’s power supply, the control knobs and displays, and jacks for everything external to […]
Playtest #2
Time to test the changes from last time. Playtest on Friday 4/14 during the afternoon in a hallway at work. My Goals Try out next rev on setting up and breaking down the system. Compare bat vs. tennis racket. Does one feel better than the other? Does the racket change the way people play? Test […]
Changes for Next Playtest
I’ve been fixing problems, tuning software, and laser cutting as I prep for my next playtest. Software Changes Fixed swing timing. The biggest issue from Playtest #1 was with players swinging late. The game allowed you to swing a bit early, but never late. Fixing a couple lines of code was all it took to […]
Hand Controllers
Two plastic and foam bats with my hand controller hardware strapped on with cable ties. The red button is used to put the controller back in two way communications mode so it can be reset for a different game.
First Working Demos
After a long weekend of debugging I got the whole system to work reliably with one controller. To commemorate that I shot a couple of demo videos. First Game Demo Showing a simple single-player rally game on 30 meters of LED strips (900 LEDs). Hardware Tour Quick overview of all the individual elements involved.
Light Trigger Circuit
The breadboard version of the light trigger worked so I built a more usable version of it for the game prototype. I’ll do a full PCB version next time I do a run. This pass includes a larger potentiometer because the sensitivity will need to be tuned for the lighting at each installation. It worked on […]
Light Trigger Test Circuit
The Hand Controllers will be attached to bats or rackets that the players will swing to hit the “light ball”*. The accelerometer on the Hand Controller will tell me how fast (read: powerful) their swing is, but I still need to know if they timed it right. My original design involved actually hitting something (like […]