The concept
A common issue was uncovered when Families for Life Singapore conducted a survey showing that people were dissatisfied with the amount of quality family time they had. Although living in the same household, families do not spend enough time together. Some key findings from the survey were that even though 92% of respondents listed family as their priority, 1 in 10 people spend six hours or less each week with their immediate family. That works out to less than an hour each day.
Our client, Illumos provides entertainment to homes with their interactive projectors. These projectors have features like convenient movie screening applications where families can bond together. Illumos believes in bringing families together through their projectors in an immersive and exciting environment.
We thought of making use of Illumos portable projector to create an additional game feature that aims to connect families through the integration of an interactive board and a bonding game. The interactive board can function as a table mat when it is not in use, making it both a source of entertainment and a nice display piece for your house. This game feature will primarily target nuclear families but works for any family type looking to create closer bonds with each other.
Roundup is a multiplayer game that makes use of an interactive board to encourage bonding between family members through games and interactivity. Illumos’ built in Roundup game application will allow players to have an easy time setting up their portable projector with the interactive board. To start the game, simply align the projection with the board. Geometric shapes will appear as projections on the board and players will have to work together and tap them as quickly as possible before the time runs out. The interactive board will be large in size so that the game experience will require more players to achieve the goal and allow for a more immersive experience.
Roundup will be collaborating with Ikea as the showrooms in Ikea were designed to mimic different families’ personal homes. The collaboration will allow families visiting Ikea to interact with the product and easily imagine how Roundup can be brought into their homes.
Tools used
The main tool used in this project are p5js, arduino, copper tapes and a touch board. The graphics and the gameplay were both coded with p5js where the shapes will disappear when the players press a button.
On the interactive board, the shapes are suppose to disappear when the players touch a certain area. For that to work, we have to first code it on p5js where the shapes will disappear when a key was pressed. Each key will then be linked with to a specific area with arduino, copper tapes and the touch board. We marked out the designated spot on the foam board according to the design and cover the area with copper tapes. In that way, electrolytes will be able to flow to the area and be linked to the wires attached to the touch board. When each area, linked with the copper tape, is connected to the p5js code, an interaction will play when the players touch that spot.
Each shape on the p5js code is linked to a specific key (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). Instead of using a coded shape on p5js, we decided to load in PNGs for the shapes so that it is more flexible to have it as any abstract shape. The shapes were also shifted in place according to ratio as the design of the mat can be divided into a 6:8 rectangle. The speed of the shapes appearing and disappearing was controlled with a randomised ‘sleepTime’ code, where the animation duration was kept between 20 to 50. We also added a timer and score counter to keep track of the number of times players manage to successfully tap the shapes in the total amount of time. All these were also synced to sound effects that were added in so players will hear a ‘pop’ sound whenever the hit the shapes. A background music was also added for the overall game experience.
Initial ideas
With the same idea of creating an interactive game for families, our initial idea was not to work with a projector as not every household owns a projector. We first thought of creating a game where the graphics will be shown through a television screen instead and the interactive board will be placed right below it. It will be a music rhythm game where the gameplay will be similar as the popular musical mobile game, ‘Tap Tap Revenge’. We planned for the game and graphics will be coded on p5js and the interactive board to use conductive paint and touch board.
However when the graphics are shown on the television screen, it takes away the immersive experience and players would have to sit really close to the television to play the game. This can affect the overall game experience for the users as sitting too close to a screen is not very comfortable. To counter this problem, we came up with another idea of using the projector. The projection will be shown on a blank wall in the house and the gameplay would be to tap as many circles as possible when it comes up. The graphics will likewise be coded on p5js and the interactive board with conductive paint and touch board.
Although the game experience for the projector is much more immersive, setting up the interactive board onto a wall might not be very easily done. The interactive board will also require the touch board making it hard for the design to be seamless and a hassle to prop it up against the wall. Families may not necessarily have an empty blank wall accessible for them to use the projector in their homes as well.
Through a series of mock ups and discussions, we decided on the projector as having it immersive is crucial to make Roundup a unique experience. Instead of projecting it on a wall, we thought of making use of the short throw portable projector to have the projection on a flat surface where the interactive board can be. This will allow families to be able to set up the game easily as convenience is also a key factor in making the experience an enjoyable one.
