Final Project Proposal

Favorite Concept: LEDungeon 

*It is not this anymore. It is still a dungeon crawler, but the dungeon is attached to a swinging robotic arm and the people are the dungeon crawlers! Players will press buttons around a circular table based on what is shown on the LED! IT WILL ALL MAKE MORE SENSE SOON! 

LEDungeon will be a completely original game that showcases the core mechanics of a dungeon crawler RPG in as simple of a presentation as possible. Players control a 4 x 4 LED on a 32 x 32 grid (size of player subject to change) using buttons through a series of levels; defeating enemies, and collecting loot. The game will be housed in a custom arcade cabinet that will either be made of wood or 3D printed. LEDungeon will feature sound if time permits.

I hope the final result will delight players who are looking for unique gaming experiences or simply inspire people to make their own unique games.

Hardware List:

• Arduino UNO 
• Adafruit RGB Matrix Shield
• 32x32 RGB LED Matrix
• Speaker (potentially)
• Wood or 3D printing material 
• Custom buttons (would love these to be MX Cherry switches) 

Software List:

• Arduino IDE 

Project Plan:

• Research 
• Learning what the RGB matrix library is capable of
• Define what mechanics I want to include in the game
• Movement
• Combat
• Loot 
• Level Progression  
• Design 
• Using iterative design practice create and test mechanics to find what will be best suited for the 32x32 space
• Isolate each individual mechanic and create it inside the Arduino IDE
• Design each level/stage
• Test which colors and shapes create the most interesting experience
• Once the game has been created focus shifts to designing and creating a mini cabinet
• 3D print or wood 
• Make modifications to the LED matrix to rest in the cabinet properly
• Once testing is completed using jumper wires and breadboard, solder connections to the matrix shield and permanent board that will reside in the cabinet.
• If there is time
• Include sound to the game 
• Cabinet design will take this into consideration with a removable panel for speakers or headphones. 

Other Concepts

Misinformation Bot

Originally my favorite concept, inspired by Julian Oliver’s art installment titled: Solitary Confinement (https://julianoliver.com/output/solitary-confinement.html). When I learned about this piece I loved the tension it must have created seeing it in person, something so simple yet so sinister. Misinformation Bot would be a different take on this same concept.

Misinformation of news spread across social media is a serious issue in today’s society. The fact that it is so easy to share completely incorrect information about worldwide issues such as climate change, discrimination, politics, etc. people should be more vigilant about where they are receiving their news. Misinformation Bot would illustrate this very serious issue.

How it works: A Raspberry Pie would be turned into a news mining machine that received news updates from a reputable news source (such as NPR). It would then take those headlines and save them to a text file that would then be used to change predetermined keywords to create false information. The Raspberry Pie would take the manipulated information and begin creating tweets for a created twitter bot. All of this would be shown on a monitor showing the observer exactly what was happening. Part of the display would include a single button that is enclosed in a protective clear material that is bolted to the table, that if pressed would begin sending out the manipulated text every hour.

This idea was scrapped after looking into the amount of research I would have to do to learn how to make a Raspberry Pie do all of this from scratch. However, I do plan to return to this project at a later time as I believe it could create the same kind of tension as Julina Oliver’s piece and bring this topic to the forefront of the observer’s mind.


Music Immersion Capsule

This was the first idea I came up with for our final project and was scrapped due to cost. However, if anyone wants to team up on this at some point I think it would make for a really great installment piece.
People would be able to enter the capsule and have a meaningful listening experience with their favorite songs. Just like many people, I have a few songs that have shaped me as a person through the difficult and happy parts of my life and being able to be immersed in that music in an interesting environment would be so interesting.

The capsule would include an array of linked RGB LED matrixes that would transition colors, pulsate with the beat, and play animations based on the music that was played. Large speakers would be mounted to the inside of the capsule to create an immersive but comfortable listening environment.