30 March 2026 Prototype Review - Team 6

Our prototype is a two-handed flat-panel cardboard controller designed for Star Wars: Squadrons, built to put the player in the feeling of actually piloting a starfighter. The CPE sits at the center of the controller, and its built-in accelerometer handles left and right steering by tilting the whole controller side to side, no joystick needed. Thrust is handled by a thumbstick that controls forward and backward speed. We have four external buttons. Two handle primary fire, secondary fire, and the ones in the circuit playground buttons handle toggle targeting, and ship repair, while a switch on the right side activates sublight boost for a quick speed burst. During prototyping we learned that the potentiometers we originally planned for laser power and shield routing couldn't map cleanly to the in-game scroll wheel inputs the CPE can't replicate, so we cut them. The front/back shield transfer switch was also dropped for the same reason. In the final version we want to revisit those inputs with a different approach.

Peer Review Questions: What other controller styles or inputs do you think would work well for a space combat simulation like this? What do you think is the coolest part of the design so far?

Prototype Review - Team 17

Our prototype is a controller modeled after a stun gun inspired by Resident Evil. The idea is to make the gameplay feel more physical and tense by using a mix of buttons and sensors instead of a normal controller. Movement and navigation are a bit more limited and take more intentional input, which fits the slower pace of the game. Things like aiming, attacking, and interacting use less common inputs like light and sound, so the player has to actually pay attention instead of just pressing buttons automatically. Other actions like running, quick turning, and opening the inventory are tied to different physical interactions to make everything feel more hands on.

This is the link to the video:

https://youtu.be/P7Iy3l_Gb6s 

What are some ways we could add more natural human gestures into the controller to make it feel more physical and realistic?

Are any of the controls confusing or too complicated to use during gameplay, and if so, which ones might be better if we simplified or changed them? 

Team 3 Scaffolding Prototype

 For this prototype, we created a low-fidelity Minecraft pickaxe controller using cardboard, clear tape, and glue. The goal was to make a controller that physically matches the main tool used in the game, so the interaction feels more immersive and connected to gameplay.

Buttons are placed along the handle of the pickaxe, allowing the user to hold it like a real tool while pressing inputs. Swinging or tapping the pickaxe onto a surface triggers actions like mining, while hitting the bottom of the handle is used for jumping. I also experimented with dragging the pickaxe across a surface while holding a button to simulate camera movement.

Prototype Review - Team 11

 

Sonic Robo Blast 2

We are building the ‘SRB2 Kart Radio.’ Instead of a standard steering wheel, it’s a car radio. The idea is built on the irony that the user is ‘distracted driving’ by ‘playing’ with the radio. It’s a joke about how playing with a radio is a part of the fun, especially in a racing videogame where the music a massive part of the vibe.

Mechanically, the ‘Volume’ knob is mapped to the player speed and the ‘Tuning’ knob to the steering. A slide potentiometer is used to control the item usage and drift. By actually sliding the potentiometer, it feels like you are forcing the kart sideways, making it a satisfying experience. The middle zones for all 3 analog inputs are currently neutral zones to help clearly distinguish between states.

(3D Printed Shell Prototype)

(Circuit Prototype)

Team 8 Prototype Review

Our prototype is designed like a map for the game Hidden Folks (think of it like iSpy). Since you want to find people or things within the levels, a map made sense as a design choice as a map leads you to the treasure, or in this case, the hidden folks. You can tilt it to move around the level, the pressure pad arrows are used for moving the mouse on where you was to click, the potentiometer zooms in/out, and the light sensor X confirms a click with the mouse.

Questions: How could our design or layout of the controller be improved? Do you think we are missing anything?

Pics:

Video: To Be Added

Scaffolding: Prototype Review - Team 1

Our prototype controller is for the GBA port of the arcade game Mario Bros. We decided to focus on the plumbing and pipe aspect of the game, allowing players to connect to the role of the characters and the game world. The main design is a large curved pipe, with a turning water valve, hex nuts, and a POW block on top. Players will control the aspects of the pipe to influence the game mechanics. The valve wheel is connected to a potentiometer that controls the player’s left and right movement, while a second potentiometer controls the player’s jumping and crouching, turned by a wrench. A sound sensor is hidden in the POW block that will pause the game. Clicking the POW block on the top of the controller will instead toggle the running movement of the game. All of these aspects aim to immerse the player and satisfy them from a artistic and gameplay standpoint.

Feedback Prompts:

Would you rather have the wrench as a separate piece or a fixed attachment?

Would you want to use the crouch control in the game?

Internal:

Prototype Review - Team 22

 

For our game, we picked "Sort the Court". In the game, you play as a ruler and respond either yes

or no to your subject's requests. Our controller is a crown that allows the player to physically

respond with either yes or no. It works by utilizing the accelerometer inside the Circuit

Playground Express to detect motion where a nod up and down will get a yes response and a nod

side to side will get a no response. There is a potentiometer on the side of the crown that acts as

an on and off switch so that the player can remove the controller without accidentally progressing

the game.

Questions for Classmates:

Does the controller seem inconvenient to use in any way, shape, or form?

Are there any recommendations on if the power switch can be integrated into the shape

of the crown better?

Prototype team 20

Our controller is a glove modeled after Sonic's glove that uses color sensors and simple circuits to play the first Sonic the Hedgehog Game. Within the palm of our glove is a color sensor that performs specific actions based on the color it sees. The controller will come with a set of chaos emeralds, powerful items within the world of Sonic, each a different color of the rainbow. Players will reach for these emeralds to interact with and send inputs to the game. On the thumb and pointer finger are two bands, designed after the golden rings that Sonic collects in the game. By bringing these two rings together, it completes a circuit, allowing the player to send inputs to trigger jumping in the game

 

we have the 2 gloves the rings are for jumping and we cut the hole in the other glove for the color sensor, the emeralds we used paper but we will make real ones for the final

 Our circuit has a bread board, the playground, 2 tinfoil rings to be the rings, and a tcs3200 color sensing board which is using the paper for the colors in this prototype.

From prototyping I learned that I definitely need more secure wiring and longer wires I will have to get, The emeralds we make will need rubber bottoms to prevent them from moving around as that caused a lot of problems too.

2   questions to ask is using 2 gloves at ones hard, are we putting to much on the color sensing glove. And did the clicking the fingers together to jump look like it would be comfortable. 

In the video you can see me playing, using the color sensor to change directions and pressing my fingers together to jump.

 

Scaffolding Prototype - Group 9

 Description

The game we chose was the original Final Fantasy, and our controller is a tome. Our cardboard prototype has our breadboard and circuit playground in the seem of the book, with our different sensors being connected through various parts of the board.

On the inside of the tome, light sensors are placed under two of the pages, and when the page is lifted, the appropriate menu is opened (sensor on left page is party menu, sensor on right page is main menu).

In the book, there are two bookmarks attached. When the front most bookmark is moved up, there's a up input. The bookmark in the back controls the down input.

The front cover features two buttons, one button moves left, one moves right.

The back cover features a potentiometer, which controls left/right movements. 

Photo

Circuit Photo

Video

Scaffolding: Prototype Review

Our controller is for the game Fireboy and Watergirl, and its design is a split hand held controller for two players. One controller is meant for Fireboy controls, which is using a potentiometer for left and right movement, and an accelerometer to detect shaking for jumping. The accelerometer is the one built into the Circuit Playground Express. The other half is meant for Watergirl controls, which also uses a potentiometer for left and right movement, and has a sound sensor for jumping. There is also another part of the controller that uses potentiometers for mouse movement, and a photoresistor for left-click. To distinguish which control is which, we colored Watergirls blue and Fireboys red.

Questions:

1. Do you think it would be better to have the mouse controls be integrated with either Watergirl or Fireboy’s controller? Or is it being a separate controller better?

2. Do you think the controllers being in the shape of a diamond would be uncomfortable to hold?

 Photos:

Video:

Scaffolding: Prototype Review

     Our prototype for the game buckshot roulette is a shotgun shaped controller to fit the theme of the game. In the game you use a shotgun to either shoot yourself or shoot your opponent. The only controls of the game is mouse clicking which makes our controller mouse-like. We use the accelerometer on the Arduino to move the mouse around wherever the shotgun is being aimed at. Then we use the light sensor to lock the mouse in place by cocking the shotgun back. Then we use the trigger to click the mouse onto the target. We also added a button to reset the mouse to a point on the screen so it is easier to orient yourself to where the mouse is. We want specific feedback on how the mouse movement feels and also on how the size of the controller feels in the players hands and how user friendly it is. 

 

 
 

Prototype Review - Team 10

Undertale Flowey Controller 

    We picked the game Undertale (2015). In this game a flower is the main villain and the first npc you ever speak to so we thought it be a fun idea to make his exact head an actual controller in a 3d printer. Since we are also using photoresistors for inputs it fits the theming of the flower idea since plants/flowers use light to gain energy. We thought it be really fun to have a high pitch instant sound like a clap to be the escape key this is a fun idea that doesn't become a detriment to the player since it's one singular clap and in undertale UI functions a lot like a traditional minimalistic text-based rpg. 

Question 1: How do we improve the ergonomics in the fights of Undertale?

Question 2: Was it easy to pick up and understand the control scheme?

Prototype Review - Team 13

Our controller prototype is a wearable mask for the game Spooky's Jumpscare Mansion. The prototype was made by attaching a cut tissue box onto a paper mask, the flaps of the box allow the controller to be level when at rest. Then, the circuit was attached to said box with the range sensor attached to the nose.

In order to move forwards or backward, the player must lean away or towards their monitor, which is done using an ultrasonic sensor on the nose. Being closer to the monitor will make the jumpscares that much more impactful (and might make the player involuntarily move backwards!). This ties into the main purpose (and name) of the game. Leaning in close will activate the sprint feature as well.

On the top of the mask are two buttons, the interact button and the pause.. Camera control is handled by the accelerometer in the CPE: the player only needs to turn their head very slightly in order to look left, right, up, and down.

Finally, the CPE has a microphone input that becomes the attack input which is triggered by a mouse click.

Questions:

1. What other spot should we put the buttons?

2. How should we accommodate people who wear glasses in the design?

Circuit Prototype

Controller Prototype

Video:

Prototype Review Team 5

For our prototype, we wanted to make a Pip boy that lets do the main things in the game like combat, interaction, looting, and inventory management. Its conceptual relationship is that the player uses the Pip boy in game to manage their inventory, heal, and equip items and even more things, so the game really revolves on you using the Pip boy in order to succeed and its always on the players arm so we wanna put it on our arm as well. The main mechanics are tilting the circuit playground express to move the mouse, we have a button that does “left click”, the light sensor presses “TAB”, a switch presses “Q”, another button presses “E” and a potentiometer does the scroll wheel. 

 
What are some changes to the design to make it more comfortable for the player to where? 

Do these inputs we have for the controller make sense, or should we change them/ what should we change them to?

Prototype Review Team 23

Our prototype is a custom controller designed to recreate the feel of playing Golf It using physical motion instead of traditional mouse controls. The device is built around a large joystick mounted on a box, with an additional side button for mode switching. Since Golf It relies entirely on mouse input, our controller translates physical movement into the same actions: rotating the controller left or right changes the camera angle through motion sensing, while pushing the joystick forward and backward controls the power of the golf swing. The side button is essential because it toggles between two modes, aiming the camera when not shooting, and activating the swing mechanic when preparing a shot. This setup allows the joystick to serve multiple functions depending on the player’s state. 

1. For controlling left–right camera rotation, is tilt‑based motion the best input method, or would a dedicated rotary control (like a second potentiometer) provide more precision and comfort? 

2. Does the current size and form factor of the controller feel appropriate for gameplay, even though it only includes a joystick and a few buttons, or should the scale be adjusted?  

Scaffolding: Prototype Review - Team 15

 Description:
    For our final controller design prototype, we decided to design it in the shape of a car. We did this because our game, "Buck Up and Drive", is an arcade racer, so you play as a car during gameplay. The mechanics of the controller are simple and intuitive. For movement, we used the accelerometer X input to move left and right. However, we plan to change this for the final product to a compass input, but the part has not arrived yet. For drifting, you turn a potentiometer to the right to drift, and to the left to stop drifting. We plan to work on drifting more since it's a little erratic and inconsistent. For tricks, you simply shake the controller to perform tricks while in the air. Lastly, we added a button that will pause and unpause the game, since this game can get very hectic. For the potentiometer and button, we haven't placed them in their respective areas on the controller yet. The potentiometer will go on the backside or top of the car, and the button will go under the hood, which will act as one large button.

 

Questions:
1. Do you like the accelerometer movement, or do you think the compass will be better/easier?

2. Do you think the potentiometer would work better on the back or top of the car?

 

Video Link: https://youtube.com/shorts/Nd_O9mbSfL4

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