Project Concept
We were tasked to create an arcade game based of a given movie. The movie my group got was “9 to 5”, which today is very well known by its jingle, “Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin”. Because of this we knew that we should make a rythem based game, like Guitar Hero and Tiles. Our game was similar since we had falling lights visual indicating when to hit the instrement but differed in our instrement since we chose to use drums. To relate this concept more towards the movie we wanted the four main characters in the movie to pop up every time you hit the drum at the correct time (Similar visual to wackamol with characters poping up for a second and then going back down). We also added a feature that had a clock spinning around to show how well you were doing. The slower it spun the closer to losing you were. When the hand stops spinning you either lost or the game ended.
What went right?
• The manufacturing of the drums, the base, the backboard, the side panels, and the characters.
• The piezo sensors we used worked great, for the eniterity of the project.
• The soldering we did on the LEDs and other wires went well. We always had a good connection.
• Implementing the song with a speaker went smoothly.
• The manipulation of the LEDs to create a falling light visual, once set-up worked for the entirety of the game.
• Our reset button with the reset function for our game worked amazingly well. During our two hour presentation it never needed a hard reset.
What did go as planned?
• We had wanted to use a four bar linkage to create a guitar strumming motion, but we didn’t have a strong enough motor.
• We had wanted to use solenoids to push the characters up, but the ones we got were to small and were unreliable.
• We initally wanted to use 4 arduinos connect with L²C, however this created to much noise in bus and caused the displays to have errors. We were able to fix this by move down to three adruinos implementhing what was on the fourth into the other three.
• Our Servos would occasionally burn out or become irrational. When ever this happened it would take us a while to solve the issue.
• Two of the four piezo - drum systems had an error that would (sometimes) allow the servos to be triggered when the user hit the drum at the wrong time.
What would I change next time?
• I would purchase a stronger motor that would have allowed us to use the four bar linkage along with more reliable servos.
• increase the max lights that could fall on one strip to make it more challenging (we had limited it to two)
• improve the overall decoration of the game. We could do this by 3d printing office buildings that the lights would be inside of so the falling display could be interpreted more as an evlvator decending.
• Instead of using tape as the drumhead we could’ve picked a more rubber material.
• Add end game audio so the user knows when the game ends.
What I learned.
• I learned how much smoothly building goes when you have a set out plan.
• I learned the importance of taking initiative and getting started. You can’t just wait for someone to tell you what to do, you need to recognize what needs to be done and start working.
◦ Addionally general updates you give to the team so everyone knows where everything is at is important.
• Staying organized and creating a schedule helps the team collaborate more effectively and move through each step more efficiently.
• I gained new skillsd in using ardiunos, with wiring and coding. I also learned to solder and improved my designing skills.
◦ Addiontally I improved my trouble shooting abilities.
Link to Project Proposal:
Consideration of Safety, Cultural Sensitivities, User Experience, Environmental Impact, and Economic Factors
Throughout our project, we consistently considered these factors to ensure a safe, inclusive, and enjoyable experience. We followed all lab safety protocols, such as wearing safety glasses when required and disposing of all sharp objects. In our design, we made sure all components were smooth and safe so the user wouldn’t injure themselves while interacting with the game. To address cultural sensitivity, we avoided including any political or controversial elements and steered clear of using themes from the movie that could be misinterpreted. Since the movie was from the 80’s certain ideas could have been insensitive to the user, but we ensured that the spirit of the movie remained in our game without the outdated insensitivity. To ensure the user had a good experience we constantly went back to improving the game. For example, we re-taped the drums to enhance their sturdiness and durability. We adjusted the game’s difficulty to ensure users wouldn’t lose too quickly, allowing them to enjoy the full experience. Adding the character pop-ups gave more satisfaction for hitting the drums at the correct time. Regarding environmental and economic considerations, we minimized material use by recycling and reusing scrap parts instead of purchasing new ones. This approach kept us well under budget and reduced waste.
Cost Analysis
