Like most, ATLAS PhD student Peter Gyory spent a lot of time at home during the pandemic lockdown. Unable to access the ACME Lab and the tools he typically uses鈥攁 3D printer, laser cutter, woodworking tools and other fabrication equipment鈥擥yory faced a design challenge: how to make games using only household materials.听
One material he had in abundance was cardboard from online shopping. He also had a printer.听
Inspired by classic arcades, Gyory and a听team of ACME Lab researchers ultimately developed Tinycade鈥攁 platform for DIY game controllers that anyone, including novices, can use to design and build arcade-like games using household materials such as cardboard, mirrors and hot glue.
The game platform builds on work that Gyory conducted with Clement Zheng, (PhD, TMS鈥�20) for Printed Paper Markers, a framework for building interfaces using computer vision and printed markers.听
Gyory explains, 鈥淚 want to empower people who have no technical experience鈥搈iddle schoolers, high schoolers, my grandparents鈥搕o make an interface rather than accept what others make.鈥澨�
The platform is built around a smartphone, where the game is controlled via the phone鈥檚 camera using computer vision. Just as smartphone cameras recognize and respond to QR codes, Tinycade uses spatial movement of specialized markers for game play.听
Users don鈥檛 need to understand the platform鈥檚 inner workings; they can design their own Tinycade game by downloading templates and markers from the , printing and cutting the game cabinet according to the patterns, and assembling the pieces as instructed. Then they attach markers to the back of cardboard knobs. As users move the game 听controls, a mirror reflects the movement of markers back to the camera lens.听
After sliding in the DIY controller and selecting a game from the Tinycade website, the 鈥渃onsole鈥� is ready to play. All Tinycade games were programmed by Gyory or other ACME Lab researchers.听
鈥淭inycade encourages people to invent and create new game controllers from recyclable cardboards instead of buying plastic and electronic game controllers that would later become e-wastes in landfills,鈥� said Professor Ellen Yi-Luen Do, director of the ACME Lab. 听鈥淕amers can enjoy the fun of being both players and makers too.鈥�
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