Light It Out
Indie Arcade | Physical Computation
#Super MAGFest 2023
About
Derived from a school project, I spearheaded a team of three to forge this indie arcade exhibiting at "Super MAGFest 2023" in Washington, D.C. This spooky 3D maze adventure plunges players into a rundown railroad, where they navigate with an alternative controller fashioned from a flashlight and photo-resistors.
Role
Project Manage
Live Operation
Game Design
Animation
Time
Dec 2022 - Jan 2023
Co-op
Smitha Aluri
Rama Deshpande
Ideation & Prototype
In a school project, I harnessed the power of Arduino to craft an alternative controller using photoresistors, capable of detecting light sources.
What if the player is doing the same thing as the character?
Inspired by the notion of player-character synchrony, I conceived an intriguing concept where players find themselves immersed in darkness, relying solely on a physical flashlight to navigate a maze, illuminating sensors along their harrowing journey. To capture the essence of suspense, I swiftly prototyped the idea using Unity.
Initial Prototype
Game Mechanic & User Flow
To transform a minor assignment into a captivating game showcased at MAGFest, I crafted an immersive mystery narrative. Plunging players into darkness, I introduced the character of John, a security guard in a dilapidated metro, who receives a mysterious alert instructing him to locate the "yellow door" to get out of the maze. While players utilize the flashlight to navigate, they need to turn off the light if hearing footsteps to avoid being caught. This mechanic presents a sense of urgency and purpose, driving players to explore the maze in a tense atmosphere. With a detailed storyboard and user flow, I carefully mapped out the elements required for a seamless gameplay experience.
Game Development & Animation
After planning the project schedule and tasks, I invited 2 friends to join the team led them to develop the arcade. I took charge of game design, programming, and animations; Smitha drew illustrations; Rama finalized the codes in Arduino, and we built the fabrication of arcade together.
Unity Build
Fabrication Design
Sensor Try-out
After finalizing the illustrations, I created the intro and ending animations in Adobe After Effects to embed in the game.
Ending Animations
Exhibition Result
We were thrilled by the enthusiastic response to our game, as players were drawn to its unique concept and had a great time engaging with the flashlight alt-controller. Witnessing playtesters actively discussing, recording, and gathering around our arcade was an exciting and rewarding experience, and we received valuable positive feedback.
Anonymous
Awesome! The idea for this is super cool and creative. This would be awesome to be a fully developed game, and I think it has a lot of potential!
Anonymous
Very intetive! I loved it. Cool concept and great twist at the end. It'll be great in VR!