Reimagining a new game controller for the classic cannon game: Frozen Bubble
Michelle Chang, Serena Chang, Jimmy Huang
View on GitHub | Full Report | Presented at 2016 International Symposium for Academic Makerspaces at MIT
Contributions: Conceptual and visual development; electrical and software prototyping; fabrication; painting; photography
In this project, we reimagined how users interact with Frozen Bubble (a variation of the classic arcade game, Puzzle Bobble, and the Neopets game, Faerie Bubbles), and built a physical game controller that requires users to relay their intent through the turning and firing of a physical cannon rather than through keypresses.
The game involves aiming a cannon and firing differently-colored bubbles into a field of additional bubbles. If a fired bubble connects to form three or more bubbles of the same color, the bubbles get knocked off the playing field. However, additional bubbles are added to the playing field from the top of the screen in an accelerated manner. The player loses when the field of bubbles passes below an end line towards the bottom of the screen. Below is a screenshot of the game:
We designed and manufactured a laser-cut cannon as a physical representation of the bubble-firing cannon in the game. Turning the physical cannon aims the virtual cannon and pulling a trigger on the cannon fires a bubble.
In terms of the physical appearance of the controller, we chose to design the base of the cannon in such a way as to provide ease of control and a more comfortable grip. As such, our cannon rests on top of a sizeable piece of circular wood and has ergonomic handholds built into the steering pad. The cannon requires two methods of input. A potentiometer in the base of the cannon outputs values that are mapped by software to produce absolute positions on the screen that determine how the virtual cannon is displayed. A joystick, our source of discrete input, is mounted within the cannon and acts as our firing switch (the original Frozen Bubble game mapped from key-up to fire, instead). When pulled, the virtual cannon will release a bubble on screen.
The cannon sports a whimsical, wintery aesthetic to reflect the classic nature of the game (as well as the fact that it features an arctic setting). This is further emphasized by its hand-painted appearance (done by yours truly) and the use of darker hues to make the cannon seem slightly aged.
