Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 3.7
Lost in a Rift
3.4.6
Rabble Room Arcade
'Rabble Room Arcade' is another third-year studio project by two students based
on the idea of a 'social playspace' with a focus on 'local video games, tangible
interfaces and physical fun' (Gavin et al.
2014
). It is an example of a student proj-
ect that extended beyond a single semester and as such is a case study in sustained
inquiry.
In the fi rst semester, the students experimented with the idea of constructing
unconventional physical input devices for games, for example, pulleys or handheld
tilt sensors. Whilst they focused mainly on providing the input hardware, they
started to commission game developers to provide custom mini games tailored for
the provided input devices. The students also developed a classifi cation framework
for the characteristics of games and the input devices, e.g. 'eight-player one-button'.
The second semester was largely dominated by the curation and planning of the
fi nal event, the 'Rabble Room Arcade'. Located within the university premises, but
open to the public, the event featured eight very different games:
'Double Shovel', a game where two players would cooperatively shovel grain
into a chute to trigger events like feeding a child or cleaning up a kitchen
'Elevator', a two-player competitive game with cranks as input devices that have
to be operated as fast as possible to make the game character go up an elevator as
fast as possible whilst avoiding virtual objects being thrown at them
