CastHacks | Devpost

Here is a screenshot from the game
A larger screenshot showing some UI elements
Here we see one of our teammates holding the wand.

Inspiration

We wanted to do something fun with custom hardware. We decided we would try to create some kind of wacky controller and design a video game around it.

What it does

Our hack is a custom controller that translates physical motion into keyboard input. It is modeled after a wand because we designed a game where the user must quickly enter specific inputs using the controller.

How we built it

We tried using a bunch of different hardware options and finally settled on connecting using an accelerometer on an Arduino to find the users movements

Challenges we ran into

We ran into many hardware issues. The first board we planned to use needed a lot more programming then would be possible given the time. We changed boards but ran into communication issues between the board and the computer. Finally, we settled on the Arduino. Also, eduroam caused a few problems. Connectivity was spotty for the duration of the competition and led to some issues with syncing our code across devices.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We made a pretty cool wand prop out of cardboard, and the game itself looks very nice.

What we learned

We learned a lot about hardware, and the issues that might arise.

What's next for CastHacks

If we had more time, we would like to improve the sensitivity of the prop so that we could detect a wider variety of shapes drawn by the player. Additionally, we could polish the game to give the player more feedback to the type of motions they are making.