RoyBlock
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Roy Block experiment redefines platform gaming
Although Nintendo's Wiimote has received loads of praise regarding its progress in innovation, gaming with controllers outside of the typical handheld pad has been happening for quite some time, and a newfangled approach to "platform gaming" does a fine job of merging hand movements with on-screen action. The aptly-named Roy Block experiment appears more like a game than a DIY endeavor, but the project utilizes a tangible interface to allow the player to help the "self-willed heroine who is trying to get from the very left to the very right of the screen without touching the bottom and dying." Your job is to maneuver wooden blocks beneath him, which are spied by a camera and translated into commands as you assist the leaper to his final destination. Eventually, we could see a rendition that looks at each side of the cube as a different function (a trampoline-inspired side, for instance), or better yet, a gigantic iteration that gives users an upper-body workout whilst trying to save the pixelated person's life. You know what's next, so click on through if you haven't already and take a peek at the game in progress.[Via Joystiq]
A platform game with real platforms
Experimental gaming these days is all about playing with reality. From virtual reality and alternate reality to augmented reality, more and more people are trying to merge video games and real life in interesting ways. Sebastien Schmieg's art project/game Roy Block adds another term to this growing list: mixed reality. Roy Block uses real life, handheld wooden building blocks as the platforms for an on-screen avatar. A hidden camera detects the blocks as they're pressed against the tracing paper projection screen, translating their position and alignment to in-game data.The "gameplay" in the project is pretty basic -- just guide the periodically jumping Roy from one end of the screen to the other while avoiding floating enemies -- but Schmieg sees the potential for more complex play by assigning different functions to each side of the blocks. Schmieg also has an idea for a version "as big as a wall ... with blocks so big that you need both hands to hold one." Would that be mixed reality exergaming? More buzzwords, stat!Continue reading for video of the project in action.
