The Game Design

Our game's design is based on the same mechanism behind skycams. The skycam is supported by three cables, the lengths of which are controlled by precise reels.
Here's a video about the skycam.

Instead of capturing aerial video, we will be using the cables to position a game object controlled by the player from a simple interface, styled after a claw game control panel.

After digging through Professor Lima's secret stash, we located a set of three stepper motors. We designed small reels to work with these steppers. Our goal was to design a reel that could be fastened to any ceiling, but would be easy to construct. We decided to use aluminum C channel as a frame and turned down pulleys from nylon stock.

We discovered that we were unable to place the reels on the ceiling since we were unable to get wires long enough. In addition, our brackets were actually causing too much friction on the reel. We attached the motors to the control box directly below the electronics and removed the brackets.

The control box was modeled after a claw game interface.

The controls are placed comfortably at waist level, and consist of a simple digital joystick and two buttons. A two-digit seven segment display provides the score and a row of 16 LEDs are used to display the fuel level.

The control box does not only contain the user interface. The electronics that drive the game are located on a shelf below the controls. The reels are attached to the underside of this shelf. Space on the bottom is provided for a power supply. The power supply also serves to weigh down the base and prevent tipping.

The targets are simple, clear boxes made of 1/16” acrylic that house a button and a light.

It's a rocket. Since we knew its design was largely aesthetic rather than functional, we just made a rocket out of a water bottle with fins and weighed it down with some loose nuts and bolts. In the future, we will have a more aesthetic rocket, potentially including blinking lights.

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