As mentioned in the previous entry, it was clear that the next necessary step would be to start implementing the main gameplay for the game. The focus should be on creating something simple that can be easily replicated using basic microcontroller sensors—such as throwing a ball in a straight line and measuring how far it’s thrown based on the applied force.
After another meeting with the project supervisor to show the progress, it became clear that the project scope needed to be adjusted slightly to give more meaningful purpose to the technologies being used. After some consideration, an improved plan was developed: the hologram machine would provide the visual elements for the critter, while sensors from the microcontroller unit would represent UI elements (for example, using an LED bar graph display for sliders) and receive input from the player. To facilitate testing, a companion app on a mobile device will also be developed, so that players won’t necessarily have to use the sensors to interact with the critter. The main game will still run on a laptop or PC, as some features, such as face recognition, require advanced computational power that is better suited to a computer than to a microcontroller.