Moving keyboard buttons to a cup

A while ago I did a rough prototype of a game controller using one of the coffee mugs from my kitchen. I chose the coffee mug for two main reasons. Firstly it is an object which most people are familiar with. One of my assumtions with "homemade" game controllers is that familiarity makes them easier for people to interact with. Secondly I found the circular shape of the coffee mug interesting from an interaction point of view. Aside from the handle I think the circular shape is the most characteristic feature of a coffee mug. I therefore chose to base the controller interaction on this feature. Maybe a piece of iPod inspiration was also lingering in the back of my head at the time. I don't really know.

When setting up the prototype I wanted to keep it simple and avoid sensors and microcontrollers. Inspired by my classmate Anders Kjeseth Valdersnes I went ahead and picked apart two discarded keyboards. I then attached wires to a selected range of buttons on the keyboard and led the wires from the keyboard to the outer surface of the cup. I thereby effectively moved the buttons from the keyboard to the cup.

The interaction with the relocated "buttons" was set up slightly different from one prototype to the next. In the first version (seen in the top image) one only needed to slide a slightly moist finger along the rim where the wires were exposed. When the finger touched two horisontal wires at the same time it would register as a key being pressed . This meant that the interaction was rather gentle, but unfortunately the connection to the keyboard itself was very fragile. From one day to the next the connection on some keys would be lost and I would have to attach them again and again. I therefore chose to make a second prototype (seen in the image below).


The second prototype was much more robust. None of the connections have been lost yet and the prototype has been in relatively heavy use the last couple of days. This prototype was set up by soldering attachment sockets directly onto the keyboard "chip" and then simply placing wires into these sockets.

In the same way as with the first protoype the wires were then taped to the rim of the cup. However it turned out that a simple touch wasn't necessary to create a closed circuit with this setup. The wires had to be in physical contact with each other and therefore more pressure was needed to activate the buttons. In order to get the wires to connect easily I mounted them across each other separated by a piece of paper. When enough force was applied the wires would connect and register as a key being pressed.

I then created a game for the coffee mug to control and did some user tesing. More on that to come...

Hardware store candidates

A couple of weeks ago I did a short tour of some of the hardware stores downtown in order to make a selection of game controller candidates. I visited Claes Ohlsson, Jernia and Åhlens. The reason for visiting these stores was that I knew they held a wide range of tools, kitchenware and items for the bathroom and living room. I felt that by visiting these stores I would cover most of the objects one would expect to find in a home that would also be relevant game controller candidates.

Prior to visiting the hardware stores I had set up a list of criteria that the candidates would have to fulfill in order to be included in the project. The selection criteria were as follows:

1. Not too big
2. Not electrical
3. Not harmful
4. Not expensive

The reasoning behind these criteria is as follows:
Not too big - This is simply a practical criteria. I don't want the controllers to be so big that they are cumbersome to handle. The controllers should be of a size and weight which is managable for one person using one or two hands. At this point I consider a frying pan of normal size and weight to be only slightly too big and heavy.

Not electrical - I consider electrical appliances to be unsuited as game controllers for two main reasons. Firstly most of the home appliances use relatively high voltages. This could be dangerous in a game setting if the appliance for some reason should break. Secondly most home appliances have power cords of some kind attached to them. I would like to minimise the amount of cords and wires necessary in the game setting and therefore I choose to exlude electrical appliances.

Not harmful - I don't want people to hurt themselves or others physically when interacting with the game controllers. Sharp, heavy or in other ways hasardous items will therefore not be included.

Not expensive - I want the game controllers that I will develop to be affordable for the general public. Therefore they shouldn't be too expensive.

By following this list of criteria I selected the following items from the different hardware stores:

Kitchen:
• Potato peeler
• Wine opener
• Whisk
• Grater
• Scissors
• Knife
• Fork
• Spoon
• Spatula
• Tweezers
• Sieve
• Pizza wheel /Pizza slice
• Can opener
• Cheese slice
• Slice
• Mortar
• Brush
• Glass
• Cup/Mug
• Plate
• Rolling pin
• Ladle
• Egg slice
• Nutcracker
• Egg cup

Tools:
• Screw driver
• Brush
• Wrench
• Pipe tongs
• Saw
• Folding rule
• Hammer
• Clamp/Vice
• File
• Broom
• Paint roller

Bathroom:
• Sponge
• Squirting bottle
• Toilet paper roll
• Flyswatter

Other:
• CD-cover
• Sofa pillow
• Tea candles

I will use this list for creating a survey that will map out what people have available in their homes and which items they think have potential as game controllers. Based on the results of the survey and my own judgement I will select a number of promising candidates for game controller development.

Everyday games or Homemade games?

One of the central elements of my diploma are the everyday objects. For a few days now I've been wondering whether the term everyday object gives a slightly distorted impression of what I'm actually focusing on.

A large part of the project is namely rooted in a fascination of the home made. Is it possible for people to use their own belongings as game controllers rather than buy expensive ones from the store? In this sense the term everyday object becomes slightly misleading. It is also easier to talk to people about objects they have in their homes on a general level rather than just focusing on the ones that are considered everyday. When doing surveys later on in the project I will therefore talk about objects of the home rather than everyday objects.