Quest for the Cupcake: An Explosive Experience has been a one project of it’s own kind. Saskia Akkersdijk, Martijn Brethouwer, Luca Cafasso and I decided to form a team to make a fun interactive installation. Our initial inspiration for this project was the Bomberman saga in Nintendo. Our concept was simple due to our limited time. We were required to build the physical installation, its hardware and the software and art in just six months. It was a challenge. In this project I took all the art-related work while Saskia worked in the AI of the system, Marijn dedicated himself to the hardware and Luca built the 3D models and animations.
Plot: A clan of monsters had decided that your character should give up your cupcake because they are hungry. They will hunt you down in the labyrinth where you are located and the only way to beat them is with an explosion of your unlimited supply of bombs. Important to note is that the only way you will be able to find the monster in the labyrinth is by destroying the fragile brick walls by placing bombs in front of them. The only problem is that the bombs can actually hurt your character as well ergo you will lose the game if you aren’t careful of running away after placing the a your bombs. You will be able to hear the monster whenever he/she is approaching because of a very particular ghostly sound he/she makes.
Charactera: You and The Monster
Setting: An intricate labyrinth with brick and metal walls. All the brick walls can be destroyed with a bomb, while the metal walls are resistant to the bomb. They are perfect to hide from the monster and wait for the perfect opportunity.
Projections, Lightning and Sound: The game consisted of a wooden frame where a long sheet of paper was extended and tightly attached. Four projectors were shooting from each angle of the cubical frame, each one containing one projection of possible direction that the user could take. In other words, during the game, the user was always able to go North, South, East and West. As it is natural the user would only be able to see one complete direction plus half of the other two. One projection would always be missing. We decided to take this approach because this could add a richer experience to the user while playing the game. Spotlights and speakers were added so that every time the user’s bomb would go off, he/she would get instant retrieval of where the explosion came from.
Genre: Puzzle, 1st Person
Name of the Project: Quest for the Cupcake
Purpose: Educational
Client: Universiteit Twente
Location: Enschede, The Netherlands
Date: February 2010
Coauthors: I had the fortune to work with an amazing group of people; Saskia Akkersdijk, Martijn Brethouwer and Luca Cafasso coauthored this project and each one contributed an important part of this project.