Combi-Form by Andy Uehara and Edmond Yee
Description:
Combi-Form is a game that allows multiple players to physically combine their controllers to create a collective game interface. The physical combining and de-combining of the controller opens a new level of interaction never seen before in the video gaming world. Players have a convention not to interact or interfere with each other’s controller or space. Combi-Form is one attempt to break down this boundary between players. The name comes from merging the words combine and transform, which are the two key concepts in our game.
Combine refers to combining both the player avatars and their controllers. Combining the avatars and the controllers creates a new layer of cooperation where players must agree to work collaboratively in order to control the newly combined avatar. The joint controller requires both players to cooperate, and thus making the playing experience richer.
Transform refers to the idea that combining the two avatars does not result in an avatar that is merely the sum of the two avatars. The act of combining transforms the avatars into a new kind of being with different abilities and strengths. The controls for the single avatars are mapped to different abilities in the transformed avatar. This creates interesting dynamics about how, when, and why the players should combine and what actions they should perform while combined.
In addition to Ed’s post, I have uploaded the video that I think highlights our concept.
http://interactive.usc.edu/members/auehara/544video2.mp4
This project will be combined with our 484 project. For 544 we will be working to try and tune and revamp our prototype to really maximize emotional excitement when the controllers are combined.
-andy