ボシュロム・１９９６オリンピックキャンペーン スイミングレースゲーム
Bausch & Lomb 1996 Olympic Campaign Swimming Race Game
is based onトミー スイスイスイミング TOMY SUISUISWIMMING
The technology behind this toy is different, but the play experience is very similar to Gametrak.
Traveling between parallel universes has become more frequent in the recent years. Based on our research, the excessive and abnormal energy left behind of a jump between two universes attracts an exterritorial creature called YAMI who usually found in the void between dimensions. It was first discovered by our agent in Japan, hence the name, YAMI are generally not harmful to humans. However, the various energy they digested including ones that were from other universes might cause temporary imbalance which could lead to potential disasters. Your mission is to survey the area for YAMI and send them back to the void with our handheld device.
The alternative controller:
This is inspired by one of my favorite handheld electronic game called Treasure Gausts (トレジャーガウスト) and I thought it will work nicely as an AR experience on smart phones. I built a quick demo which allows the player to follow and capture a YAMI.
Demo Video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CgIHxNNAjcM/
STYLY demo: https://gallery.styly.cc/scene/0835a582-33fe-4413-bcd2-53e33a2f13c7
Now I want more game mechanics than just tapping on the phone screen.
After a few quick sketches, I went on to Thingiverse to look for a smart phone mount. I started out by modifying jakejake’s Universal Phone Tripod Mount (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2423960). The design of this mount is brilliant, and it holds up pretty well. I then built out the rest of device piece by piece. I wanted some kind of switch at the bottom of this device in order for the player to “send YAMIs back to the void”, like an action that the player can do to initial the send back. This reminds me of the Tenketsu (天穴, Heavenly hole) in the anime Kekkaishi (結界師).
I created a ring like contraption at the bottom of the grip. When a giest is weaken, the player pulls down the ring to initiate the interdimensional suction. For the rest of the inputs, I had originally wanted to use a Dual Button unit, but I found out they shared the same pin (GPIO36) with OP 90 unity on M5 FIRE.
The other game mechanic that I wanted to add to the controller is spell casting. I want magic rings! I quickly prototype some wearable rings with RFID embedded. The player has to choose which ring to use during the capture.
Development notes:
Left or Right of the forward vector:
This is one of those topics that sounds pretty simple at first but it take some advanced vector math to figure it out. The original solution was found here written in C#:
https://forum.unity.com/threads/left-right-test-function.31420/
using UnityEngine; using System.Collections; public class LeftRightTest : MonoBehaviour { public Transform target; public float dirNum; void Update () { Vector3 heading = target.position – transform.position; dirNum = AngleDir(transform.forward, heading, transform.up); } float AngleDir(Vector3 fwd, Vector3 targetDir, Vector3 up) { Vector3 perp = Vector3.Cross(fwd, targetDir); float dir = Vector3.Dot(perp, up); if (dir > 0f) { return 1f; } else if (dir < 0f) { return -1f; } else { return 0f; } } }I translated it line by line using Playmaker and it worked like magic.
Looping Audio in Playmaker:
Another one that sounds easy but takes some very specific steps to make it work in Playmaker. The best answer is from this thread:
https://hutonggames.com/playmakerforum/index.php?topic=5428.0
eKids Genie Lamp Speaker Gold
The big idea is to modified this toy lamp toy into an alternative controller. There are four hexagon shaped LED covers on each side of the lamp. After a quick autopsy, these covers can be easily turned into touch buttons which are perfect for simulating the back and forth lamp rubbing actions. I will be using M5 Stack + MPR121(Touch Sensor Grove Platform Evaluation Expansion Board) + our HID Input Framework for xR to prototype this experience.
In order to be tracked in VR, I have to find a way to mount the touch controller on the lamp as well. After some rapid prototypes, I decided to mount the touch controller on top and M5 Stack on the bottom of the lamp. I also imagine the HTC VIVE tracker will be a great option for its compact form factor, but I try to keep the controller wireless.
lo-fi Demo video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CeZ-mPiMIuT/
I am working on the gameplay for the directional rubbing mechanic which allows the player to blow out (rub outward), suck in game objects (rub inward), or casting/summoning (rub back-and-forth).
I am super inspired by the birth of Spacewar!’s control boxes and want to make something about the controller. Mr. Graetz mentioned they had thought of using a joystick but it was not available yet – this could be a starting point for me. One idea is to build out a mini control panel that resembles the cockpit of an alien space ship or, even better, like those custom controllers built for the Kerbal Space Program game, especially ones with unique joysticks and a big phat panic button.
Few more ideas in mind, I want to turn the rotation SPDT switch into an analog joystick, and split the other SPDT switch into individual sensors. I am thinking the thrust should be just like the thrust lever on a flight controller and a panic button for the hyperspace. This way, I can enjoy speeding up and not worry about mistakenly go into hyperspace.
Rotation Analog Control:
The first question in my mind was how to make a joystick bounce back to the center position by itself after use. I studied an arcade joystick from a past project and a few DIY joystick projects on Thingiverse, especially Jake Wilkinson’s RealRobots Modular Joystick. The spring clamp on the side of an axis rotor did the magic for me. Since I don’t have any metal springs with me, I used a rubber band instead.
When I was preparing my lecture on game controllers this semester, I stumbled on Spacewar! and its mysterious control boxes. I had the intention to argue that the technology behind the major control scheme hasn’t really changed that much over years and they are based on a few key sensors – switches, buttons, and potentiometer. However, I didn’t pay much attention to Spacewar! because I didn’t know there were custom controllers made for it at the beginning until I came across this interview in the August 1981 issue of Creative Computation magazine:
… a separate control device was obviously necessary, but joysticks (our original idea) were not readily available in 1962. So Alan Kotok and Robert A. Saunders, who just happened to be members of the Tech Model Railroad Club, trundled off to the TMRC room, scrabbled around the layout for a while…there on the CRT table were the first Spacewar! control boxes…The box is wood with a Bakelite top. The two switches are double-throw; The button is a silent momentary switch…
G.M. Graetz, 1981
Martin Graetz was one of the original developers that helped refine the game in 1962. I was very excited not only to discover there were controllers made for the game but also to realize the birth of the controllers has something to with the Tech Railroad Club. This interview only showed a drawing of the control box, however, Mr. Graetz’s recount of creating the control box gave me lots of useful information.
The two switches are double-throw. – Based on the drawing, these switches could have been leaf switches with double-throw. The flat disc underneath the handle is a signature feature of vintage leaf switches. I am replacing these switches with SPDT (single pole double throw) switches that I have. When I was looking into these electronic parts and their relationship with the Model Railroad Club, I realized that switches with double-throw play an important role in designing model railroad control.
https://www.lisabilly.com/product/cube/
This Rubik’s Cube is a jewel. Besides all the interesting plays, I imagine this cube of mini screens can be an immersive and tangible medium for storytelling as well because the fact that the player can’t look at all the screens at the same time physically gives the storyteller an agency to show and hide information from the player.
However, I would love to see the designer(s) behind this potentially awesome technology put more effort into connecting to other platforms. Maybe a set of APIs (built into the SDK) that allows the cube to send and received UDP or OSC when certain conditions are met? So I can use this as a haptic controller for singular or multiplayer play experiences. Technology toy gets old, and if it doesn’t put any effort into associating with other awesome things in life, it goes away quickly. (Look at my shelf…)
Log the information here for future reference.
Built-in virtual game, control the game progress by physically tilting, twisting and shaking the device.
PRODUCT FEATURES
Powerful game interaction
360-degree fully-tangible battlefield
Eight autonomous modules
For cognitive development
Built-in microprocessor
Open source game system
PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
ポケットモンスター（ポケモン） プラコロ
These two portable playsets of dices, cards, and cute Pokémon figures had been laying around in my room since I moved to Oregon in 2001. I only knew they belonged to my sister, but she grew out of her Pokémon crush long before. I had never done any in-depth research on them till now.
There is no visible name to be found anywhere but a small text in the back of both clear carrying cases and it reads “Bandai 1997 Made in Japan”. A quick search online brought me to a page on, of course, Amazon Japan. There were 3 images on the page. This game is called プラコロ, and the name could come from “Play(プラ)” and “Dice(コロ)” or “Plastic(プラ)” and “Dice(コロ)”.
Besides the cube looking figures in mine were not colored, all the key components checked out. I also didn’t see the clear cases that store all of the components, but I am pretty sure this is it and it’s definitely a (dice) game!
This single search took me 20 years to complete but I am glad I finally did it. This is a look back into the dark age of my life when I abandoned my love of toys and games for a taste of the “grown-up life”. After some more research, I found out the ones above were boosters. The playsets with clear cases that my sister owned were from the DX boxsets below. Now I just need a time machine to go back in time and ask my sister to buy more.
ルール:
https://w.atwiki.jp/purakoro/pages/18.html
ガラサキ ミッションディレクター (Garasaki Mission Director)
The information of this game is based on this post in Japanese:
http://card.g1.xrea.com/t2/tbg01mdr.html
Game type
A mission-based battle strategy game for two players. Each player becomes a commander of four mechas represented in plastic data cards (Tactical plate) with customizable parts.
Original
TV anime “Gasaraki”
World setting
The background story is revolving around a small fictional country in Central Asia named ベギルスタン. The intervention of the UN forces, which sought to end the conflict in a short period of time, was unexpectedly defeated and the conflict had escalated to a long-term one. The Japanese government decides to dispatch troops overseas as a demonstration of their secretly developed bipedal war machine named TA-17. However, the Japanese government quickly realized their troops were not the only ones with advanced bipedal weaponry.
About this game
This game is made by Bandai. Usually, card games (カードダス Carddas) are products of the Vendor Division (currently the Card Division), but the Garasaki Mission Director game was the work of the Hobby Division, which handles plastic models.
At the time, this work was an attempt to the concept of the plastic model (プラモデル) to trading card games (トレーディングカードゲーム), and it was developed by an approach completely different from the conventional shipped products. The game is built by individual cards (tactical plates), not a deck.
Winning Conditions
● Execute a random mission
● Defeat all mechs from the opponent’s side
● Occupy opponent’s base
Preparation
(TP = total game cards for 1 player)
Tactical plates (タクティカルプレート)
● 4 plates per player
● rules:
– Follow the instructions in the manual.
– Pick one of the 4 plates as the captain plate.
– You can use the same unit (insert cards) for all your 4 plates. However, only 1 Guwei (骨嵬クガイ) per TP.
– Since it is inevitable to mix plates in this game, check each plate carefully.
Regiment Plates (部隊プレート)
● 0 or 2 plates
● rules:
– Follow the instructions in the manual.
– Can only be used when used by both players.
– The maximum number of command vehicle chips is one.
Field cards (フィールドカード)
● 8 cards per player
● rules: it is recommended to have 2 of every terrain
Mission cards (ミッションカード)
● 4 cards per player
● rules: it is recommended to avoid using the same card.
Others
● 3 Tactical Coins (タクティカルコイン)
● Chip removal tool (専用ドライバー)
The Chemistry Battle Card Game for Kids! Great for Science Education!
Come across this card game in Japan. At the moment, there are two versions of this game, and the earlier one is localized and released in the US. They are using a modified concentration card game (神経衰弱) as their core mechanic. When it comes to designing educational games, one of the important principles is to design what’s going through players’ minds at the moment of making a play decision. If players are making meaningful decisions while thinking of the learning subject or reviewing pieces of knowledge related to it in their heads, that moment of association will create a learning opportunity for teachers.
The concentration card game is essentially a memory game, players are competing to flip cards into pairs based on their memory of locations of flipped cards. ATOM MONSTERS adds a few more rules to turn it into a learning game by creating decision moments associated with the learning contents. Instead of making pairs, players now have to create molecules with the elements presented on the card. This change of rules enables students to constantly refer to the molecule sheet and try to find the possible molecule combo for their flipped cards. Students can also declare a molecule and flip two more cards to see if they can form the molecule. If they don’t, they lose all the efforts so far. This bidding mechanic straightens the association between the game and the learning subject. Players will remember what’s their lucky/unlucky molecule for a long time.
ATOM MONSTERS is just a game, a simple and well-designed one. In order for the actual learning to happening in a full circle, the facilitator’s attention is required, especially after the game is done. A useful method is to have facilitators (parents, teacher, or gamemaster) chat with players about how they made certain critical decisions in game, and connect those game moments to learning contents in real-life. If players are interested in the subject, they are encouraged to find out more about it by looking at videos and books. These activities outside of the gameplay can help players appreciate the game even more, e.g. when players found out why NH3 is portrayed as a stinky pumpkin-like monster in the game is because of how ammonia is smelled in real life.
Official Game (Nervous Breakdown) Rules here:
(1) Start with the youngest in order of age.
(2) When it’s your turn to play, flip one of the atomic cards.
(3) Flip one more sheet to make a molecule. (so flip two cards total.)
(4) Think about whether it is possible to make a molecule by using all of them.
▽The molecule was created
→ Get the molecule card
▽If you couldn’t make a molecule
→ You can’t get the molecule card
(5) If you feel like making a larger molecule, flip one more card.
You need to use up all of the atomic cards that you flip. If you flip an unwanted atomic card, it will fail. Be careful in the second half of the game as there are only a few cards left. Helium is a special atom that can’t become any kind of molecule, so if you subtract it, you lose. You can’t make a molecule that other people got a molecule card for, so first come, first served !
A perfect scenario:
(2) flip a H
(3) flip a H
(4) H,H => H2 Hydrogen = 2 points
Decide to make a larger molecule
(5) flip a N
N,H => NH3 Ammonia = 17 points
Stop & change player.
Rules explained in Japanese:
https://vimeo.com/user84368974/review/394844485/a73aaa9727
Anti-collision is a general term used to cover methods of preventing radio waves of a tag from interfering with radio waves from another. Anti-collision algorithms are used to read more than one tag in the same reader’s field. Scientifically speaking, an RFID reader can only interrogate 1 tag at a time. However, with the help of anti-collision algorithms, the reader is able to single out radio waves of a tag from the rest and read it. If this is done with an HF or UHF RFID reader, it will feel like it was read all at once.
Interestingly, based on search results on google, this technology (RFID multi-reader) is often associated with casino management.
All my online searches seem to point to the development board below. The size of it leaves plenty of rooms for playful imaginations! The title of this page reads “HF13.56 Mhz multi protocols ISO15693 ISO18000-3M3 ISO14443A RFID smart card reader writer all in one access control rfid reader.” The protocols are different international standards designed for specific use scenarios. According to the RFID 4U:
ISO 14443A This standard defines identification cards operating at the 13.56 MHz frequency using near-field inductive coupling. The cards are usually called proximity cards. Typical applications include identity, security, payment, mass-transit, and access control. ISO 14443 systems are designed for a range of about 10 centimeters (3.94 inches), so they are a good fit for applications such as vending machines.
ISO 15693 is an ISO standard for vicinity cards, which can be read from a greater distance compared to proximity cards defined by ISO 14443. ISO 15693 systems operate at the 13.56 MHz frequency, use near-field inductive coupling, and offer maximum read distance of 3 to 5 feet. This range makes them a good fit for applications such as physical access or controlling entry to a parking garage, also serves as the foundation for a variety of applications outside of contactless smart cards, such as airline baggage tracking and supply chain management.
https://rfid4u.com/rfid-basics-resources/how-to-select-a-correct-rfid-tag-standards-mandates/
ISO 18000-3M3 is a newer and more powerful tag standard when it comes to the anticollision speed. The ISO 15693 standard has a speed of 60 tags per sec which is already perfect for a lot of situations. Most of the collectable card arcade games have a limit of 50 cards per deck. The ISO 18000-3M3 standard can read up to 700 tags per sec!!
More on how do anti-collision algorithms work:
https://www.rfidjournal.com/blogs/experts/entry?9271
The interrogator basically asks tags to respond depending on their serial number or some other number. If two tags respond, the reader asks again in a slightly different way, and then continues to do this until only a single tag responds.
Imagine that the reader is a teacher, and the tags are a room full of pupils. The teacher might say, “If your last name begins with A, stand up.” If more than one pupil stands, the teacher might then state, “If your last name begins with A and your first name also starts with A, stand up.” If no one stands, the teacher could say, “If your last name begins with A and your first name starts with B, stand up.” And so forth.
A reader can ask all tags with a serial number beginning with 0 to respond. If more than one tag responds, the device might ask all tags that have serial numbers starting with 00 to respond. And so on, until it isolates one tag.
One problem with this tree-walking algorithm based on serial numbers is it means that if two tags were to have the same serial number (which could happen either accidentally, or on purpose), the tags and reader would never be able to communicate since there would be no way to isolate a single tag.
To avoid this problem, the EPC Gen 2 air-interface protocol standard employs a unique anti-collision protocol based on a tag’s ability to generate random numbers. The anti-collision technique used, known as the “Q Algorithm,”
—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal
| Model | RL866 |
| Operating Frequency | 13.56 MHz |
| Compatible Protocols | ISO 15693, ISO 14443A/B, ISO 18000-3M3 |
| Compatible Tags | – NFC Forum Type 1: Innovision Topaz512 – NFC Forum Type 2: Mifare Ultralight, Mifare Ultralight C, Mifare Ultralight EV1, NTAG21x. – NFC Forum Type 3: Sony Felica [only support Polling] – NFC Forum Type 4: Mifare DESFire EV1 – NFC Forum Type 5: ICODE SLI ,ICODE SLIX ,ICODE SLIX2 ,Tag-it HF- I plus – Mifare Classic Type: Mifare S50, Mifare S70 ,Mifare Mini – ISO18000-3M3 Type: ICODE ILT – ST ISO14443B Type: SRIX4K, SRI512, ST25TB512-AC |
| Communication Interface | USB & RS232 |
| Reading Range | – ISO 15693 = 28cm – ISO 14443A = 15cm – ISO 18000-3M3 = 20cm |
| Plug & Play | Support |
| Keyboard Emulation | Support |
| Anti-collision Algorithm | Support |
| Working Voltage | DC 5V (USB Power Supply) |
| Max Power Consumption | 1.7W |
| Material | PCB |
| Dimension | 250*170mm |
| Weight | 130g |
This technology brought me back to Mobile Suits Gundam AGE (機動戦士ガンダムAGE) for their RFID embedded toyline: 1/100 GB grade (Gage-ing Builder – http://gage-ing.com/gb/) and 1/144 AG (Advanced Grade アドバンスドグレード). In the animation, the main character, Flit, also invented a life-size all-in-one Gundam part fabricator called the AGE Builder system which was so relevant and cool to me when it came out in 2011.
The GB grade Gundam toys or model kits have 4 modular and detachable parts: the left arm, the right arm, the torso, and the lower body. Each part has an RFID tag embedded to it. Players can customize their GB grade Gundam with parts from different kits and play a Tamagotchi-like game with the Gage-ing Haro (sold separately). When registering a new configuration, players scan all the GB parts one by one with the RFID reader in the back of Haro.
There is also an arcade version of the game (ゲイジングバトルベース) with full-model scan available in selected stores across Japan. However, I don’t think the scanner was made with the anti-collision algorithms reader. Most likely it is just 4 RFID readers placed away from each other and read the 4 tags separately.
Mobile Suits Gundam AGE toyline has to be one of the most ambitious and technology savvy in the Gundam universe. However, I felt the storyline failed to capture the mature audience. It was an uphill battle for them coming after the dramatic Mobile Suits Gundam 00 series. On the other hand, the younger audience didn’t appreciate as much the efforts went into the technology side of the model kits.
An arcade game that definitely uses an RFID reader with anti-algorithms is SNACK WORLD (スナックワールド ジャラステ, 2017). It is an RPG game that players can either gain collectable weapons and supporting characters in dungeons or find them in boost boxes from toy stores. The arcade machine came out with 2 to 4 capsule vending machines attached to the side of the cabinet that are controlled by the game. There is a huge rotating bowl in the middle of the arcade machine where players can drop in up to 6 collectables for power-up.
