NEW REMOTE WORKING OPPORTUNITY AVAILABE IN HELL!
Hell sure has become the popular destination in afterlife recently. In order to improve the overcrowded working condition, the bureau of labor in the underworld has open up to the idea of remote working. This is a pilot program for monster walkers in hell which is similar to dog walkers here. If you have received one of these kits at your doorstep, congratulations, you are going to hell soon, and you better set it up and start working, those hell hounds won’t walk themselves!
This is a single player experience made possible with a custom alternative controller which allows the player to walk a hellhound on a leash. People who work remotely as a hell hound walker will receive a remote working kit. Inside the kit, there is some kind of a monitor, a specialty controller (the Leash), manual, power adaptors, and some AV cables.
The Leash controller is made of a repurposed Gametrak 2 joystick module. I have been wanted to upcycle Gametrak 2 controllers for something fun since it came out. It is essentially a physical motion tracker. It is a brilliant idea from other side of the pond. It is a wonderful controller, especially the 2nd version with modular joysticks which I incorporated in my controller. I also loaned it to my students from time to time just to see what came up. Here are two fun examples:
Echo Rift by Yi-Ning Huang, Clover Paradise, Pierce Wolcott, and Hang Ye, 2014.
This experience puts players into the shoes of a bat navigating a virtual cave. By tilting and turning the oculus, users could control their trajectory as they glide past stalactites and stalagmites. Using a Gametrak controller modified to be wearable, players could also influence their altitude by flapping their arms. This resulted in surprisingly immersive experience, that was also lots of fun to watch.
https://piercewolcott.com/portfolio/echo-rift/
Group Project Assignment 1 by Luca Jeha Civita and Krystal Huang, 2023.
We decided to create an instrument using the Gametrak string sensors Kyle showed us in class. We pictured something that allowed for rhythm, harmony, and melody.
https://new-arcade.tumblr.com/post/732013080328929280/luca-krystal-progress-report
Since this is supposed to be an tool sent from hell, I am trying to make the alternative controller looks like an ancient religious artifact from a sci-fi movie or Warhammer 40K — that dark, gothic, and futuristic look and feel. Most of parts are connected or glued together with Lego Technic friction pins (#2780). The base are hold together securely with a hair loop which is a technique I used frequently with my builds.
The enclosure for the Gametrak 2 module has gone through many iterations. The original design was meant to work with M5Stack Fire and its sensor units, so I designed thicker wall to accommodate the Lego Technic pins. I moved on to a simpler Arduino setup because the analog data are more reliable for what I am doing. I am able to reduce about 5mm (back plate) + 3mm (front plate) of the thickness which helps the controller and the leash align with the hook on top better.
For the aesthetics, I am imagining each level is a park in hell. There will be lost souls, ghosts, monsters, magma everywhere, typical hell stuff. The first park is an abundant race track that I modified from a Synty game asset that I own and remixed it with all the hell elements above.
The missing piece:
https://www.frathwiki.com/Parseltongue-inspired
List of Game assets used in this prototype:
Mix of Synty Game Assets
https://syntystore.com/
Demon Dog
https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/characters/creatures/demon-dog-122346#publisher
Simple Racer – Cartoon Assets
https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/vehicles/land/simple-racer-cartoon-assets-37490
Oak Forest (Tree Pack)
https://skfb.ly/oOrvE
The ambience sound 1 was a loop sampled from
-D&D Ambience | Hell | Cries, Agony, Despair, Demons, Devils, Magma, Avernus
https://youtu.be/JzVIkY5tKcE
The ambience sound 2 was a loop sampled from
10 Hours Lava Flow, Kilauea Hawaii
https://youtu.be/kTpglKDyn4s