Boogie Battle

Inspiration

Ever looked at yourself in the mirror and thought, "I've got two left feet, but I'd love to see myself bust out some sick moves"? That's exactly where BoogieBattle was born! We're a group of self-proclaimed dance floor disasters who dreamed of a world where our digital doppelgangers could groove like pros. Our lack of rhythm became our greatest inspiration, pushing us to create a game where anyone can become a dance legend, regardless of their real-life dancing skills.

What it does

BoogieBattle is a 3D dance battle game that lets players live out their wildest dance fantasies using personalized 3D models of themselves. Here's what makes it groove:

Create your own 3D avatar based on your likeness
Engage in epic dance battles against friends
Perform a variety of dance moves ranging from classic to cutting-edge
Experience the thrill of the dance floor in a vibrant 3D environment
Enjoy personalized live commentary by Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson that reacts to your every move, adding excitement and humor to each battle

How we built it

We put on our developer dancing shoes and got to work:

Unity Engine: We used Unity as our primary development platform, leveraging its powerful 3D capabilities to create an immersive dance battle arena.
Custom 3D Modeling: Each team member's likeness was carefully crafted into a 3D model using NeRF (Neural Radiance Fields) , ensuring that players can truly see themselves in the game.
Animation Magic: We animated the characters using an auto-rigging API to bring a wide array of dance moves to life, making sure our digital dancers could pull off moves we only dream of in reality.
AI Integration: We incorporated the Groq API to power our live commentator, providing real-time, witty remarks on the dance battles.
Voice Synthesis: The Cartesia TTS API allowed us to clone Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson's voice as a commentator, adding an extra layer of excitement and realism to the gameplay.
User Interface: A sleek and intuitive UI was designed to make navigation and gameplay as smooth as our characters' dance moves.

Challenges we ran into

Our journey to create BoogieBattle wasn't all smooth moves. We encountered several challenges along the way:

Unity Learning Curve: As first-time Unity developers, we faced a steep learning curve. Understanding the engine's intricacies, mastering C# scripting, and grasping 3D game development concepts required significant time and effort.
NeRF Texture Issues: We experimented with Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) to convert video to 3D models. However, we struggled with losing textures during the conversion process, which affected the quality of our character models.
Motion Detection Complexities: Implementing motion detection using OpenCV proved challenging, especially when trying to create non-conflicting gestures for user input. Distinguishing between similar dance moves and ensuring accurate detection in various lighting conditions was particularly tricky.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Despite the challenges, we achieved several milestones that make us proud:

Immersive Environment: We created a visually appealing and engaging 3D dance battle arena that brings the excitement of a dance-off to life.
Unity Mastery: Successfully building our first game in Unity, overcoming the initial learning curve, and creating a functional product is a significant achievement for our team.
From-Scratch Development: We built all components of the game from the ground up, giving us a deep understanding of every aspect of our creation.
LLM Integration: Successfully integrating Large Language Model features for our live commentator adds a unique and dynamic element to the gameplay.
Effective Teamwork: We worked productively as a team, leveraging each member's strengths and supporting each other through the development process.

What we learned

BoogieBattle was a crash course in game development and cutting-edge technologies:

Unity Basics: We gained foundational knowledge in Unity development, including scene management, game object manipulation, and asset integration.
Game Development: We learned about game design principles, user experience considerations, and the iterative process of game creation.
C# Programming: Our C# skills improved significantly as we coded game logic, animations, and user interactions.
Cartesia API Usage: We became proficient in implementing text-to-speech technology to bring our commentator to life.
NeRF Experimentation: Although challenging, we gained valuable insights into using Neural Radiance Fields for 3D model creation.
Blender Fundamentals: We picked up basic 3D modeling and texturing skills in Blender to refine our character models.

What's next for Boogie Battle

Streamlined 3D Avatar Creation: Develop a user-friendly process for players to easily create their 3D models as in-game avatars.
Enhanced Motion Detection: Improve our motion detection algorithms for more accurate and responsive gameplay.
Advanced Scoring System: Implement a comprehensive scoring system that considers timing, complexity, and style of dance moves.
Expanded Commentator Features: Add more voice options and personality types for the AI commentator.
Diverse Dance Move Library: Increase the variety of available dance moves, including trending and classic styles.
Extended Music Selection: Offer a wider range of music genres and the ability for users to import their own tracks.