AstroBunny

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  The story web created to map out our game's story.

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  Test wiring used to plan for the rabbit controller.

Inspiration

This project was inspired by the search for life in the universe, and more specifically the possibility of life within our own solar system. We chose Enceladus as a setting because its subsurface oceans make us think that the evolution of life there may be possible. This game was inspired by the many "what ifs" that surround life outside of Earth.

What it does

AstroBunny is a platformer game which is based upon choices that the player makes. The story follows a rabbit astronaut who ventures to Enceladus and finds life under the surface. Players must chose between diplomacy and scientific research, and each choice has its own impacts. The game controller is a plush rabbit and conductive platform that are wired to a microcontroller.

How we built it

The bottom of the plush rabbit's feet is lined with conductive fabric that is connected to the output pin in the microcontroller. The platform for the rabbit has conductive paint across the surface connected to a wired LED. When the conductive fabric and paint make contact the circuit is complete and the LED lights up accordingly. The game itself was storyboarded using Twine, a web based service which is typically used for text-based choose your own adventure games. It was coded using Python and its arcade library, as it was a fairly easy tool to use when creating a platform based game.

Challenges we ran into

Sewing and pattern modification is incredibly time consuming, so we were unable to create the smaller plush rabbit we had initially planned for. As for the programming side of things, the team had trouble with installations of python and its packages, as for a few hours we got stuck in a cycle of installing one thing and that one thing uninstalling something else. It was also difficult to integrate the twine story into any sort of programming, as it is a web-based service that is meant to stay on the web.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Since all members in our group are new to hackathons we are very proud to have a project to submit. The sewing pattern was new so it is a fairly successful result for a first try. We are proud of the art we were able to do! Our artist is proud of themselves being able to create so much content on such a deadline.

What we learned

Time management is incredibly important. It is not always realistic to pull an all-nighter, and oftentimes it is much better to ensure time is taken for selfcare. We also honed our skills in the usage of Python, and experimented and learned how to use graphics with Python.

What's next for Astrobunny

Currently the plush only works as a way to demonstrate the conductive material being able to accurately send a signal, but ideally this would be connected to the video game and work as a physical game controller. On the art side we hope to add more character designs, more backgrounds / location art, and more advanced character sprites. From a coding perspective, we hope to find a way to integrate the twine storyboard with the game and produce a full game where you can explore this story.

Built With

• arduino
• firealpaca
• ibispaint
• photoshop
• python
• sewing
• twine
• vscode