Hack a pan?

QuackForSizzle 🍳🦆

Cook with real pans. Win virtual glory.

QuackForSizzle is a cooking game where real cooking pans are the controllers. Each pan is retrofitted with custom hardware that tracks your movements in real-time — when you flip a pancake in real life, your character flips one in the game. Built for NUS Hack & Roll 2026 by Team Cook or Be Cooked.

🎮 What It Does

Players use physical pans to navigate cooking challenges and master culinary skills:

Tilt the pan to move your character and adjust cooking temperature
Flip to execute cooking actions — flip pancakes, toss vegetables
Tap NFC-enabled items to the pan to unlock ingredients and power-ups
Shake to activate special abilities

The game features multiple cooking challenges — from perfecting the golden-brown pancake flip to searing the perfect steak — with progressive difficulty that tests both gaming skill and real cooking technique.

🛠️ Tech Stack

Hardware

ESP32 microcontroller
MPU6050 gyroscope/accelerometer (6-axis motion: pitch, roll, yaw)
RC522 NFC reader for item detection
Bluetooth Classic for wireless communication to the game
3D-printed housing to protect electronics inside the pan handle

Software

Unity (Universal Render Pipeline) with C#
Arduino/C++ firmware for the pan controller
Unity Input System for controller integration

📁 Project Structure

QuackForSizzle/
├── Hardware/
│   └── Hack_n_Roll_2026.ino   # ESP32 firmware (motion tracking, NFC, Bluetooth)
├── Software/                   # Unity project
│   └── ...                     # Game logic, scenes, shaders
└── README.md

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Unity (URP) — check Software/ for the project
Arduino IDE or PlatformIO for the hardware firmware
ESP32 board with MPU6050 and RC522 modules wired up
Bluetooth-enabled machine to receive controller input

Hardware Setup

Wire the MPU6050 and RC522 to the ESP32 per the pin config in Hardware/Hack_n_Roll_2026.ino
Flash the firmware via Arduino IDE
Power on the pan controller and ensure it's broadcasting over Bluetooth Classic

Software Setup

Clone the repo: bash git clone https://github.com/butter9fe/QuackForSizzle.git
Open the Software/ folder as a Unity project
Pair your pan controller via Bluetooth
Run the calibration step in-game (hold pan level, follow on-screen prompt)
Hit Play and start cooking!