The Invisible Maze

Inspiration

We were inspired by Haben Girma, who is the first deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law. She is a strong advocate for technology that is accessible to people with disabilities. We want to use this game to send a message about the importance of creative software that is easily accessible and usable by all.

What it does

The user must play the game with their eyes closed and rely solely on vibrations from a video game controller as the output of the game. They use the D-Pad or joystick to navigate a maze. They receive feedback via vibrations as to whether they are near the starting point, hitting a wall, or reaching the goal.

How we built it

We built it using the p5.js library and the MDN Controller API, which allows us to take input from and output to a video game controller.

Challenges we ran into

All three of us had no prior experience with controller API before and two of us were not experienced when it comes to coding games and visualizations.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Learning about making games in JavaScript, connecting to video game controllers, and even learning a bit of functional programming along the way. In addition, we now have a game that can be played without the sense of sight or hearing.

What we learned

JavaScript programming, Controller API, game logic

What's next for The Invisible Maze

Creating a more diverse set of accessible games. For instance, having a game that asks the user to repeat certain vibration patterns emitted by the controller (essentially the goal of the game is to follow a rhythm).

Built With

• p5.js