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ROLES ON PROJECT
- SOUND DESIGNER / LEVEL DESIGNER / CCC DESIGNER -
Holo-Cars, a multiplayer game using hologram technology!
Holo-Cars is a prototype created in a prototyping class, using refraction to give the impression that the game floats in the middle of a glass pyramid. This is not something easy to show in image or in video, the effect being much more pronounced when experienced in person. The game in itself is a multiplayer soccer game where the players control cars to push the ball inside the opponents’ goal. This project was really interesting to produce because it was unexplored territory for all of us. To obtain the desired effect, we had to adapt and find solutions to all the problems that occurred, since the effect is difficult to imagine at the conceptual phase. For this project I was mainly responsible for the level design and the sound design. I also contributed to the conception and the elaboration of the hologram.
We tried multiple shapes for the arena. In the end, the hexagon was the optimal shape because it permitted to use the maximum space available inside the pyramid, without moving out of the blind spots and while keeping the fun factor to a maximum.
As we can see in the video below, we have encountered a problem with the projection that was initially made with a computer screen. A rectangular computer screen does not make it possible to have the projection at the same level on each face of the pyramid, thus breaking the hologram illusion. We succeeded in fixing this problem by replacing the computer screen with a projector and using a special plastic cover on the pyramid to stop in part the light that was otherwise too bright for the hologram to occur.
Eventually I will have a video of better quality that shows our last version using the projector instead of the computer screen. Though unfortunately, the project is stuck at our university due to the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 crisis. The projector gives a better and cleaner image and the illusion of a hologram is much more pronounced since the projection occurs at the same level on each side (since it projects a square instead of a rectangle). The projector also has a better luminosity, which in turn gives a cleaner image and permits the game to be played in a well lit room.
Since our game was created with the idea of controlling RC cars, we decided to implement a real RC controller as the default controller, which in turn gives a much better feeling of control to the player.
Unfortunately, the project is stuck at our university and we are not able to continue it because of the Covid-19 crisis.
