Flight
Projected darts system
Glasgow School of Art, March 2001
Flight began with an interest in the significance of games as social objects, especially within public spaces. The project reinterprets the traditional game of darts creating a system which projects a series of images onto a large white board, manufactured using same material as existing dart boards. This flexible platform for the game allows the cultural stereotype of darts to be turned on its head, reinventing it for new audiences. Flight is more exciting and involving for many participants and spectators than standard darts. It creates an increased social focus for group activity by manipulating its style and format.
Many people’s image of darts
System overview
Prototyping the system - content explorations: puzzle, racing and comedy games, advertising and promotion
Packaging design
Chaser game
The second stage of the project was focused on its principal element, the projections, playing from a DVD player. The development concentrates on the game Chaser as an example of how the key issues of communication and interaction could be resolved to create simple navigation, commercial appeal, and above all an involving and fun experience. In contrast to the traditional game of darts, Chaser is based on a race against the clock and each other.
Frames from the Chaser game on DVD
Controls for the flash demo below
Flight's interface only uses the 5 navigational buttons on the DVD remote: left, right, up, down (the arrow keys for this on screen example) and select (0 on the keyboard). For clarity, a symbol mirroring the remote’s keypad appears within menus and games with the active buttons highlighted and labeled.