EE3701 DIGITAL MEDIA TECHNOLOGY
Tabletop Project - Battle of the Galatics
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Group Members:
Avriel Lim Kuan Meng (U083795B)
Tarn Rui Xin Ryan (U099003N)
Zwe Mahn Moe (U083836Js)
Zhang Qian (U083830N)
Introduction
The games industry has been existent since 1979, with the first game named ‘pong’ garnering a
huge amount of success. Since then, many games have been created. The evolution of games
started from game consoles to games on computers; and now, human computer interaction in
games is undergoing huge amounts of research. The popularity for such games is on the rise and
is expected to exceed the popularity of many current console games.
In creating a fun game that involves human and computer interaction, the game will have to
pass through several considerations. Some of which are: age demographics, culture, and
multiple player interaction.
In this project, we created a game called “Battle of the Galatics”. This game is created with
interactivity of multi-players in mind. It was also created for gamers aged 7 to 55. The game is
created for those who enjoy simple games, as well as classical old games; the effect of reliving
old memories added with a new concept of human computer interactivity and multiplayer
interaction, makes this game exciting and interesting, and most importantly, FUN!
Novelty in our game
Classical games are simple to play and hold great memories in the minds of many. Children love
to play them due to their simplicity, while adults love to play them as they bring back good
memories of the games they play when they were young.
Our game “Battle of the Galatics” is inspired by two other games. ‘Pong’, and ‘Space invaders’.
‘Pong’ is a similar game to badminton, except that the players control a vertical bar to prevent
their friend from hitting a ball through their base. ‘Space invaders’ is a game where a troop of
aliens move steadily towards you. You are to shoot them down before they reach you and crash
in to you.
With these inspiring games, and being mindful of how classical games have molded the lives of
many, we combined elements from the two classic games to form ‘Battle of the Galatics.’
This and the addition of new game rules elevate an old concept to an all new exciting game.
‘Battle of the Galatics’ allows users to control a fighting craft, a shield, and snatch for bonuses
during game play.
Beyond just simple innovation, a core factor of the game is its interactivity during game play. No
longer are players playing against a computer, they now play against other players on the same
table. It no longer is just about hitting your player’s base or aircraft. A keen eye would be able to
estimate his opponent’s attack or weak points by his body pose! Bonuses which are dropped
during game play encourage a huge amount of interactivity as players will have to reach forward
to snatch it from a common bonus area in the game. Hand smacking and pushing away is a
common scene during game play!
Game creation details
Game Flow Chart:
Start
Exit Game
Game End
Exit
Main Menu
[Play/Exit]
Player B wins
Player B Scores > Player A Scores
Play
Time’s up
Play
Check
Condition
Time’s not up
Player A wins
Player A Scores > Player B Scores
Rules to decide who is the winner:
The game last for 100 seconds after which it times up and the game ends.
Before it times up, the player losses the game when all lives are used up, no matter how
high your score it is. Grab life tool, you can obtain one life.
When the game times up, compare the scores each player obtained. The higher one wins
the game.
The game returns to the main screen once the time is up.
Game Bonus Features:
[ life tool ]--- Drag it onto the aircraft once, and 1 life will be added.
[ fix tool ]--- Drag it onto any damaged area of your base station, that fire will be
extinguished.
[ missile special ]--- Drag it onto the aircraft and when double-tapping the aircraft, a
missile will be shoot out instead of bullets. The special feature of this bonus is that the missile
can go through shield whereas the bullets cannot.
How our novelties have been realized
Elevating old concepts to a new concept and interactivity are the core focus of the novelties of
our project.
The main parts of our game are the fighting space craft, a shield, and bonuses. The combination
of these three game elements enable players to relive memories of classical games as well as be
able to interact with friends and opponents.
Unlike most games, current and before, players are often only able to attack and dodge attacks
from their opponents. In remaining constant to classic game concepts, in ‘Battle of the Galatics’
the space craft is able to dodge and attack its opponent. The inclusion of a shield is a novel idea
to the game concept; the shield acts as a primary protection for the base station. The idea of
the game is to prevent your aircraft, and base station from being shot, while shooting your
opponent’s aircraft and base station.
Much of the excitement arises as the aircraft can only dodge the missiles, while the base station
can be protected by the small shield; this may sound like a fool proof plan, but is not as it is not
easy to focus on two factors (shooting and defending) at the same time.
To realizing interactivity, we have shifted from the use of consoles and console controls to the
use of touch tables. This increases the interactivity of players as it increases the activity of
players as they control their space craft and shield in the game.
An enhanced addition to the game is the game bonus. As game bonus appears in the center of
the touch table and both players will be able to rush for them, players will be “forced” to
interact with each other. Furthermore, the addition of a huge space bomber increases the
ability for each player to enter the “comfort zone” of the opponent, pushing multiplayer
interactivity to the next level.
Player’s lives
Player’s aircraft
Base station
Shield
Player’s score
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED & SOLUTIONS
Many problems were encountered in the course of this project. Here are a list of the more
distinct problems encountered.
1. Converting from mouse clicks to touch
a. In the conversion from mouse clicks to the use of the touch table control, we
noticed the commands for the touch functions were not easy to find. A lot of
time was spent on finding the right codes to make the touch work on the touch
table.
Solutions to commands for touch functions: We managed to find online
references, as well as sample codes from an existing multi touch game to
implement our touch features.
b. Double tap was a difficult element to add in the game.
Solutions to double-tap problem: we consulted one FYP students who had
tabletop experiences before, and we got sample code from her. Then we changed
the code a bit and integrated into our main game.cs. The basic idea is to set 500
milliseconds between two taps.
2. Replication of ammo
a. In a firing game like ‘Battle of the Galatics’, a new bullet needs to be shot out
every time the player double taps on his aircraft. This meant an unlimited
number of missiles need to be given to each player.
At the start of the game, we were only able to fire one missile in the game. Our
missile is removed from the game play once it hits an object in the game.
Solution: We solved this problem by creating more bullets and then coding the
behavior of the bullet such that it will not be killed when it collides with another
object.