Battle Pods

Battle Pods Show

April 24—28
Cooper Union, 2nd Floor
7 East 7th Street (at 3rd Ave)
New York City

Gallery Hours
Monday—Friday, 11am—7pm
Click here for directions

Introduction

Battle Pods is a two-player game in which players use physical game pieces to interact with on-screen software. Each plastic Battle Pod contains a game character with unique abilities and attack targets. Players place their pods in special slots on the game controller to bring the characters’ virtual representations to life on screen. Once both players have set up their pods they compete in a rock-paper-scissors style battle, with each player choosing one of six moves for each pods he controls. At the end of each round players may rearrange their pods in order to plan specific attacks or better defenses. A player wins once he has defeated all his opponent’s pods.

How to Play

Step 1: Arrange Pods
Each player controls 3 pods. Players take turns arranging their pods for battle. Changing a pod’s position effects which opponent pods he may attack, and whether or not he may perform a special move.

 

Step 2: Rule Change
Players are presented with a new rule change each round. The new rule is in effect for one round only. Rule changes can modify the scoring system for the round through specific rewards or penalties, or modify the gameplay by taking certain pods out of play or allowing them to perform extra moves.

Step 3: Choose Moves
Players choose one of six moves for each of his pods. Each pod may Attack, Attack Double, Attack Special, Defend, Recharge, or Support a fellow pod. Each move’s effect depends on the moves of the opponent pods. Since neither player knows what moves the other has chosen, gameplay resembles a complex version of rock-paper scissors.

Step 4: Battle Results
Players are shown the results of the battles one pod at a time. An animation of each battle is presented along with explanatory text and sound effects.

Step 5: Game Status
Pods that sustain too much damage during battle are killed off and may not perform in the rest of the game. The player who defeats all of his opponent’s pods becomes the Battle Pods Champion.

Technical Information

The Battle Pods software was built with Processing.
Source code may be available here at a later date.

The controller was custom built for the Battle Pods game. Arcade buttons are wired to an iPac keyboard emulator which sends key-commands to the Battle Pods software.

Each character pod represents a unique resistance value. A PIC inside the controller measures the voltage coming through the system when a pod is placed in a bay. This value is sent as serial data to the Battle Pods software, which determines which pod has been inserted.

Read more about this project’s development on my class blog.