Jennifer Zhang

Process

What was easy: Programming. Coding the game came pretty easily to me. The one problem in this part I did have was that the Arduino had some issues communicating with P5.js which was why I switched to Processing. However, this was a pretty simple fix. Laser cutting was also pretty straightforward since all I had in mind was a box with some holes for the arcade buttons to go in. 

What was difficult: Figuring out how to wire things correctly and how the current flowed to each thing was a little difficult to wrap my head around. Furthermore, I also wanted to add some lighting to the box to make it more interactive and simulate an arcade, which was much more complicated than I realized. The NeoPixel light strips were a lot more power hungry than the Arduino could handle and I did not have much space or time to add a battery pack, which was why I opted for 4 LED bulbs. Even then, the inclusion of the LED bulbs made the wiring a bit more complicated since I had to consider if I wanted the bulbs to be in series or in parallel based on how bright I wanted them. 

What I learned: Lighting is a pain. I would want to think earlier on about if I want to include any lights and take that into consideration when I ideate. Moreover, I think I could have been more creative with the fabrication. Instead of laser cutting a simple box, I was tempted to make the box slanted at an angle but was unsure how I would glue the parts together. In the future, I would want to figure out how I could make the materials work for me, not how I compensate for the materials. I also want to make something even more electrically complex in the future to make it even more fun. In addition, I want to make something outside of the computer since it is something I am already familiar with and would like to venture more into something that can stand on its own (but somewhat connected to power).