Below is the first in a series of posts documenting the final development of Deluxe Turbo Racing 360 for GDC. I hope to continue the posts up through GDC and after.

Part 1: Building Controllers

One of the major design decisions for DTR360 has been to really focus on the quality and design of the physical components. A high quality fabrication for our controller boxes not only enhances the experience, but also allows us to explore some new territory and perhaps stumble upon some interesting ideas.

 

 

The initial design called for flat colors, mapped to the colors of the controllers, with a neutral color for any non-player specific hardware, such as knobs. The design also called for a controller that was lightweight, transported easy, and simple to hook up.

 

Considering these factors we decided on two control boxes with two players per box. We used ½ inch pine plywood, with an Arduino board in each controller. Having two controllers with an arduino in each meant easier transport and more options when setting up the play space.

 

 

 

We partnered with Super Soul friend Tom Birge to fabricate the boxes on a CnC machine at The Learning Center, an alternative high school in Lexington doing some really interesting things with pedagogy. Tom helped convert the original 3D model constructed in Maya into something readable by the CnC machine. With only a few minor headaches, such as a few forgotten tools and a CnC shutdown for inexplicable reasons, we managed to get our necessary pieces cut over a couple of visits.

 

 

 

Our next step was assembly. Tom and I headed over to Awesome Inc–where we hold RunJumpDev meetings–to use their wood shop.

 

 

 

With boxes assembled, I wired up the potentiometers and tested the input. The final step was a nice 3D printed Arduino mount found on thingiverse.

 

 

 

With all the fabrication completed, we now had a control box with all the wiring accessible by just opening the top.

 

 

 

 

The final step left was painting. What I thought was an afternoon of work turned into an ordeal OF EPIC PROPORTIONS!!! So stay tuned for the next post, on how to not paint control boxes 🙂