It is a presentation discussing different games for the Microsoft Surface, as well as a virtual airhockey game the authors are working on

1. Games on the Surface The similarities and dissimilarities of current applications compared to our own

2. Our Idea Virtual air hockey game that can be played on the surface while using a custom built wireless controller. In order to slow the user down we have decided to add extra elements to the game We want to slow the game down for a few reasons The slower the user moves the better the tracking of his motion will be The Surface isn’t extremely large and if users try to move too fast it could disrupt their opponent

3. Controller The controller needed to be something stable and user friendly We wanted to keep it similar to an actual air hockey mallet This is the current design, however upon actually constructing the controller things may change.

4. Similar Applications The following video is a 4 player version of air hockey being played on the Microsoft Surface http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgyCY-oiero

5. PROS CONS Comparison Up to 4 players is an interesting aspect Multiple Pucks could allow for a fun change of pace Resizable Controls provide different attributes Speed seemed to be a little overwhelming Delay/Failure to register on some of the motions 4 Players made the game very crowded

6. The following video is a 103 inch Multi-Touch Panasonic screen that has been transformed into an air hockey table http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jxbS1c_HU4

7. Panasonic Table Stayed very true to a classic air hockey game The tracking seemed to work much better than the previous video The size of the actual table was the key to its success It allowed for a lot of motion without the other player getting in the way The distance the puck had to travel on table itself was a good distance which allowed for smoother, less frantic gameplay

8. Microsoft Surface This video goes into detail about a game called Galactic Alliance made specifically for the surface http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4uBW5vuD5o

9. Galactic Alliance We can take a lot about the platform from this video which can help us design our game to be more compatible Galactic Alliance didn’t have a lot of constant motion, it was more of a strategy based game. This lead us to re-think how our game could be played to most suit the surface The Surface doesn’t seem to be built for lots of fast and finely traced movements, which is one of the reasons why we are designing a controller to go along with the game, to help track the movements of the players

10. Overview From these videos we can begin to formulate what we want and don’t want our game to do. Reasonable pace of play User needs to be well tracked Some type of statistic logging in addition to the score Strategy: Character Attributes Power Ups “Brick Breaker” Board Tilting Force-Field

11. Questions/Thoughts?