Memphis Jam - A Team Based Puzzle Game For A Maker Event

This year Hetco exhibited at Now Play, which took place at Somerset House as part of Maker corner. For their interactive game, they wanted to create a unique interface and chose to design a playable vinyl record with a screen.

Memphis Jam is a 5 player puzzle game where each player has one button to solve the puzzle.

We caught up with Hetco Design Co-founder, Simon Johnson to learn more about how they were able to use Bare Conductive's technology to create a unique interactive interface for Memphis Jam, with only minimal knowledge of electronics.

Simon explained the goal was to create a user experience through interaction design, so the team designed a playing surface to sit on a table where each user had one button evenly spaced, a reset button and a hole in the middle to show the screen. The layout of the table also included concentric circles to give the aesthetic of a vinyl record.

To test the new control scheme with the game, Hetco used the Touch Board and attached the crocodile clips to the board's electrodes to create capacitive sensors. Using Bare Conductive script, they were able to replicate a standard keyboard with the player buttons being assigned to 1-5 on a keyboard.

A laser cutter was used to build the acrylic base of the playing record and then a vinyl cutter to create the record discs' details, pasting this onto the cut acrylic. Empty circles with holes were left where conductive paint would be applied.

The circles were painted with Electric Paint to create players buttons. The copper tape was then used to connect the paint to the wire underneath linking to the Touch Board. The copper tape also connected the painted buttons to the circuit placed underneath and the screen. The Touch Board was connected to a small pc sitting between the table and the interactive design along with the screen.