Racecar Tacocat: A Competitive Word Game
Racecar Tacocat is a multiplayer party game that combines physical hardware, electronics, and word-based challenges that my team and I got to work on for our first year's spring quarter.
The game goes like this: Two teams compete in mini-games such as Back-Words, Anagrams, and Taboo while trying to avoid being the first team to pop a balloon. During the game, each team's pawn slowly moves toward a balloon. When a team answers correctly, they press a button that moves their pawn backward. The first team to pop the balloon loses.
My Contributions
My main contributions included designing and revising the CAD models for the enclosure, improving the internal circuit layout, helping with fabrication process, and testing the final system.
Improving Design
After early testing at our first showcase, we found that the original base was too small, the wiring was difficult to manage, and the pawn arms were too heavy for the motors. I redesigned the enclosure to provide more space for the electronics and support a more reliable assembly process.
Design Inspiration
As inspiration for my design, it was based on Dieter Rams' design principles. One of the principles that I followed was good design is thorough down to the last detail. This project demonstrated that idea because small issues such as wire placement, arm weight, and internal spacing had a large impact on the overall performance of the game. By improving these details, we created a system that was more reliable and easier to use.
When working on this project, I improved my designing capabilities and learned that a complete system requires balancing mechanical, electrical, and software components at the same time. I worked on prototyping, testing, and making improvements based on failures. Through multiple design iterations, our team transformed an early prototype with reliability issues into a functional game that successfully combined hardware, software, and user interaction into a fun experience.