PUPPETRY

INPUT CONTROL

The input control scheme is arguably the most difficult choice to make in Virpet Theatre. Original ideas included 3d mouse, custom puppet controllers, joysticks, trackballs and MIDI sliders. Explained here is our decision process.

Necessary features: Whatever scheme we choose must consider our given circumstances:

1) This will be a public installation for children. Durability.

2) Children must be able to figure out the input scheme very quickly, since a museum exhibit is for quick visits. On the contrary, it must have enough depth that children will want to return to play again and master their skills.

3) This exhibit will be largely maintained by Children's Museum personnel. They are professionals at maintaining exhibits, but should not be expected to re-engineer the exhibit each time it breaks.

4) Project development has a limited budget. More importantly, the Children's Museum has a limited budget. Their exhibit coordinator said that even industrial input devices need replacement about two times per year.

5) Will it create a strain on programmer resources if the device requires a major software modification?

 

The choices: The following will outline our process of evaluation and/or elimination for each device.

Device	Pros	Cons
3D mouse	3D range allows for great freedom in puppetry	Not durable, not recognized as an iconic input device.
Custom puppet controllers	Would fit the movements of puppetry.	Not within scope of project(Dev cycle would need to be very quickly to test withing the semester), durability could be an issue(not commercially made and tested), difficult to make for different puppet types.
MIDI sliders	Precision movement	Not durable, input connection of industrial strength would be expensive.
Joysticks	Very Durable, very cheap, easy to replace, connection to system requires no additional development. Easily recongized as an input device. Can be themed.	Limits options for number of joints controlled. Can lead to a game mentality.
Trackballs	Precision Movement, durability	Input connection is very expensive for industrial strength. Could be hard to divert system recognition away from mousing. Never ending movement can be misleading.

 

THE JOYSTICKS

Our exploration of joysticks led us to some major questions:

1. Which joystick provides the best control?

An analog joystick is absolutely necessary to provide precision movement. In general, arcade analogs are also more accurate than a consumer controller.

2. Which joystick is most durable?

Arcade joysticks are all very durable. They are designed to withstand brutal treatment.

3. What arrangement of joysticks is the most intuitive/effective (fun)?

We spent a considerable amount of time deciding between two joysticks side to side, or two joysticks with one above the other. After some consideration, it was unanimous that the vertical arrangement is more fun and intuitive. Side to side allows for separate arm control, but creates problems with the head of the puppet, which is very important. Additionally, the vertical arrangement is more easily understood at first glance. In this scheme, we changed our idea of the control mapping after user testing. Users wanted the ability to move the puppets across the stage, and they also wanted the linkage of head movements with body turns.

4. Which joysticks are easiest to connect? (We will have to connect them, and so will museum employees until the day when the exhibit closes.)

Arcade quality joysticks are not designed for direct connection with a PC. In order to do this, one must use a development kit that raises the cost of each terminal by an estimated 800 dollars. Fortunately, we found a joystick made by arcade manufacturers especially for PC use. This joysticks has a game port connection. It is analog, We decided to adapt the joysticks to USB ports, since this seemed to calibrate more reliably.

JOYSTICK CHOICE

We chose an analog arcade joystick which connects to the PC directly. It is plug and play, requiring no additionally development. This joystick presented our next challenge, which was the creation of some sort of kiosk to house the controls. To solve this problem, we custom built our own.

KIOSKS

Requirements:

1) Must be as low as possible to accommodate the small height of children, but must be thick enough to house the joysticks' inner parts.

The front of the kiosks is the minimal 3 inches, which is the length of the inner parts of the controls. There is an incline on the control panel so shorter individuals can more easily see both controls.

2) Must not distract from the experience itself.

The boxes are black, and lack any distracting features.

3) Must be accessible for joystick change.

The kiosks have two maintenance ports on the back where the audience will not go.

4) Must be heavy enough so as not to move.

The boxes are heavy, due to their plywood construction. But their design makes them heavier. They are designed for the puppet choice monitors to rest on top, creating additional weight. In addition to this, the boxes are equipped to be clamped to tables of various sizes.

5) Must be as safe as normal furniture for interaction with children.

The boxes are sanded, finished with false wood to fill any gaps, painted with 3 coats, and then coated with a synthetic seal to prevent any splinters.

6) Must be durable enough for this semester.

The boxes are constructed of half-inch plywood and screwed together with redundancy. They are coated with a synthetic seal to protect the finish.