Built an electromechanical game that can be played by all ages

Background

The goal of this project was to create a game that was intuitive enough for a 7-year-old to play with no instructions. Our team developed Woodchip Kitchen, a cooking game in which players prepare food items such as burgers, smoothies and ramen by pressing buttons corresponding to ingredients in the correct sequence.

Gameplay

When the system is powered on, an arrow indicator randomly selects a food order (burger, smoothie, or ramen), and ingredient blocks rotate to display the required ingredients. Players complete the order by following an LED-guided sequence that indicates which ingredient buttons to press, including occasional double button presses. After the eight-step sequence is completed successfully, the system resets and generates a new order.

My Role

• Designed in CAD and 3D printed the rotating blocks that hold the laser-cut ingredient panels

• Laser cut the ingredient panels for each food item

• Wired the stepper motors, buttons, and LEDs

• Developed the code to generate randomized ingredient sequences, illuminate LEDs during each step, and detect button presses

Outcome

The game was successfully completed and was fully playable without any instructions! Multiple users were able to complete an order, having a fun and engaging experience.