Weather the Weather @ Imagine RIT

20 weeks in the making, Weather the Weather made it’s stunning debut at Imagine RIT yesterday and the visitors LOVED IT! This year Imagine RIT hosted over 25,000 people and we placed 7th in an online poll (406) for most popular exhibits!!!  I have the say, the most rewarding moment was when kids started acting out the characters and teaching others their happy and sad dances that we created.  We even had kids asking their parents to buy the game!   New and old, big and small, everyone came right in grabbed the wands and starting playing.  I really couldn’t have asked for anything more or have expected this much.  So really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you to all those who came and participated.

For those of you who don’t know, Weather the Weather is an interactive projected game made by Team MYO (Make Your Own).  We are 5 New Media Designers and 3 New Media Developers.  I am the project manager, art director, and designer.  In the game you use IR wands that we 3D modeled and printed that are represented as paddles on screen to bounce around a ball that breaks blocks.  Hitting the different level blocks helps you gain power (to break harder blocks) and brings you closer to fighting the boss.  If you make it to and defeat the boss within the time limit, then you move to the next season and repeat.  Some of the levels are more difficult than others due to the amount of blocks and how hard it is to break them.  At Imagine RIT we went through about 9 years and the hardest levels to beat were Spring and Summer.

Opening Interface!

Winter Interface w/ old character

Spring Interface

Summer Interface

Fall Interface

Final Characters made and animated by Andy Mindler.

Two of the characters (Winter & Spring) are finalized versions of my sketches sketches, 1 is a finalized version from my 3D (Winter), and I got to animate Spring!  One of my favorite comments from Imagine RIT was “that guy’s a taun-taun!” showing that Star Wars is still the best thing since sliced bread.

Versions of blocks from all the seasons!

All blocks by Andrea and I.

Final Paddle Sheet

All paddles done by Ira.

If you’d like to see more of our process work please visit our blog.