Creating Platforms to Support Craft and Creativity in Game Controller Design

Alternative Controllers (Alt Controls) enable game designers to creatively explore how humans interact with games and challenge the status-quo of game interfaces. Alt Controls, however, require technical skills and fabrication infrastructure that often make them inaccessible to the average designer. Tangible User Interface researchers stand to benefit from the unique approach that Alt Controls promote. My research aims to bridge the gap between game developers and Alt Controls through the use of everyday materials and crafting techniques. In this paper, I discuss a framework for physical computing that uses computer vision (Beholder) and an example introductory platform for Alt Controller design (TinyCade). Further research will refine this framework and incorporate the perspective of other game designers.