tantan - A non-verbal game
THE GAME
TANTAN is a non-verbal game based on visual coordinates and sonification algorithms. The game system uses tangram pieces as input interfaces, a camera to detect the positioning of the pieces, and two software operating simultaneously to coordinate the tangrams’ position with real-time sound feedback.
The scope of the game is to create as many successful tangram combinations as possible by simply following the sound feedback produced by the game system.
THE INTERACTION
The game mechanics of TANTAN are rather simple: follow the sound to put the tangram pieces in the right place and win the game! In fact, there are no video or text clues given to the player by the system. Sound is the only clue that players will receive to figure out whether or not they are moving the tangram places to the right location.
As such, the game is entirely based on the player’s ability to follow sound cues. The idea was to create a minimalistic, yet engaging gaming experience.
CONCEPT & System Architecture
The purpose of TANTAN is to compose Tangram figures (e.g., a cat, a car) over an interactive tabletop surface, using a varying number of tangram pieces. The number of tangrams to be used and placed correctly depends on the level of difficulty provided by the game. The harder the level, the more the tangram pieces needed. To compose the correct tangram figure, The player has to follow a sound that interactively responds to how they are moving and positioning the tangrams on the interactive surface.
When a piece is far from its exact location, the sound produced by the system will play at a slow tempo. As the player gets closer to the exact location, the sound increases in speed. If the player manages to place all the tangram pieces in their exact location, the system will generate a distinct sound that signals to the player their successful completion of the level.
An overview of the main processes of the TANTAN system.
TANTAN internal processes are operated by two software: (1) IQR, A large-scale neural systems simulator, and (2) Pure Data (or PD), an open-source visual programming language for multimedia. A camera placed at the bottom of the tabletop detects the shape and the position of the tangram pieces that are being manipulated by the player.
Then, the visual input is processed through IQR (See Figures Below), which sends the tangram coordinates to the programming software PD. After receiving the coordinates from IQR, the algorithm embedded in PD performs digital-signal processing to convert the tangram coordinates into an audio signal, thus generating the audio feedback that the player follows to correctly place the tangram pieces on the tabletop surface.
The TANTAN system architecture
The TANTAN comparison sub-process, shape recognition, and shape reassembly system.
THE GAME TANTAN WAS CREATED BY THE FOLLOWING TEAM:
Giovanni Maria Troiano, Giovanni Marco Zaccaria, Juan Gabriel Tirado, & Josep Fransesc Cortes