Electronic Paper Football
Group Members: Lizzy, Rami
Title: Electronic Paper Football
Do you remember paper football? This two-player game, usually played in elementary and middle school, involved a football made out of notebook paper or sometimes a coin. The trade-offs between materials were obvious. Notebook paper had to be folded into a football, meaning someone had to know how to fold a paper, whereas a coin required no work. However, when one had to score a field goal, coins were harder to flick, whereas it was easier with the paper-based football. Paper-based footballs did not last long, easily be worn down from too much activity. A coin, however, was much sturdier.
Besides involving a football, the game required a tabletop, so that the football could slide easily, as well as 2 sets of hands. These hands not only pushed the football around, but also kicked the football, as well as formed goal posts.
In our project, then, we hope to recreate the paper football game. Instead of flicking a paper-shaped football or a coin, we hope to create a football that is capable of enduring hundreds of games. In addition, instead of playing paper football on a table top, we hope to play it on top of a surface that has been painted to look like a exactly football field: it will have 2 end zones and goal posts, as well as have the number of yards paint on top of the box. We envision our football field to be a box, with the top painted to look like a football field.
Additionally, we hope to add sensors to our football, field, and goal posts. This way, we can measure how far our football travels on the field, as well as keep track of points. Every time the ball is in the end zone or passes through the goal posts, a score is added. We also envision that the sensor would keep track of a player’s turn, position on the field, as well as the number of chances he has left to score.
We envision these stats (player name, score, turns, chances-left) will be displayed on a touchscreen, which will be on on a side panel of our our box. Before starting a game, players can enter in their name. Once the screen is activated, the game can start. Each player has 3 chances to score a point. Players can choose to push/ nudge the ball down the field into the end zone, as well as attempt a field goal (e.g flicking the ball). Players will get 1 point only if the ball passes through the field goal, or if the football stays in the end zone. This means that if a player pushes too hard and the ball passes through the end zone, but falls off the box, the player will not earn a point. First person to reach 10 points wins!
