Multimedia studio Moment Factory has created GRiD, a version of the classic arcade game Pong which uses the same technology as self-driving cars (a LiDAR sensor) to create a 40-by-60ft playing surface. To encourage collaborative play the paddle only moves when both players on the same team shuffle their feet together.
An exploration of public play, GRiD imagines a future where social gaming and public space come together. Inspired by the dynamic arcade culture of the 1980s, GRiD revives social gaming spaces with classic game mechanics intact. Passers-by can join in with strangers or with friends to discover a whole new way of playing together.
Moment Factory describes this as the first 'prototype' in a series of arcade-related projects.
The aim of the experiment is to illustrate how public gaming experiences can work without requiring VR or other technologies that take players out of the real world.
GRiD is the culmination of a year or so experimentation using a LIDAR sensor. After writing custom software to detect point cloud clusters (moving humans), Moment Factory tested it and found one LIDAR in the corner of the room could reliably track the position of a dozen or so people.