Project Overview

This project consists of two interactive games created for the ESL Digital Worlds: Level Up exhibition at The Strong National Museum of Play. Designed for young visitors, the installations combine retro game aesthetics, real-time interaction, and physical interfaces to explore how digital play shapes contemporary imagination.

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Artistic Concept

Both pieces reinterpret classic game tropes—pixel racing and tower-defense strategy—through playful visual language and tactile interaction. By blending game nostalgia with modern procedural techniques, the installations aim to connect physical engagement with digital storytelling in a museum environment.

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Technical Approach

Game 1 – ​Demolition Derby
Created in Unity with a custom pixel-style rendering pipeline. Camera projection, sprite filtering, and shader-based color quantization were used to emulate 8-bit aesthetics while maintaining smooth gameplay.

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Game 2 – Tower Defense Game
Level layouts and enemy paths were generated procedurally using Houdini, then imported into Unity for gameplay logic.
Three types of towers were 3D-printed with embedded sensors, enabling players to place physical objects on the table to spawn matching towers in the digital scene. This physical-digital hybrid interface formed the core of the interactivity.a