CS122A Fall 2004 Project: Dance Dance Revolution (DDR)

Design Metrics

The main design metrics that will be used to evaluate your game include:

Display quality -- The game should display approaching steps in a smooth manner, light the user's steps effectively, intuitively display the accurracy of the user's step, and clearly display the current score and success meter.
Accuracy -- the goal here is to accurately detect user steps synchronized with the music and displayed step.
Game quality -- The game should behave in a consistent manner, keeping score appropriately, etc.
Cost -- your game should be as low cost as possible, as this product should be a low-cost alternative -- lower cost may mean a bigger sales market.
Portability -- users should be able to pack/unpack and setup the game easily.
Music synchronization -- you likely won't be able to fully automatically synchronize with playing music. For this project, approximate or even human-assisted methods are acceptable. The goal here is to approximate a fully automatic synchronization as closely as possible.

Additional metrics that will be considered for a part of the main grade and for extra credit include:

"FUN" factor -- the goal here is to create a game that is fun to play. The game should encourage good players, and do something fun when a player is losing and loses -- similar in idea to the PS2 version, but you should come up with unique features here. Creativity will contribute to part of this factor.

Schedule

You'll have the last 5 weeks (Weeks 6-10) to work on this project, but you will have something due every week.

Due Week 6:

(10%) Tradeoff analysis

Design parameters

Several leading implementation choices

A clear description of your choice of implementation. Should clearly define the function and architecture of your eventual final implementation.

Interview

Due Week 7:

(15%) First Prototype

Should do *something* DDR-like -- perhaps handheld buttons and only two LEDs but with scoring, or perhaps blinking LEDs showing sequence of steps, etc.

Will be evaluated based on establishing solid base for remaining design

Legally-acquired electronic song file

Due Week 8:

(15%) Second prototype

Will be evaluated based on having attained at least half of final system's functionality

Interview

Due Week 9:

Thanksgiving week

Due Week 10:

(30%) Final version -- evaluated using above design metrics

(10%) Final report -- should include an updated tradeoff analysis, entire report must be on the web in a single directory suitable for electronic turnin

(10%) Final interviews

(10%) Competition -- must have fully-working DDR game of acceptable quality to be eligible for competition

Notes

Build incrementally. Save previous versions whenever possible as a fall-back.
Grades received for a prototype are given with knowledge of the short time. For example, you may receive an "A" on your second prototype -- this does NOT mean that if you turn in that prototype as your final project, you will that same grade. What's A work for two weeks of effort may be F work for five weeks of effort.
Final interviews are intended to ensure both partners fully understand all aspects of the project. Thus, you should not just divide the work into disjoint parts.

Resources

Results

Photos of the competition

FPGAs: It's a Revolution!

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Due Week 6:	(10%) Tradeoff analysis Design parameters Several leading implementation choices A clear description of your choice of implementation. Should clearly define the function and architecture of your eventual final implementation. Interview
Due Week 7:	(15%) First Prototype Should do something DDR-like -- perhaps handheld buttons and only two LEDs but with scoring, or perhaps blinking LEDs showing sequence of steps, etc. Will be evaluated based on establishing solid base for remaining design Legally-acquired electronic song file
Due Week 8:	(15%) Second prototype Will be evaluated based on having attained at least half of final system's functionality Interview
Due Week 9:	Thanksgiving week
Due Week 10:	(30%) Final version -- evaluated using above design metrics (10%) Final report -- should include an updated tradeoff analysis, entire report must be on the web in a single directory suitable for electronic turnin (10%) Final interviews (10%) Competition -- must have fully-working DDR game of acceptable quality to be eligible for competition