Prototype Dev Camp - Day 2

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Downstairs the students are confronted with the courier cyclists that are still suffering from the cold and rain, somewhere in the Netherlands in their 24hour race. Dub-cycle-step is still booming from the speakers and the live reporting is still going strong, although the reporting boys are not looking to fresh and are a bit coffee-d up. Soon though, the first cyclists will check into Mediamatic, finishing their 450 km track madness and maybe some new cycle of energy will fill the Bank.

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The students take their first or second (+) coffee of the day and slowly move away from the cycle area, towards their own little hacker den. Yesterday a number of concept-projects saw the light of day. Today the students will start developing their plans towards reality. In the afternoon there will be a decisive group moment with Willem ('the reality check'), in which four projects will be chosen to be fully developed. This decision will be based on popularity, feasibility and if in fact the project is interesting for the Sur Place exhibition.
The morning starts with two brainstorm sessions. The students are asked to join forces and form groups with other students they don't know yet, to cross-wire some ideas. After the brainstorming sessions, they have to present their projects and stick them as post-its on the wall.

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The first work that is presented involves fixed (home-trainer) bikes. In this project, the two bikes (the 'input devices') will steer a virtual or a real vehicle; the speed of the left bike will be mapped to the left wheels and the right to the right wheels of the vehicle. This project could also be used to emulate Pong or Pacman.
A second student comes up and braids forward on the latter. In his Pong proposal, the bikes are fixed in a rails and function as bats, while in between the bikes, on the ground, the projection of a puck bounces between the two.
The VJ/DJ biking concept is also still present. In its current form, the speed of the bikes will influence the speed of the music and/or video loops. Another student puts forward that maybe this project could be augmented by adding booby traps to the trail, that will trigger particular sounds and visuals.
A fourth project based on competitive racing, involves the ghost-times of previous players, projected in the form of LED strips following or preceding the bikers. While yet in another competitive project,based on the Atari game Paperboy, bikers can score points by throwing papers, provided with RFID tag, in a mailbox. There is also a stand alone project based on Simon Says, a four button memory game that indicates which buttons sequence need to be pushed. A selection of smaller not so popular games are also presented, but are almost directly dismissed.
Willem sets a couple of ground rules: in order to take part in the Sur Place exhibition, the project does not only need to be 'fun' and have something to do with biking, it also needs to look good and be 'hufter proof' (strong enough to withstand the force of brutal users). While the students conclude which four projects they want to develop (Pong, Paperboy, DJ/VJ and Simon Says) Willems also adds a 5th personal wish, the Goldsprint. The Goldsprint is based on riders on stationary bikes who compete against each other, while drinking beer in front of a crowd of cheering friends.
In the afternoon the students create their groups and finally prototyping the projects.