filename     : Zun15c.pdf
entry        : 
conference   : 12th European Conference on Visual Media Production
pages        : 9:1--9:10 
year         : 2015
month        : 11
title        : Unfolding the 8-Bit Era
subtitle     :
author       : Fabio Zünd, Pascal Bérard, Alexandre Chapiro, Stefan Schmid, Mattia Ryffel, Markus Gross, Amit H. Bermano, Robert W. Sumner
booktitle    : Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Visual Media Production
ISSN/ISBN    : 978-1-4503-3560-7
editor       : 
publisher    : ACM
publ.place   : New York, NY, USA
volume       :
issue        :
language     : EN
keywords     : games, panoramic stitching, virtual reality
abstract     : We propose a hardware and software system that transforms 8-bit side-scrolling console video games into immersive multiplayer experiences. We enhance a classic video game console with custom hardware that time-multiplexes eight gamepad inputs to automatically hand off control from one gamepad to the next. Because control transfers quickly, people at a large event can frequently step in and out of a game and naturally call to their peers to join any time a gamepad is vacant. Video from the game console is captured and processed by a vision algorithm that stitches it into a continuous, expanding panoramic texture, which is displayed in real time on a 360 degree projection system at a large event space. With this system, side-scrolling games unfold across the walls of the room to encircle a large party, giving the feeling that the entire party is taking place inside of the game's world. When such a display system is not available, we also provide a virtual reality recreation of the experience. We show results of our system for a number of classic console games tested at a large live event. Results indicate that our work provides a successful recipe to create immersive, multiplayer, interactive experiences that leverage the nostalgic appeal of 8-bit games.