WatchCraft

Inspiration

For as long as PC games have been around, you have generally had two options for controlling them: a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad. Recently, control systems like the Microsoft Kinect have become increasingly popular, which inspired me to create a small-scale alternate control method for Minecraft.

What it does

WatchCraft replaces keyboard and mouse input in Minecraft with a combination of a Leap Motion hand position and tilt tracking system, and a Pebble Time acting as extra input and a second screen.

How I built it

I used pebble.js to build the watchapp, because of its WebSocket support. I used Python to interface with the Pebble and the Leap Motion, and to control Minecraft.

Challenges I ran into

While I was able to replicate most of the Minecraft controls required for feasible gameplay, the way that Minecraft handles mouse movement prevented me from implementing camera controls in this version of WatchCraft.

Designing the interaction with the smartwatch was also a challenge, as I really had to balance the amount of smartwatch interaction with the amount of gesture control I was implementing.

What I learned

This was my first experience with smartwatch applications, so I gained quite a bit of experience working with embedded systems.

What's next for WatchCraft

While WatchCraft was first and foremost a thought experiment on alternative interfaces, it could potentially be developed into a way for people with RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) to enjoy Minecraft, as its gesture-based interface requires less of the motion associated with the injury. The code can also be easily modified to support other keyboard-and-mouse games (such as Portal and Portal 2), which may provide opportunities for further development. The code for the project is open source (under the MIT license), so many adaptations of this concept are also possible.