You are the Ship in Immersive, Life-Size Asteroids Game

Human Meteors is an immersive re-creation of the classic Atari game known as Asteroids. It takes the original gameplay and turns it into an interactive experience by introducing an old school computer projector, a regular office chair, a motion-sensing camera, and a Wii Remote along with some custom code.

Gamers sit on a modified swivel chair with a Wiimote attached to the top while a 1980’s projector displays the virtual objects on the floor. When a person moves the chair, a Microsoft Kinect tracks their location and changes the direction of the “spaceship.” The button on the Wiimote fires lasers directly in front, taking down anything in the way.

Atari founder Nolan Bushnell even tried it out. “To be actually the ship is really wonderful,” he says. “This way it was real, and that makes it even more fun.” The game was developed by Two Bit Circus — Eric Gradman and Brent Bushnell (Nolan’s son) — for their STEAM Carnival and draws a crowd wherever they take it.