Terra — Kayla Blalack Portfolio

KAYLA BLALACK

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October - December 2024
Team: Kayla Blalack, Vishaka Nirmal

Terra is an AI-powered handheld party game developed at Brown and RISD’s Master of Arts in Design Engineering. In a $184.4 billion gaming industry dominated by traditional board games and digital platforms, hybrid physical-digital games remain underexplored. Terra bridges this gap—it combines tactile interaction with emerging technology to create an endlessly dynamic experience. The few hybrid games on the market suffer from limited replayability and aesthetics that clash with modern homes. Developed with a human-centered, iterative design philosophy, Terra targets adult gamers (ages 20-40) and addresses a market opportunity for sophisticated gaming experiences.

I worked with Vishaka, a UX designer, on this project. We traded off our work throughout the process, but Vishaka primarily focused on the software and interface while I developed the device’s hardware and physical interaction.

Research

Vishaka and I set off to become experts on existing party games, investigating peer-reviewed articles about gaming, online board game forums, and independent and big-box game stores. The cornerstone of our research was a set of interviews with 24 target demographic participants, supplemented by a consultation with gaming industry veteran Monty Sharma. We wanted to know what games players love, why they love them, and where they fit in the market.

Our takeaways: People reach for party games that create a sense of camaraderie through energizing challenge. For adult professionals, these games tend to be stored away due to a lack of replayability and brightly colored packaging that clashes with home decor. We saw an opportunity to create a console homeowners would proudly display rather than hide away.

Ideation

We mapped our research findings by game mechanic, then added our novel game sketches to the map.
This enabled us to identify market opportunities while building upon proven gaming principles.

Proven games in color, new ideas in white (click to expand).

We filtered down our ideas for prototyping according to key metrics:

Can we feasibly prototype this?
Does it create camaraderie?
Is it replayable over multiple sittings?
Is the gameplay enhanced by electronics?

Prototyping

Our ideation and prototyping process led us to a high-risk, high-reward idea: reimagining Infinite Craft. This online web game by the developer Neal Agarwal became popular in Summer 2024, collecting a fanbase and gameplay videos with millions of views. It provides a novel, creative interaction with an LLM that inspires awe and delight. We wondered: how can we apply this mechanic to a collaborative phygital game, while also focusing on an adult aesthetic?

Then began our second, more focused iteration loop designing the controllers. Our form factor explorations were driven by ergonomics and visceral satisfaction. Should the controllers be moldable? Which parts should be squishy? How should the item be manipulated for the most “primal” and pleasant feeling?

Prototyping these devices occurred across three tracks: form factor, squish/click interaction, and software development. Form and dimensions were tested with cardboard prototypes. The most successful of these were later integrated with pushbuttons, foams, and elastomers for higher-fidelity iterations.

We also mapped out how we could feasibly use a large language model to effectively create connections between words. Through rigorous testing of LLMs (Llama, OpenAI, and Gemini), we developed our game using OpenAI's API via a WiFi-enabled microcontroller. We engineered a prompt structure to generate parseable, semantically meaningful combinations: "What is semantically midway between 'input 1' and 'input 2'? Respond with a single noun and provide a single emoji that best represents this noun." User testing validated our prompt engineering and helped us select ChatGPT as our model, with participants consistently preferring its more intuitive responses (e.g., "Otter" as the midpoint between "Water" and "Dog").

The physical design underwent extensive user testing with diverse groups, including the 20-person MADE cohort, 18 RISD undergraduates, and target demographic representatives. This iterative feedback process drove key refinements to the ergonomics and interface, including:

Optimization of the form factor to two primary designs
Strategic repositioning of scroll wheels from top to back surface
Adjustment of side pad dimensions for improved ergonomics and squish feel

Refining

The final deliverable for this project took the form of two prototype game controllers and corresponding minigame cards to guide collaborative play.

The hemispherical controller has a hard top plate and flexible dome. Users rest their hands around the dome and use scroll wheels to rotate through their inventory on each side. After choosing two elements, they push in on the flexible dome, which then requests a new element based on the combination.

The semicylindrical controller’s scroll wheels sit at the top of the enclosure, where the users’ pointer fingers naturally rest while holding the device. Both sides of the device are made of a flexible material, allowing the user to squish both palms inwards to combine elements.

To encourage collaborative gameplay, we designed a set of minigame cards to guide users. Each card has instructions for game setup, information on its collaborative/competitive nature, and any additional tools players may need. We envision these cards as a starting point for players to begin their crafting journey, and that each group of players will eventually create house rules for gameplay.

Impact

Our project breaks new ground in gaming through two key innovations: the integration of LLMs with tactile gameplay and the elevation of party games through sophisticated aesthetics. While AI has revolutionized digital gaming, its potential in physical games remains largely untapped. Terra combines AI-powered infinite replayability with compelling tactile interactions. Furthermore, by challenging the notion that play belongs solely to children, we've created an aesthetically sophisticated gaming object. This proves that adult-oriented design can coexist with engaging gameplay.

Future work would focus on software enhancement (reducing latency, running a small LLM locally), hardware refinement (replacing 3D-printed TPU with molded silicone), and gameplay evolution (playtesting game modes). We plan to submit the current prototype to CHI PLAY 2025, the Association of Computing Machinery’s game design conference at Carnegie Mellon.