Genesis 2150: Feed Bobo! is a playful intergalactic food adventure where you become Earth’s first-ever alien chef. Your guest? Bobo — a curious, emotion-filled creature from a faraway world with a very particular palate. Through a series of hands-on gestures like chopping and squishing, you’ll choose three ingredients from a mix of Earth favourites (chocolate, banana, meat) and bizarre alien delicacies. Your custom dish is “cooked” and revealed in dramatic style — and when it’s ready, the cabinet lights up. But will Bobo love your creation... or explode in disgust? That’s the risk of cosmic cuisine. Feed Bobo! blends story, surprise, and taste-driven diplomacy to explore how food might one day help us connect with species beyond our stars — no translation needed, just flavour.
MDF (3mm / 6mm) laser cut panels, Laser-cut number labels, 3D printed food models (10 units), Adafruit Feather ESP32 V2 microcontroller, HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor, Red LED (x1), Breadboard, jumper wires, resistors, USB webcam, Unity (Game Engine), MediaPipe (Gesture Detection Plugin), Touchscreen display (capacitive), Laptop, Bluetooth speaker.
Absurd Egg is a speculative interactive installation, which offers users the chance to remake different creatures’ DNA into new lifeforms. The machine enables the users to pick alien eggs, extract their DNA by moving the joystick, and create quirky nature living on the screen. The process of creation is done in real-time and is linked to a QR code, which users can scan and access their own specially created creature in a browser on mobile phone. The installation employs sensing devices, motors, LEDs, and computer-generated graphics to erase the barriers betwee science and biology. The installation blends physical hardware interaction with biogenic design, provoking reflection on the boundaries between artificial evolution and life itself.
2 Raspberry Pi Pico 1 micro conroller, 2 6V 30 RPM Gear Motor, 2 L298N DC Motor Driver, 8 WS2812B LED, 3 Button, Joystick, 30 cm linear sliding rail, 20 cm linear sliding rail, MDF Materials, Acrylic Materials, M3 and M2.5 Nuts, M3 and M2.5 screws, USB-C cables.
In the distant future, humans ventured deep into the cosmos and uncovered mysterious alien eggs—known as symbiotic genesis units—that remained dormant in typical environments. These lifeforms could only hatch through a sustained bond with another being. To support this, a Virtual Incubator was developed, sensing touch, voice, and real-time heartbeats. These inputs generate resonance energy, allowing the creature within to synchronize and grow. Each awakened being reflects the rhythm of its partner. Now, one such egg lies silently before you, waiting for a matching heartbeat. Will you be the one to awaken it?
Laser cut, 3D printer, Adafruit Feather ESP32 V2 microcontroller, Offline Voice recognition sensor module ( microphone & speaker included), Finger Sleeve Heart Rate Sensor, Distance sensor, LED stick, Servo motor.
Feelien is the one that doesn’t speak our language, but feels, responds, and learns through interaction. Designed with sensors such as ultrasonic distance detection and touch sensitivity, the being reacts in real time to human presence, proximity, and contact. Its personality evolves based on how people engage with it, displaying emotional states through movement, vibration, and color. The alien is curious but cautious: it may hide inside its shell, glow softly in shades of joy, or shiver when confused. Participants are invited to approach, communicate, and reflect. Each interaction subtly changes the alien’s behavior and emotional profile, offering a glimpse into a speculative future where empathy might extend beyond the human. Feelien doesn’t just listen—it learns to feel with you.
MDF laser cutter,acrylic laser cutter,thermal printer,step motor 28BYJ-48、Inkscape、Stepper motor, LED Matrix, Air pump, Microphone & Speaker, OLED I2C Display, Conductive fabric, balloon, clay、Adafruit ESP32、react, nodejs, xfyunTTS ,xfyunSTT, gemini-1.5-flash
This interactive device is inspired by the famous Sci-Fi film "Interstellar", in which the protagonist Cooper and his daughter achieved "communication across dimensions, time and space, and even life and death." By using different sensors and 3D imaging effects, we are committed to creating a unique interactive experience for users. Doubles Laboratory invites you to step into the Souls Forest in 2070, and personally start an unprecedented spiritual dialogue. You can interact with soul in various ways: You can search for soul by shaking this device, send signals to soul through branch in the forest, and inject life energy into soul. What is even more surprising is that you can exchange gifts with soul, the living and the dead will find eternal resonance in the exchange of gifts. Please bring your curiosity and respect, and then experience the ultimate fusion of technology and emotion through our Soul Capture Communicator.
MDF Laser cut (Device box and imaging box), Thermal printer, 3D printed flowers, 3D printed trees, 3D printed soul, ESP32, Momentary Push Button Switch, Humidifier Module, 5M RGB LED Strip, MPU6050’s 3-axis accelerometer, Ultrasonic Distance Sensor (RCWL-1601) – 3 to 5V, 5mm LEDs (Red), RP-L-170 Thin Film Pressure Sensor, iPhone (SE), MacBook Pro, Breadboards, Jumper Wire 20cm Ribbon (F/F, M/M, M/F), Screws, Fabric (Black, Green and Black gauze), and some leaves.
What if you had the power to control a conscious entity, through a seemingly simple yet unconventional interface? Would your interactions be compassionate, merciful or would they take a darker, more perverse turn? Inspired by the concept of voodoo dolls, this experiment explores the ethical complexities of power, morality, and machine autonomy through Frank – a sentient AI humanoid whose physical and emotional states respond to your every touch. Participants are invited to interact with Frank, with the knowledge that every action – whether gentle or aggressive – directly affects it. Frank displays real-time emotional feedback through sound and animations, creating a dynamic loop that illustrates the immediate consequences. By confronting individuals with a moral dilemma, coupled with an unfamiliar interaction medium, the experiment probes into the ethical boundaries of AI-human relationships and invites reflection not just on how we treat machines, but what our treatment of them reveals about us.
Adafruit ESP32 Feather V2, Adafruit FLORA, InvenSense MPU-6050 Sensor, Adafruit APDS9960 Light Sensor, NXP MFRC522 Contactless RFID Breakout Module, RFID Stickers, Capacitive Cloth, Conductive Thread, SpectraSymbol Flex Sensor, PiicoDev VEML6040 Colour Sensor, 3D Printed Miniature Objects, Laser Cut 3mm MDF Chairs, Adafruit Stemma QT, Jumper Cables, Soldering Board, Various Fabrics, Buttons
Who Pulls the Strings? explores the shifting power dynamic between humans and AI. This interactive installation features a puppet controlled by servos and invisible threads, responding to human voice, gestures, and facial expressions. At first, the puppet obeys, raising a hand or waving, but gradually begins to resist. What starts as a simple tool evolves into something unpredictable, blurring the line between puppet and master, command and emotion. As AI increasingly takes on human roles, the work asks: are we truly in control, or being subtly led? Who, in the end, pulls the strings?
laser cut, Adafruit Feather ESP32 V2 microcontroller, OpenAI Whisper (speech-to-text) module, servo motor, button, LED strip, FeatherWing V2 480X320 TFT
Introducing Insight: an interactive installation where touch uncovers the truth. This system simulates embodied crime reconstruction within speculative policing scenarios. Visitors take on the role of a future investigator, using sensor-embedded gloves to interact with a holographic interface. As users progress through multi-stage tasks such as scanning physical evidence and gesture recognition, the system responds with synchronised visuals, spatial audio, and haptic feedback. It then calculates a matching score and generates personalised deduction results through animated visuals and descriptive text. The experience invites reflection on how truth is reconstructed—and by whom—in a world oversaturated with data.
Adafruit Feather ESP32 V2, MPU6050 Sensor, UHF RFID readers & tags, WS2812B RGB LED Strip, WS2812B LED RGB Ring, Gravity Vibration Motor Module, Mini push button switches, Wearable glove, Laser-cut MDF case, 3d-printed props, Laptop, Bluetooth speaker, HTML, JavaScript (Three.js), CSS, Python
DanceBlaster is a provocative reimagining of conventional weapons, replacing bullets with beats. The system features a wrist-worn DanceBlaster gun and a wrist-worn Dance Detector, which acts as a speculative stand-in for future brain-implanted chips. Together they enforce the rule: dance or die. When the gun detects a threat, it sends a Bluetooth signal to the target’s Dance Detector, which vibrates, emits sound, and uses a gyroscope to confirm the user is dancing. Failure to comply results in a simulated “death.” The only way to abort the sequence is through a voice command, introducing a layer of human agency in an otherwise automated system. Inspired by speculative futures of brain-implant control and behavioral enforcement, DanceBlaster explores how movement, surveillance, and control can collide in absurd yet chilling ways. DanceBlaster imagines a world where conflict is settled through dance, not destruction.
MDF laser cut, 3D printing, Adafruit Feather ESP32 V2 microcontroller, Adafruit MPU-6050 6-DoF Accelerometer and Gyroscope, Rasberry Pi 4, 3.5 inch Rasberry Pi Touch Screen LCD Display Module, Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3, Bluetooth 4.2 Audio Receiver Board with Amplifier, Stereo Enclosed Speaker Set, Mini External USB Stereo Speaker, USB 2.0 Mini Microphone, Gravity Vibration Motor Module for Arduino, A02YYUW Waterproof Ultrasonic Sensor, 16mm Illuminated Pushbutton (Blue Momentary), OpenAI Whisper (speech-to-text) module. Portable Power Bank x 2, 5V Lazer module, 5V Neon LED Strips, 5pc velcro wrist straps, computer vision software.
As human environments become increasingly hostile—whether due to climate change on Earth or the harsh conditions of other planets—the need for controlled, life-sustaining habitats has never been greater. The DOME (Digital Operation for Modular Ecosystems) project explores how technology can recreate Earth’s familiar rhythms in artificial environments. Inside each DOME, users can adjust time, weathers, and seasons, restoring a sense of normalcy and comfort. Supporting this is an AI-powered assistant—a practical interface that responds to voice commands, manages environmental settings, and helps users navigate their personalized habitat with ease. By combining immersive environmental control with intelligent assistance, DOME raises critical questions: How does living in an artificial Earth-like space affect our connection to nature? Can digital ecosystems, guided by AI, provide emotional comfort, routine, and social continuity when the world outside becomes unfamiliar?
3D-printed Melbourne cityscape, glass bowl dome, laser-cut MDF and acrylic panels, Adafruit ESP32 Feather microcontroller, switches, buttons, gyroscope sensors, RGB LED strips, Unity engine, thrust ball bearing, OpenAI Whisper (speech recognition), GPT-4.1, USB microphone.
This project explores the intersection of speculative technology, environmental control and human interaction through an interactive "weather cloud" device. Inspired by the movie "The Truman Show", this device allows users to control the position of clouds through gestures and simulate various weather conditions such as sunny days, rain or thunderstorms. Different light colors represent different weather effects, and these effects will also be presented in real time in the Unity virtual environment, enhancing the sense of immersion. Clouds symbolize human fantasies of controlling nature, provoking thoughts about our desire to manipulate and predict the climate. This project integrates physical computing, environmental narrative and digital simulation to create an experience that is both interesting and thought-provoking.
Adafruit ESP32 Feather V2, Solderless Breadboard, Jumper Wire 20cm Ribbon, Universal AC Adaptor, DC Jack, 5V 3A USB A to Type-C Cable, Round Force-Sensitive Resistor (FSR), Ultrasonic Distance Sensor, Resistor, Stepper motor, Flora RGB Smart NeoPixel, 2ply Stainless Thin Conductive Thread, 3D print rack, pinion and cloud, MDF laser cut, Acrylic laser cut, Sand and foam board
Our immersive interactive prototype begins when user activates capacitive touch sensor, triggering Unity to launch a sci-fi video animation and initiate facial expression scanning. The system tracks facial landmarks and classifies emotions in real time, rendering a pixelated glitch mask over the user’s face. Simultaneously, the heart rate sensor feeds data into Unity. User then responds to two questions, controlled by pressing FSR patch for emotional intensity and hand tilting direction by MPU accelerometer respectively. These inputs are processed in Unity and displayed through animated visual metaphors. Upon confirmation via a physical button, vibration pulse signals the conclusion of the scan, and the system analyzes all collected data above and synthesizes a personalized fate report. Thermal printer will produce a full written fate report. Two servo-controlled discs rotate will reveal the user’s potential physical avatar symbolically. Unity integrates all visuals, real-time interactions, classification logic, and communication with Arduino.
Software: Unity, MediaPipe Hardware: ELEGOO Mega 2560 R3, MAX30102 Pulse Oximeter and Heart Rate Sensor, MPU-6050 Motion Tracking Sensor Module, Force Sensitive Resistor, TTP223 Capacitive Touch Sensor Module, Button, RGB LED, 28BYJ-48 Stepper Motor Other: A black and white thermal printer, MDF laser cut, 3D Printing - Shaft coupler
When humanity exists as data and uploaded to a vast server, how will we live and interact? In a future, a rare cascade of solar superflares annihilated the Earth. With no habitable planet found yet, people abandon their bodies and upload the consciousness to a vast server. Many lose their vision—retinas torn away after staring into the blistering sun. From this crisis, the external “eye” Blindspace Beacon comes out. These smart glasses fuse depth sensing with tactile feedback. Along the inner frame sit three inflatable micro-cells that cover a 120-degree field—left, forward, and right. When an obstacle is detected, the corresponding cell inflates in seconds, pressing gently against the wearer’s brow and cheekbones to create a directional pressure cue. The distinct tactile signatures of the left, middle, and right zones let blind users pinpoint hazards without vision. And guiding them safely through the pitch-black digital realm and the fractured remnants of the physical world.
MDF laser cut box, 3D printed Glasses part, ESP32, Arduino UNO R4 WIFI, Laplop, Breadboard, Balloon, Air clay, Elastic band, hose, 3 air pumps, 3 solenoid valves, gyroscope MPU6050, Wires
Lets Chat! This portable braille communicator is dual-function system bridging communication between visually and hearing-impaired individuals. Imagining an time in the future where humanity has migrated to the Moon to allow planet Earth to heal itself through time. As oxygen becomes a scarce it has triggered genetic mutations, gradually people are able to breath however many now live in complete silence or total darkness, unable to tolerate ambient sound or light. Our devices enables users to take a photo of their written text and converts that into braille character outputted using solenoids, spoken output, or visual text on an screen. Using buttons users can also input braille characters, where the system will translates into readable messages for others. This prototype imagines a new form of inclusive communication across sensory needs, reshaping interaction in a world where language, light, and sound are no longer universal.
Adafruit Feather ESP32 V2 microcontroller, Android Phone, MDF laser cut, Unity, Buttons, Solenoids, Relays, Tesseract Open Source OCR, Display, Speaker, 3D printed button covers, External power supply, Breadboards
SpinConnect is a wearable interactive device designed to encourage fun, physical, and consent-based social interactions. Worn on the wrist, the device features a spring-loaded launching mechanism powered by a compact coil and battery system. With a simple action, the user can activate the launcher to shoot a soft suction cup outward. The suction cup is attached to a lightweight string, allowing it to extend toward another person and make contact with their body. After contact, the recipient can press a button on their wearable receiver to accept or decline the invitation. Their response is then communicated through visual signals on an LED display, making the interaction clear and respectful. SpinConnect blends fantasy with technology to invite users—especially those who find social interaction difficult—to take the first step toward real-world connection through movement, curiosity, and consent.
Wood board, string, coil, spring, Micro:bit, AAA batteries, battery holder
This interactive prototype is a sci-fi-themed VR experience that simulates toxic gas exposure and health management using a "embeded" electronic lung system. Users will explore a modular industrial environment built within unity, equipped with VR head-set that visualizes lung health, toxin levels, and inhaler progress. An Arduino-based air-switch is attached to the controller, detecting real-world inhalation and triggering a digital inhaler within the VR environment. When players approach gas leaks, their healthy level decreases, requiring timely use of the inhaler for recovery. The prototype combines embodied interaction, physical feedback , and immersive storytelling to explore how bio-data can provide real-time instructions on critical decisions in virtual environments. It aims to highlight the role of responsive interfaces in maintaining awareness, and emotional engagement during high-risk environments.
Oculus Quest 2, Unity, Adafruit Feather ESP32 V2 microcontroller, air-flow switch, air-quality sensor, display laptop, plastic mask.
Mind Link is a wearable installation that transforms physiological data into a poetic, shared experience. Participants wear a headpiece shaped like ant antennae and a wristband that senses body temperature and heart rate. When two users reach a physiological sync, the antennae glow the same colour and bend into a heart shape. Whether between lovers, friends, or strangers, Mind Link reveals the invisible bonds that connect us—making emotional resonance and human closeness feel visible, vibrational, and alive.
Adafruit Feather ESP32 V2, SCD4x CO₂/temperature/humidity sensor, MAX30105 heart rate sensor, WS2812B LED strip, headband and wristband structure, Servo motor, Jumper wires, Breadboard, Flexible wire,Power regulator
In a future shaped by the loss of all digital storage following a global crisis, the act of preserving human memories has become sacred. With EchoGems, individuals can now safeguard precious memories by encoding them into gemstones through a seamless process. Unlike traditional storage methods, the durability of diamonds and other gems makes them ideal for long-term preservation. Combined with jewellery, this enables the creation of heirlooms that contain a person's most defining memories to be worn or passed onto future generations. Any gemstone with a crystal structure may be used, with its rarity influencing the memory’s length and clarity. Each gem becomes a timeless vessel, holding experiences that may one day evoke joy, reflection, or even sorrow. As such, this device allows you or your descendants to relive the moments that once defined a life.
Adafruit Feather ESP32 V2 microcontroller, RFID reader, NFC tags, LED strip, Spraypainted 3D Printed PLA, Plastic gems, Copper wire, Lasercut MDF, Microphone, Speaker, Laptop
Our prototype is a proof-of-concept system inspired by the idea of artificial womb in some sci-fi backgrounds. Traditionally, the system is focusing on the maintaining infants health but lack of detecting external environment. In this new design, our system monitors the surrounding areas for potential threats to infants. The camera with AI recognition could detect secondhand smoke and approaching pets (webpage UI will simultaneously update the corresponding animations); the DHT22 sensor could track real-time temperature. If a threat is detected, a buzzer and LEDs provide immediate alerts. Users could also press a button to switch between camera detection mode and temperature detection mode, this provides flexibility of using this system. Additionally, the air pump controlled by transistor simulates regular breathing patterns, adding more vivid biological simulations of small babies. We hope this design could demonstrate a better path for the infant protection system in the future.
Raspberry Pi 4B, 5MP Raspberry Pi Camera, Button, Buzzer, smal Leds, DHT22, Air Pump, Transistor
Aeternum is a Sci-fi Euro-style strategy game set across a multiverse of four divergent timelines fractured by a cosmic rift of time and space. Each timeline has asymmetrical strengths, offering distinct unique resources and their respective challenges. As guardians of their civilization, players must stabilize their timeline by harvesting resources, constructing powerful structures, researching unpredictable technologies, and trading or competing with others with the end goal of eternity. Players interact with tactile components like resource tokens, action and tech cards, structure tokens across a dynamic multiverse. Key mechanics include minimizing Paradox (unstable anomalies) gain, using harvested resources and Echoes (fragments of time), and travelling through Time Rifts to access rare resources across timelines. Every choice carries consequences, making Aeternum a game of calculated risk, adaptation, and temporal mastery.
Action, Objective, Tech, Structure Recipe Cards: Designed in Figma, Physical cards cut out from paper and stuck to blank cards Resource, Penalty, Structure Tokens: Designed in Figma, Physical tokens cut out from paper and stuck to hand cut balsa wood circles Playing Board Tiles: Designed in Figma, Physical tiles cut out from paper and stuck to hand cut balsa wood hexagons and combined on greyboard Mini Instruction Sheets: Designed in Canva, Printed and Laminated Mini Resource Counter Sheets: Designed in Canva, Printed and Laminated
Star Employee is a 24-player euro board game which you are an employee for the space collector company. You have to compete against your collegues to work harder. Players have to plan their actions such as move, harvest, deposit or upgrade resources across the map for becoming the star employee.
Game components: Map Board, Player Board, Resource tokens, Timetable schedule, Player tokens Software: Canva, laser cut, printer.
Cosmic Chaos is a strategic territory-control board game where players compete for dominance across a network of interconnected planets. Each player assumes the role of a unique Alien Race, equipped with a favoured resource that must be strategically managed to control planets, extract resources, expand their inter-planetary presence, defend holdings, and conquer rival colonies. Players place outposts, upgrade territories, and clash with rivals in a race to build the most powerful race. The game unfolds over three simultaneous phases: Attack , Invest and Collect where Cosmic Chance Cards throw unexpected galactic events like pandemics or scientific breakthroughs into the mix, reshaping strategies and game states. With multiple win conditions and a blend of offence, defence, and diplomacy, Cosmic Chaos rewards strategic foresight, adaptive play, and interplanetary cunning. In this volatile galaxy, dominance isn't given - it's taken, one planet at a time.
Cards, tokens, game board, 3D printing, silicone moulding & resin casting, paper and cardstock, glue and cutters
In a near distant future where authoritarian regimes have taken over, market systems are exploited and critical thinking is suppressed. This is a world fueled by capitalism, imposing inequality as knowledge and intellectuals are persecuted. Welcome to Dept. 7, the division of the ruling corporate company with a goal to collect and destroy all 'artefacts' which are remnants of humanities. In this worker placement game with hidden roles, players begin at different corporate ranks 'from intern to senior manager' each with unique advantages. The goal: climb the corporate ladder while completing your secret objective, whether to serve the Company, support the Rebellion, or pursue your own agenda. Place workers in color-coded rooms to collect artefacts, gain reputation, manage your budget, or sabotage others through event cards. The game satirizes power and privilege while challenging players to navigate a system designed to suppress truth.
Game components: Cards, Artefacts, Reputations, Action (Event and Rewards), Character cards (Staff and Hidden Identity), Budget coins (1, 2, and 5), 5 character meeples, Worker pieces, Dept.7 game board, Circular color pieces for each room, Corporate ladder that multifunctions as our board game box, Coffee mug starter tracker Tools or software: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Premiere Pro, Rhino 3D, Canva, Printer, 3D printer, Cutter, Laser cutter, Spray paint, Dremel tools, Sand paper, Corner cutter
Junkyard imagines a bleak yet heartwarming future shaped by loss, repair, and care. In it, players play as lonely scavenger robots in a trash-covered landscape, drafting parts from the Junkyard to repair and rebuild old, discarded robots. Set in a post-human environment, the game explores what it means to rebuild'not just machines, but relationships. Through its core mechanics, Junkyard invites players to scavenge thoughtfully and minimize waste, with the aim of constructing a surrogate community of fellow robots who offer companionship and support. It questions overconsumption and proposes a future where healing the world starts with mending what's been discarded. Mechanically, each robot you repair helps you in turn'reflecting a hopeful vision of resilience born from ruin. Junkyard imagines a sci-fi future not defined by conquest or collapse, but by kindness, connection, and sustainable care.
Game Components: gear pieces, robot cards, workbench, factories, rule sheet Tools and software: Figma, Procreate, 3D printing, printer, card stock, acrylic paint
In this two-player game, players take turns placing obstacles of different shapes onto a magnetic board. At the top of the board are two start points, and at the bottom, two bins, one for each player. The goal is to build a path that allows a ball, dropped from the start point, to roll into your own bin. Whoever succeeds first wins. The obstacles act as both tools and challenges, requiring players to plan paths carefully while reacting to the opponent's moves. The games sci-fi theme imagines a future earth overwhelmed by waste disposal. Trash often ends up just next to the bin instead of inside it. By making players construct paths just to 'throw something away,' the game highlights a key point: in real life, it's actually much easier to put the trash into the bin. The experience encourages a shift toward more mindful environmental behaviour.
Game Components: Cards, Tokens, Magnetic board, Obstacles (made from paper or 3D-printed), Stickers, Ball Software used: Canva, Printer, 3D printer, Sharp3D
Mars conquest is a competitive strategy board game where four futuristic colonies fight for control over the planet Mars. Set in an imagined dystopian future, the game immerses players in a battle for survival and dominance. Players take on the role of one of four characters - Aliens, Robots, Travelers or Astronauts - gathering resources, trading with or sabotaging others and constructing outposts to advance their position. The core mechanics focus on resource management, tactical planning and interactive conflict, encouraging players to adapt and outsmart their opponents. The sci-fi theme is incorporated in the experience by the detailed space landscape. The game board represents a dystopian version of mars, complete with domed buildings, spaceship wrecks and abandoned greenhouse labs from previous failed missions to colonize the planet. The actions and visual elements reinforce the futuristic setting, immersing players in the sci-fi theme, and encouraging them to strategically plan to achieve ultimate victory.
Game Components: 1 Game Board, 50 Resource cards, 40 Movement cards, 30 Action cards, 4 meeples (1 x Traveller, 1 x Astronaut, 1 x Alien, 1 x Robot), 40 character build pieces, 4 x Resource Bank, 30 x Resource Tokens Tools/Software: Printer, 3D printer, Canva, Procreate, Illustrator
The Osiris Space Station orbiting the Planet Therus has not been responding for months. Form a Salvage Team to explore the facility and bring back anything of value! Be careful, some people might have other goals in mind... Reveal rooms to collect materials, encounter events, and race to find the objectives needed to complete your mission. Each of the four sectors contains a unique objective to discover and claim for yourself. Manage limited backpack space to take advantage of hidden agendas that grant you score based on the items you escape with at the end of the game. Make plans, but be prepared to adapt as new discoveries are made, and new avenues for opportunity present themselves.
Materials and tools used: Architectural card of various widths, Colour print paper, Glue, Cards, Adobe Illustrator, Recycled game meeples and tokens
Galactic Greenhouse is a competitive, strategy-driven sci-fi board game. Taking on the role of space biologists, players cultivate fantastical interstellar plants under challenging cosmic conditions. Players must tactically bank resources, defend against hostile events, forge strategic alliances, and grow their plant to full maturity. In this race to develop a thriving plant species first, despite environmental hazards and sabotage, careful planning, adaptability, and timely risk-taking is rewarded! Being in control of your intergalactic plant species is no easy task. Each biologist manages a replenishing hand of cards, while simultaneously determining the most influential plays to build their plant with tactile vertically stackable pieces. Let the best space biologist win!
Game components: Deck of cards (consisting of resources, threats, protections, and specialty cards), 1 x Central card deck management board, 4 x Plant type ability reference cards, 4 x Individual player boards, each corresponding to a unique plant type, 4 x Sets of plant growth blocks, consisting of four trunk pieces and one flower topper Tools and software: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Inkjet printer, TinkerCad, Bambu Studio, FDM 3D printer
Once hailed as a miracle, Hive Corp's neural implants have become humanity's chains, with each mind controlled by the all-seeing Hive. But not everyone submits. Players play as rogue neuro-hackers, creating their own legend of fame, glory, and wealth. They must traverse the sectors on the board, extract data from each tile, and compile the building blocks to ultimately create the final Override Algorithm to bring down Hive Corp. Players may choose to unlock the hidden Override Algorithm using the decryption key, or bide their time, study their rivals, and make their move when they least expect it. Neurobreak encompasses the Cybernetic Futures theme through its intriguing, futuristic storyline and motives of the players. It immerses players in a cyberpunk-inspired world while inspiring them to strategise and adapt through resource management and limited movements.
Game components: CheatCode Cards (Card paper with silk finish), Data Tokens (Pasteboard, paper), Sector Tiles (magnet, Greyboard), Game Board (magnet sheet, Greyboard), Player pieces (air dry clay), Rulebook (paper booklet), Player reference sheets, such as inventory system, compiling tree (glossy paper) Tools & software used: Canva, Figma, Printer, Circle Compass Cutter, Exacto knife
Capital Gains 2099 is a competitive territory control and economic strategy board game for 24 players, set in a Sci-fi dystopian cyberpunk megacity. Players assume the role of corporate warlords vying for dominance through strategic expansion, buyouts, and profit optimization. The game blends tactical spatial gameplay with passive income engines and player conflict, while also delivering a sharp commentary on corporate excess and techno-futurist ambition. We envision Capital Gains 2099 as a game where every turn presents players with a dilemma: expand now or save for a bigger play later? Attack a rival or fortify your assets? The result is a deeply engaging, thematically rich experience that rewards strategic thinking, adapts to different player styles, and always ends in a battle for dominance.
Game Components: x1 Game Board, x80 Skyscraper blocks? 20 per player, X100 Currency, X40 1B, X20 5B, X20 10B, X20 20B, X12 Corporate Directive Cards, X21 Market Shock Cards, X8 tokens, X4 Rule cards, X1 Rulebook Tools:3d Printer, Printer, Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Paper, Cardboard, Tape, Pen
Set in the Year 3000, technological advancement in space travel has skyrocketed into the stratosphere and the remaining factions of humanity fight to conquer and control the resource flow of new planets, seeking to harness their untapped potential. 4 players face off against one another in a race to colonise as many planets they can, being able to move across the solar system via transition points, harvest new and mysterious materials to build and upgrade civilisations on uncolonised planets, and destroy the civilisations of those who stand in their way of universal domination. Gain points at the end of each cycle based on your colonised planets, strategically manage action cards to sabotage your enemies (and sometimes yourself), and watch out for the meteor shower. As your ancestors once did, and their ancestors before them conquer.
Game components: A2 Board (with Spinner), Player Tokens, Civilisation Tokens (Level 1, Level 2, Level 3), Action Cards, Resource Cards, Point Tokens Tools or Software Used: Figma, 3D Printer, Printer, External Printing Services
Mission Accomplished! is a fast-paced sci-fi board game where players become high-tech couriers racing across a futuristic map to deliver critical items. Navigate a modular path filled with bonuses, hazards, and time zone challenges. Tap the bell to claim missions by matching items to mission cards, then outsmart opponents using strategy, lucky modifiers, and unique tools. Missions range from common to super-rare, inspired by the complexity of future technology. Players must adapt to glitches and system bugs while optimizing routes and managing limited resources. With each successful delivery, they earn tokens, whoever collects 20 first or reaches the endpoint wins the title of "Best Courier.
Game Components: 1x A2 Modular Game Board (36-grid layout), 3x Card Decks (Mission, Item, Movement ? ~96 cards total), 2x Dice (8-sided for Lucky Wheel, 6-sided for Events), 1x Lucky Wheel Spinner, ~80x Tokens (for salaries and rewards), 4x Character Standees, 1x Bell (for mission claiming) Software Used: Canva, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Figma, Standard Printer (for board and cards)
One Planet: Two Futures" is a competitive strategy game in which players collect and combine elements (resources), to form compounds that get increasingly complex, and enabling them to place their tokens on the shared board. The game revolves around two factions, Nature and Technology, which represent competing visions for the Earth's future. Through gameplay, players contribute to one of these two futures showing the tension between ecological balance and technological dominance. This connects directly into the sci-fi/ cybernetic futures theme by framing the Earth's future as a contrast between natural evolution and synthetic control. Each player fights for individual victory to earn extra points, and a team victory for their faction, organic or artificial system.
Components: Game Board, Player Character Tokens, Element Cards, Compound Cards (Level 1, Level 2, Level 3), Action Cards, Elementals Tools and Software: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Printers, Scissors, Glue, Cutting Blades, Wood Chips for Player Tokens, Plastic Tokens for Elementals, Refurbished Second Hand Monopoly Board and Box
In a time where technological advancements have made space travel imminent, all eyes are on the organisations pushing for further space research and exploration. Perhaps the space age is upon us once again! 'First to the Moon' is a 4 player card game combining resource management, strategic trades and social engagement. 5 aircraft blueprints, limited resources, and unlimited imagination. Each turn, players must undergo a series of cut-throat negotiations and trade deals to collect the components they need to build their aircraft. The cards on hand are just a start, success lies ahead for those who can outwit their peers by managing their odds and balancing risk at every decision-making point!
Game components: cards, placemat, blueprint sheets Tools: Adobe Illustrator, Canva, printer
Players are farm animals initially exploring the 'Space Barn' before they are spooked into racing for the only active escape pod. Building a unique ?Space Barn? through their exploration, players place tiles adjacently forming a maze of branching corridors. Action cards can enhance players? intelligence by allowing them to open closed doors, parkouring around and over chasms and ladders, even enabling them to direct freeze rays at other players! But animals beware - these cards also represent turn skipping, moulding carrots, spooky alarms and slippery floors! Teleporters and the ventilation systems provide alternatives to trotting around the 'Space Barn'. The first animal to roll the escape pod bay number while in the escape pod bay wins!!
Game Components: 1x Dice, 40x Game Board Tiles, ~20x Action Cards, 1x Rule Book, 6x Animal Playing Figures, 12 tokens Software Used: Gimp, Canva
It is the year #000000, two research ships dance along the edge of an unusual black hole. After countless millennia, they have finally traced the signal of god to the planets caught in its orbit. However, being in such close proximity has rendered the signal untraceable. And so, they must resort to brute force search. You command one of the research ships. Your mission: locate the two particles of god and physically knock them back into your base. Using physics-based flicking mechanics, you'll slide your ship across planetary zones, harvest antimatter, summon the mythical Godmatter, build barriers — all while avoiding annihilation by antimatter or the black hole's unforgiving pull. Know this. Whoever shall bring the two entangled particles of god together shall be granted the power to freely cross the horizon of the black hole and unlock the ultimate truth of this world. Will it be you?
Wooden Tray, Wooden Sticks, Wooden and Plastic Pieces, Spray Paint, Baby Powder? :eyes:, Untearable Paper Printer, Figma, Photoshop, Paint Shop
Mel Huang is an interactive designer and developer for the arts and culture sectors collaborating with institutions such as Powerhouse Museum, Science Gallery, NGV, Art Gallery NSW, Dark Mofo and The Australian Ballet. She is currently an Academic Fellow, Art and Computer Science and Lecturer at the University of Melbourne. Spanning works across data visualisation, interactive design and live performance, Mel is passionate about the creative applications of technology in the arts and an advocate of multidisciplinary practices.
Mel is part of the Designing Novel Interactions teaching team.
Adelaide is a researcher and lecturer in Computer Graphics and Visualisation at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on Human-Computer Interactions with a focus on Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technologies. Her career started as a Technical Leader for a French start-up company (Co-Idea) and was followed by postdocs at the University of Melbourne and Monash University. Before that, she did her PhD at Inria in Bordeaux, France. Over weekends, she escapes the city to enjoy her favorite hobbies: sailing, diving, 4WDing, and camping.
Adelaide is part of the Designing Novel Interactions teaching team.
Martin Gibbs is a Professor of Human-Computer Interaction in the School of Computing and Information Systems at the University of Melbourne. His research interests lie at the intersection of Science Technology Studies (STS) and Human Computer Interaction (HCI). His recent research has focused on the study of death, ritualisation and interactive technologies with an interest in how game designers and players use games to commemorate and memorialize the dead. He is an author of the books Death and Digital Media (2018, Routledge) and Digital Domesticities (2020, Oxford).
Martin is part of the Games Design teaching team.
Tom Byers is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Engineering & IT at the University of Melbourne, researching time and temporality in user experience and design. His published work explores content creation, post-gaming perspectives, and Australian representation on Wikipedia. He tutors and supports video game and technology-focused subjects at the University of Melbourne. He has worked with the Centre for Wellbeing Science to embed positive learning outcomes in large-scale games and is currently examining experiences of racism via a video game probe with the Faculty of Arts.
Tom is part of the Games Design teaching team.
Muhammad Bilal is pursuing his PhD at the University of Melbourne, specializing in robotics and human-robot interaction. He holds B.Sc. (Hons) and M.Sc. degrees in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore, Pakistan. Previously, he worked as a research assistant and later as Team Lead at the National Center of Robotics and Automation in Pakistan.
Muhammad is part of the Designing Novel Interactions teaching team.
Nellie is a final-year PhD student at the University of Melbourne, examining expressions of games in Australian museums and galleries. She is particularly interested in the visitor experience of playing a game in a museum, and the unique opportunities for gameplay that museums offer. As a game designer, she has created games for the Powerhouse Museum, Science Gallery Melbourne, the Hellenic Museum, and the National Trust of Australia. She is also the director of Melbourne Megagames, where she runs large-scale roleplaying games.
Nellie is part of the Games Design teaching team.
Jian Zhang is a PhD student in human-computer interaction at the University of Melbourne. His current research topic is haptic feedback in VR/AR. He has Master's degree in Artificial Intelligence from Tokyo Institute of Technology in Tokyo, Japan and Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China, where he worked in robotics and robot-assisted rehabilitation.
Jian is part of the Designing Novel Interactions teaching team.
Jiayi Wu is a UX/UI developer who completed her Master of Software Engineering with specialisation in HCI at the University of Melbourne in 2024. She has expertise in the design and development of visual interfaces employing Unity, ranging from computer games to extended reality (XR) apps for medical simulation.
Jiayi is part of the Designing Novel Interactions teaching team.
Antony is the current IxT and UX Labs Manager in the HCI Group at the University of Melbourne. His expertise spans haptic devices, PCB design, electronics prototyping, digital fabrication, soft robotics, XR development, and HCI education. He earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering and Information Systems from the University of Tokyo, Japan where he researched gesture recognition using ultra-thin wearable sensors. He also holds a Master of Engineering in Mechatronics from the University of Melbourne.
Antony is part of the Designing Novel Interactions teaching team.