Corona Partybox - Turning your mobile phone into a gaming controller

Interactive multiplayer gaming has always been an active area of development. However, most games rely on external devices for input, such as keyboard, mouse, PS4 controllers etc. These devices support a limited set of actions including button presses or joystick movements, and are often lacking motion sensing capabilities. In addition to this, most of these devices are expensive ($50-$60). Smartphones on the other hand are ubiquitous and consist of a rich set of sensors that let users control and interact with the environment. In our research, we show how a smartphone can be used as a low-latency input device for playing real-time multiplayer games. We show that information from smartphone sensors can be used to do basic motion sensing. Our method allows users to perform natural actions, such as steering a wheel, as opposed to key presses while playing racing games in order to provide a more immersive gaming experience.

Watch our final demo on YouTube.