Belgian Designer Turns His Home Window Into An Arcade Game

In an attempt to make his neighborhood a little more playful, Antwerp-based interaction designer Kris Temmerman has installed an 8-bit video game on his window for passers-by to play.

Most people who own a house with a big window on the ground level would install a curtain to prevent passers-by to look inside. Temmerman, however, likes to utilize his window as an interactive part of his house, as he explains on his own website, so he decided to create a game that everyone would understand and like and turn his window an 8-bit playground.

Using two Arduino-controlled joysticks attached to the façade of the house, people compete against pixelized aliens in the game. The arcade game has three modes (single-player, one-on-one and multiplayer vs. aliens). Every mode has just one level, as the game is meant to be played by people on the move.

Arduino game by Kris Temmerman

Arduino game by Kris Temmerman

All elements of the game are made by Temmerman himself, whether it’s the basic code and the screen to the controllers and the 8-bit game music. The most interesting thing is that Temmerman has noticed that all kinds of people with different ages and backgrounds stop in front of his house to play.