Our First Kiss Game, Alternative Controller

Our First Kiss is a queer, alternative controller game about timing your first kiss on a date at the movies. I created it as my thesis project for USC’s Interactive Media & Game Design MFA program. You can download and play the game here.

Although it is playable with a keyboard or controller, this Instructables is for those who want to make their own alternative controller lips!

Please note: you will need to make two of these in order to play the game as intended. These instructions only cover one controller. If you’d decide to make a second controller, you will hook it up to the same Arduino as your first controller. To clarify: if you want two lip controllers, double all supplies except for the Arduino and tools!

Required

• Download of Our First Kiss
• 1 x Arduino Uno
• 1 x pressure/force sensor
• 1 x soldering iron
• 1 x face mask to use as a base
• 1 x sewing machine
• 1 x wire cutters/strippers
• Stranded wire
• Please note: stranded wire will handle stress much better but if you want to prototype on a breadboard, you’ll want to use solid wire
• Resistors (I got a big pack like this)
• Heat shrink tubing or electrical tape
• Batting
• Velcro
• Fabric of choice (I grabbed mine from the discount bin at Jo-Ann)
• Fabric scissors

Recommended

• 1 x multimeter (this will help you figure out if you circuit is complete)
• 1 x helping hands for soldering (there are many different styles but I prefer this one because it comes with a magnifying glass, flashlight, and fan to keep the solder out of your face)
• 1 x face mask to wear while soldering
• 1 x safety goggles to wear while soldering
• 1 x breadboard
• 1 x water-soluble marking pen
• Sewing pins
• Fabric glue

What you’ll need

• Arduino
• Breadboard
• Solid wire
• Force sensor
• resistors

How it works

We are going to use our force sensors to determine if our players are kissing. The code for this will be done in Unity so you don’t need to worry about this part. If you’re interested in how the logic works, here’s what we will check for: is player 1’s force sensor detecting something and is player 2’s force sensor detecting anything? If both detect force, that means they’re kissing! If both do not detect force, they are not kissing. Or if only one of the controllers detects force, they’re not kissing.

Note that there are different types of force sensors out there! Some will be square shaped, some will be circular; either one will work for this project but I recommend picking one type for both of your controllers to keep things consistent.

I’ve included photos of my own circuit as well as a great circuit diagram I used as a reference, which can also be found here.

If you are making two lips, you will need to create this circuit twice. Because both of your controllers will connect to the same Arduino, you will need to make sure that both of your circuits are using the same ground (GND) and voltage (5V) connections.

What you’ll need

• Arduino
• The circuit you created in the previous step
• Soldering iron
• Stranded wire
• Helping hands
• Electrical tape or heat shrink tubing
• Optional face mask and safety goggles

What to do

Soldering was definitely one of my favorite steps! But it has many steps and safety comes first; I am not an expert so instead, I will redirect you to some of my favorite “how to solder” tutorials

• Soldering Tutorial for Beginners (YouTube)
• Soldering (Instructables)
• Adafruit Guide to Excellent Soldering (Adafruit)

If you are using heat shrink tubing and don’t have a heat gun or hair dryer, I recommend carefully using the side of your soldering iron. Make sure you watch your tubing closely so you don’t melt or burn it.

What you’ll need

• Fabric
• Fabric scissors
• Batting
• Sewing machine
• Optional water soluble marker and sewing pins

Some friendly notes before we start:

• I did not know how to use a sewing machine before making this controller so this is definitely doable if you’re a beginner!
• If you’re using the mini sewing machine that I linked in the materials section, this tutorial made my life a million times easier. That particular YouTube channel is great for beginners so you can find other helpful tips on there too.
• This is my first sewing project so I kind of threw things together and hoped for the best. I’m 100% certain there’s a much easier way to create the lips so feel free to deviate as you see fit.

What to do

1. First, you’re going to lay down two pieces of fabric. One is for the front of the lips, the other is for the back. Use your (optional) sewing pins to pin the pieces together. Important: make sure your pieces are inside-out! This will ensure your seams don’t show when you’re done.
2. Using your (optional) water soluble marker or very lightly with a pencil, draw the shape of the lips you want. Note: since these pieces will be sewn together, you should make your lips about an inch bigger than the size you intend.
3. When you’re done drawing your lip shape, lay your base (the mask) and your circuit on top of the shape. This way, you can make sure your newly soldered circuit will fit inside your lips.
4. Cut your fabric!
5. Place your new lip shapes on top of a small pile of batting and using your water soluble marker or pencil, trace the shape.
6. Cut your batting into the same lip shape. If you want to give your lips some extra volume, cut out extra pieces of batting so you can stack them on each other.

What you’ll need

• All materials listed in the previous step
• All of your newly prepped pieces

What to do

1. First, you’re going to sew the top and sides of the lips together. Leave the bottom open.
2. Next, determine how much batting you’ll need and separate your batting into two, equal piles. At this stage, I used fabric glue to keep the piles together and make them sturdy.
3. Now, you need to create a pocket so you can access your electronics after the sewing is done. To do this, I cut three sides of a square into the back panel of the lips. Make sure your square is decently large.
4. Sew the bottom of your lips shut.
5. Using your new pocket, reach inside and pull your lips “inside-out”. This will make your sewing seams disappear.
6. Attach Velcro to your flap and where it will meet the lips. Feel free to add extra fabric if you need to; this side will be attached to the mask so nobody will see it.
7. Insert half of your pile of batting. Then, insert your circuit. And finally, insert the other half of your batting and close your lips.

What you’ll need

• Your new lips
• Mask base
• Velcro
• Arduino
• Download Our First Kiss for your computer

What to do

Your controllers are almost done! Now, you need to add Velcro to the back of your controller and to the front of the mask you’re using as a base. Depending on how much batting you added to the inside of your lips, you might need to add more Velcro pieces to keep everything in place.

Once you’re confident with your Velcro placement, mount your controllers to the mask and try them on! You might want to shake and nod your head slightly to make sure your controllers aren’t in danger of falling off the mask.

Now, hook your controllers up to your computer and download Our First Kiss game. You can test if your controllers work by going into our “remapping” menu under “options”.

You did it!

Congrats on creating your alternative controller lips! Thank you for checking out this Instructables. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns.