You’re invited: Light Pong game night!
Hola Light Pong-sters — happy holidays!
In my last update, the team and I had just gotten back from our Thanksgiving Breaks, we announced that we’re going with Espressif microchips, and we had just begun to architect the network protocol for interacting with Light Pong.
Since the last update we’ve put out two new vlogs on our YouTube channel (please subscribe to keep up to date!). Here’s the latest one:
Companion App
At the beginning of this week, we onboarded two new team members: Giuseppe and Talha. They’re helping develop the backend and frontend of the companion app. That said, we’ve officially started development of the companion app. Simultaneously, Donovan (UX Designer) has been working on the design of the companion app, starting with low-fi prototypes. The companion app is going to give you complete control over the device, while also giving you the ability to browse and download new games for your Light Pongs. What companion app features are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments.
Handles
Handle designing is still in progress! If you’ve been hanging out on our Discord server or have been following us on Instagram, you already know that the new 3D printer has been giving Graham a hard time! (Don’t say the words 3D printer around him or he will get triggered lol). Never the less, we’ve narrowed down to three designs that we really like (from some 20 odd designs originally) and believe that we’re very close to deciding on the design of the handles!
Firmware
A couple of weeks ago, I sent a prototype to Aqib and Ahsan, our firmware developers in Pakistan. I sent it on November 16 using USPS First Class 3 to 5 days service and it arrived December 2…16 days of waiting! They’ve finally received it and are currently deep in firmware development. Here’s a picture they shared:
As far as firmware goes, there’s a big-small update. On the Kickstarter, we had mentioned that we’re going to be basing the code off Circuit Python; ultimately, we decided to go with Micro Python instead. We did this because the Espressif chip that we’re using doesn’t support Circuit Python. As far as you guys are concerned, it’s not going to make a difference as long as we do our jobs well!
Dev Kits
As I mentioned in one of my previous updates, creating Dev Kits is a pain point for us. We first needed to completely validate the circuit we’ve designed, but as soon as that’s done we need as many dev kits as possible, as quickly as possible. Luckily, one of our community members (one of you guys!) has graciously offered to help with this. Markus_aurelius_maximus is on the job! Excited to be working with him on this.
You’re Invited: Game Night!
We’re hosting our first game night on Discord this coming Monday and would love for you to join us. We’re playing Gartic phone, an online telephone game. This recommendation came from our community member dernoob, who once presented Light Pong to his entire English class! haha. It would be awesome if you could join us:
Light Pong Game Night on Discord | MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021 | 7:00 PM CST
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please drop them in the comments below. We absolutely love hearing from and engaging with you guys.
Seasons Greetings,
Aaqib and the Light Pong team.
