{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/spatial-interfaces--t308","type":"mechanic","id":"spatial-interfaces--t308","lang":"en","title":"Light, projections, surfaces and interactive installations","summary":"Projection maps a virtual scene onto physical surfaces. The RoomAlive research prototype uses calibrated projectors and cameras across a room.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/spatial-interfaces--t308/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/spatial-interfaces--t308.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/spatial-interfaces--t308.md","aliases":["Projection and interactive surfaces"],"tags":["Spatial and alternative interfaces","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-e0fe8e3e16f92d8f","source-bda177b93ab2962f"],"sources":[{"id":"source-e0fe8e3e16f92d8f","title":"OpenCV: Geometric transformations","url":"https://docs.opencv.org/4.x/da/d6e/tutorial_py_geometric_transformations.html","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-bda177b93ab2962f","title":"RoomAlive (research prototype)","url":"https://github.com/microsoft/RoomAliveToolkit","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Installations connect participant positions and physical surfaces to projected responses through stable spatial alignment."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t308-variants\"></a>\n\n- Calibration aligns camera and projection coordinates. <a id=\"t308-v1\"></a>\n- Touch selects a region on a physical surface. <a id=\"t308-v2\"></a>\n- Shadows become controllable play objects. <a id=\"t308-v3\"></a>\n- Several participants share one interaction area. <a id=\"t308-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A projected river crosses a table and moving physical blocks changes its virtual water route.\n\nPrototype check: Test projector movement, camera occlusion and lighting changes with an explicit recalibration mode."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Spatial and specialized input requires calibration, clear action confirmation and a way to continue after signal loss. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"spatial-interfaces","id":"t308","title":"Spatial and alternative interfaces","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/spatial-interfaces/#t308","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Projection and interactive surfaces","description":"Projection maps a virtual scene onto physical surfaces. The RoomAlive research prototype uses calibrated projectors and cameras across a room.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/control-roomalive.webp","width":933,"height":555,"game":"RoomAlive (research prototype)","sourceUrl":"https://github.com/microsoft/RoomAliveToolkit","originalUrl":"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/RoomAliveToolkit/master/RoomAliveToolkitForUnity/docs/images/Roomalive.png","credit":"Microsoft Research / RoomAlive authors","rights":"© Microsoft Research and the RoomAlive authors. Official research project photograph. Source repository licensing applies; not relicensed under portal CC BY 4.0.","caption":"RoomAlive: projection follows the room’s walls, furniture and geometry","alt":"RoomAlive: projection follows the room’s walls, furniture and geometry","markers":[{"x":52,"y":62,"label":"The projected pattern follows furniture and floor surfaces"}]},"tips":["Calibrate projectors and cameras together and account for people and object shadows."],"examples":[{"title":"RoomAlive (research prototype)","url":"https://github.com/microsoft/RoomAliveToolkit"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/spatial-interfaces"}}