Tap O’ War: Creating A New LED Game

Tap O’ War: Creating a new LED Game

The 21st December sees the launch of the NVM’s new Christmas program, Illuminate The Play, where visitors can experience a radiant collection of new LED gaming experiences. One such game that will be introduced on the 21st December is Tap O’ War. Developed and created by NVM Technician, Gordie Cavill, the game replaces the traditional Tug of War rope with lights pitting visitors against friends and family in a button bashing battle.

Players face off either side of an LED strip with the aim of quickly pressing a button to ‘pull’ your opponents light to your end of the board to win. A concept developed by the NVM team, the Museum’s Technician and Engineer, Gordie Cavill, was tasked with bringing the game to life. Here we chat with Gordie about his work at the Museum and development of Tap O’ War.

Could you tell us a little about yourself and your role as Technician and Engineer at The National Videogame Museum?

I’ve always had a passion for experimenting, building, and tinkering, which ties in perfectly with my role. Outside of work, I enjoy writing techno music and dabbling with high-voltage electronics.

At the NVM, a lot of my work is reactive. If something breaks, it’s my job to fix it. This can involve anything from replacing blown capacitors in vintage consoles to repairing arcade joysticks or even completely rebuilding a power supply. I also ensure that all our playable exhibits are fully functional, robust, and ready for visitors to enjoy

Your work at the NVM varies from restoration work, fixing exhibits and programming installations like our Space Invaders wall. What part of the role do you enjoy the most?

I absolutely love problem-solving and finding creative workarounds. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of bringing a machine back to life. Knowing that visitors are enjoying these restored exhibits afterwards is incredibly rewarding and makes all the effort worthwhile.

Creating games can also be added to your CV! Tap O’ War will be featured in our Christmas programme alongside visually attractive and accessible LED based games. Could you tell our visitors a little bit more about Tap O’ War and its gameplay?

Tap O’ War draws inspiration from the fast-paced games I grew up with – ones that demanded lightning-fast reflexes and quick fingers on the fire button. The concept is simple: it’s a test of speed where the fastest fingers win. Players tap a button as quickly as they can to ‘pull’ a green light along an LED strip towards their side. When the light reaches their end, they’re crowned the winner

From concept to completion what were the processes behind creating this game?

The great thing about Tap O’ War is that I already had most of the components lying around in my shed from previous projects. The first step was writing some rough code for an Arduino Nano microcontroller to control the LEDs – specifically, determining what colours they should display and what actions to take when a button is pressed.

I connected two buttons and an LED strip to test the concept, and while it almost worked, there were some initial hiccups. One major issue was holding down a button registered as multiple presses, so I added a button state change to the code to fix this.

Once the basic mechanics were working, I attached everything to a scrap piece of wood to make it more robust for testing. After refining the code, I added a cool rainbow effect to the LEDs, programmed a winner’s animation, and included a piezo buzzer for sound effects.

Finally, I went back to the shed to build a better version. I mounted the components onto a sturdier piece of scrap wood, used an aluminium channel, and added a light diffuser for a cleaner, polished finish.

Do you have any techniques you’d recommend to our visitors when battling it out?

Two fingers are better than one—tap with both and go as fast as you can! Older players who grew up on Track & Field will know exactly what I mean.

Why do you think it is important for games like Tap O’ War to be exhibited at The National Videogame Museum?

The term ‘video’ comes from the Latin videre, meaning ‘to see’. While Tap O’ War might not fit the mould of what some people think of as a ‘modern’ videogame, I believe it still qualifies.

Videogames are now a part of nearly everyone’s lives, whether on a phone, PC, or console. That’s why it’s so important for places like the NVM to showcase unique games that go beyond the everyday. Tap O’ War encourages people to rethink what a videogame can be and highlights the joy of hands-on interaction.”

While work at The National Videogame Museum keeps you very busy, do you have any plans to create more games? Is there anything you’re working on at the moment?

I’m always tinkering with new ideas and believe in the philosophy of continuous improvement—what the Japanese call kaizen. At the moment, I’m slowly developing a snail racing game. It’s another ‘fastest fingers win’ concept, and I’m creating it using GameMaker software. It’s a work in progress, but I’m excited about where it’s heading.