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ShotBot

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ShotBot is a robotic drinking game. Two players engage in what is best described as head to head Whack-a-Mole.

One of four buttons randomly lights up on either player’s dashboard. Whoever pushes their lit button first wins the point, and whoever gets to four points first wins the game. When the game is won, the machine pours a shot for the loser to drink. This project was based off the prompt of giving a gift. At the end of the Fall semester, with the holidays approaching, we wanted to explore the notion of competitive gift giving, where presents are given not out of love or altruism but pride and the desire to engender guilt in the recipient. We also wanted to build something we could install and enjoy at our end-of-semester, holiday party.

The machine is made primarily of laser-cut MDF and assembled with mortise and tenon joinery. The overall aesthetic of the machine draws from old arcade games as we wanted it to have an unpolished and accessible feel.