Marcus Aas Jensen

🪄 It's Magic — Multi-device Multiplayer Game

· 3min · Marcus Aas Jensen
Its Magic project cover
Table of Contents

It’s Magic is an experimental multiplayer game exploring distributed interaction across several devices.
Created as a college final project in a team of 4, it combines Unity clients and a mobile app to create a cooperative, immersive potion-making adventure.

💻 GitHub Repository

Its Magic Repo

✨ Overview

Three players cooperate in a magical world using three different interfaces:

  • Interactive Table – Top-down view of the forest and workshop.
  • Vertical Screen – Side views for detailed actions.
  • Mobile Phone – Special tools and environment control.

The game encourages communication and coordination as each device provides unique perspectives and actions.

🎯 Goal of the Game

Play as three wizards working together to brew a potion before time runs out.

  1. 🍄 Harvest Ingredients – Gather forest ingredients and store them in the bag.
  2. 🥣 Prepare the Cauldron – Toss ingredients into the cauldron inside the house.
  3. 🪵 Heat the Cauldron – Move it to the chimney when bubbling starts.
  4. 🔥 Light the Fire – Use the bellows to ignite the flame.
  5. ⚗️ Finish the Potion – Wait for dark blue bubbles, then pour the potion into a flask.
    ⚠️ Careful not to spill it!

🖥️ Device Interactions

Interactive Table

  • Multi-touch Selection – Cooperative harvesting and object manipulation.
  • Drag & Drop – Move ingredients and reveal hidden areas on the vertical screen with the magic wand.

Vertical Screen

  • Slash Interaction – Cut ingredients in the side forest scene.
  • Tap Navigation – Open doors, trigger objects, and receive hints.

Mobile Phone

  • 💨 Blow into Microphone – Ignite fires for the cauldron.
  • 👜 Throwable Inventory – Manage and share collected ingredients.
  • 💡 Brightness Control – Change time of day to access night-only resources like fireflies.

⚙️ Technical Details

  • Unity 3D 2022.3.20f1 for both top and side view clients.
  • Android Studio for the mobile app.
  • WebSocket Server handles real-time communication between all devices.

🔧 Setup

  1. Build the Android App

    • Open Client/Android in Android Studio and build the APK.

  2. Build Unity Clients

    • Create separate builds for the table (top view) and vertical screen.
    • Update config.json with the correct IP/port (see config.template.json).

  3. Run the Server

    • In the Server folder:
      npm install
npm run start

  4. Launch All Clients

    • Run each Unity build on different machines and start the Android app.
    • If the app crashes, simply restart it.

🎮 Experience

It’s Magic invites players to mix physical gestures and digital feedback in a playful, collaborative setting.
Whether dragging ingredients, slashing branches, or blowing into a phone to light fires, each action contributes to the shared magical goal.