Cornerstone · Team project

Mystery Project: Power Outage

A five-minute mystery game combining a wooden puzzle, Arduino, and C++ storytelling.

My contribution: C++ narrative and input logic
Skills used: C++ · Input validation · Clear instructions

What — A five-minute engineering mystery

For our Cornerstone team project, we created a five-minute game about restoring power to a city. Players solve a CAD-designed wooden puzzle to locate the outage, investigate its cause on a second computer, then adjust an Arduino circuit's current and resistance to reach the required voltage.

Team prototype with a wooden puzzle, two computers, and an Arduino circuit — Team prototype · Wooden puzzle, software, and Arduino circuit

How — My C++ narrative and input logic

I wrote the background story, stage introductions, and task instructions in C++. I also implemented checks for the numbers players enter. To handle incorrect answers, the program offers a retry or optional help; stages 1 and 3 each have three hints. This connects the physical tasks to the story and gives players a way forward when they get stuck.

The skills I used were C++ programming, input validation, and writing clear instructions.

Recorded terminal run showing incorrect input, optional hints, and the final voltage check — Program run · Input, hints, retries, and the final voltage check

Why — A working game flow

The recorded run shows incorrect input, requested hints, a corrected location, and a successful final voltage check. Players could recover from errors and continue through the narrative. Our team completed its assigned work on time; clear responsibilities allowed us to move from two meetings a week to one.

The photo shows the team prototype. My contribution was the C++ narrative, input checks, and hint system.

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