Drone Following Project #11: Project Name!

This is a stupid and insignificant detail, but I've finally realized what to call this project! I originally had it under a Repo known as "AirCat", an obvious play on "AirDog", but I've found something much better.

Do you remember Super Mario 64?

Even if you don't, perhaps you recognize this character:

This is Lakitu. He got his start throwing spined turtles ("Spinies") at Mario in the original Super Mario Bros., but as time went on Nintendo chose to give him a more friendly role in future titles, such as an assistant in Paper Mario, the flagger in Mario Kart, and most importantly, the cameraman in Super Mario 64.

His significance as the cameraman was a pretty unique one at the time. While there may be an existing exception, not many thought to actually characterize the camera in a video game before, and most treated it as simply a mechanic. In Super Mario 64, Lakitu is actually the first character shown in the game world, flying down as Mario heads to the castle, and taking the place as his cameraman. From this point on, the player controls not only Mario in saving Princess Peach, but as Lakitu as well, helping properly angle the camera so that the player can more easily see what is around them. Today, I had the realization that this is not unlike the intended result of this project. Therefore I choose to name the project Lakitu. 

If I complete it in a timely manner, I'll be sure to make my own Super Mario 64 video as a demonstration. Hopefully I can attract the gaming community to this project and get the word out. It's good to balance yourself as engineer by surrounding yourself with clever and imaginative people. It could mean inspiration for your next part of the project! I foresee the implementation of Oculus Rift being a popular topic of discussion.


Bonus asset: