Nina Wang
All work

Interactive Design · Tangible Media

Fireboy & Watergirl

Two custom-built game controllers that reimagine a two-player game as something one person can play alone.

2026 · Concept, design, fabrication & development (solo) · UCLA

This project came from my experience playing Fireboy & Watergirl alone, as an only child. Normally, the game requires controlling both characters at once, using two different key sets. I wanted to rethink that interaction and design a physical system that would let one player control both characters more intuitively.

Fireboy + Watergirl Controllers: 3D-printed physical controllers wired to a laptop running the game.

The Interaction

One controller maps to WASD, driving Watergirl. The other maps to the arrow keys, driving Fireboy: the game's standard two-player controls.

Making It

3D CAD render of the two controller shells side by side on a neutral gray background: Watergirl's leaf-shaped body on the left and Fireboy's flame-shaped body on the right, both with their button holes already cut.
  1. Illustration
  2. Fusion CAD
  3. 3D Printing
  4. Electronics Assembly
  5. Soldering
  6. Arduino / Feather Programming
  7. Testing
Both controllers shown separately, side by side: a blue, girl-shaped controller with four blue buttons, and a black, flame-shaped controller with four red buttons, each wired to the Adafruit Feather M0.

Working Prototype

The final prototype worked exactly as designed: playable as two independent controllers, or linked together for one person to control both characters.

Because the whole system is hand-wired, connections sometimes came loose during development, and getting the magnetic-switch logic reliable took real trial and error. The next version I'd want to build would be wireless: cleaner, more durable, and easier to use.

Fusion 360 · Arduino (PlatformIO) · Adafruit Feather M0 · Adobe Illustrator