Uncle Bob went down a storm with all the trick-or-treaters this Halloween.
Having completed Uncle Bob’s basic build, I thought he would display well for Halloween. There was lots of talk in the local community forums about whether Trick or Treat should go ahead as the first opportunity since Covid Lockdown.
Turns out many kids were out with parents and everyone acted responsibly. Only those houses with decorations and pumpkins out front where visited and wrapped sweets were offered.
Uncle Bob went down very well. The picture doesn’t do him justice. With a webcam on his shoulder and some trickery using OBS Studio providing both atomspheric music and a Terminator HUD overlay shown on a screen to the side, Uncle Bob was ready.
I tried using FaceTime to watch what the webcam was seeing but could not stop FaceTime from reducing the music volume on my machine. Queue FaceTime to an iPad and I was able to see people walking past and up the path to the front door.
As they approached, I was able to control Uncle Bob to say “Nice Night for a Walk. Listen to me very carefully” as they approached. This got some visitors to stop - working out whether Uncle Bob had really detected them. A second control allowed me to switch the display to scan and match model with associated scanning mode sounds.
This caused a number of Trick-or-Treaters to jump - all part of the fun! Some parents explaining to the younger children that scary was all part of the experience.
It was well received by all. Children and adults praised my efforts, loving the eerie sounds. Many realised they were being watched with a few dancing on the path to enhance the movement on screen. More than a few photos were taken.
Fortunately I had doubled up on sweets as the volume of visitors quickly depleted stocks. By about 7pm things had started to quiet down as the youngsters returned home to feast on their sugary snacks.
The only down side is I may have set a bar which people may well remember and expect more next year!
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