THE NEW AND IMPROVE ‘CRATE'
1. Magnetic or Polarized Crate
Evan VanScoyk, McKendree University, computer science: "A magnetic, lightweight, synthetic metal box that will attach itself to other similar boxes for stacking and the lightweight material makes movement easy."

Joel M. Viernes, Hawaii Community College Hilo: "Depending on which polarity, crates will attract or push away other objects. Connect multiple crates to create bridges, stairs, and walls. Make a stack of two crates then change the polarity of one of them to make an elevator."

2. Teleporter or Portal-Opening Crate
Steven An, Cornell University, PhD student in computer graphics: "Pairs of crates that can teleport items from one crate to the other. Could be used for simple Portal-like puzzles...or teleporting bombs."

Brendan Ke, Nanyang Technological University: "Essentially portal boxes are used for cover and concealment during firefights. Instead of blocking bullets and photon beams, there projectiles pass through the portal boxes and are ported to the exit port which is predetermined by user. So in actual fact it's possible that the enemy projectiles hit the portal boxes can be ported back towards them."

Luca Breda: "Every crate represents a particular place. The player can break off a crate and rebuild it standing inside, to make the jump. The parts of the crates are modular so you can build a bigger crate breaking more smaller ones."

Max Michaud-Shields: "Makes use of parallel dimensions to store an infinite quantity of materiel and even living creatures. Could be used to 'teleport' in reinforcements that have been 'stored' inside."

Alvaro Victor Cavalcanti, software engineer at CESAR: "A rectangular metal-box with two luminescent faces, one is for entering and the other one is for exiting. But these actions never take place on the same box, for when entering into a given kiosk one will exit in another box. When hit by a shot or blast, the kiosk will rotate on its y axis, changing the position of its faces."

Derek Adams, Iowa State University: "A computerized platform, the top shimmers with energy. Objects placed on the it are teleported to a secure location, code entry on the side keypad will retrieve the item(s)."

Peter Fung, Toronto, perspective student: "Players manually switch the functions of the box, if the box is used for anything other than storage, it turns gray and can't be used further. Storage mode: Interspacial storage by allowing players put items into it and take out items from another box. IN mode: Sucks in anything on the concave surface of the cube. The items stay in for the duration of the stage until released. Out mode: Eject anything that was sucked in the any of the IN mode boxes. These can be used in puzzles, platform (Portals), FPS/third-person (used as traps) and co-op games. Inspiration: Portals."

John Dambrós Dezanet, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil: "A small rift in space-time that teleports the player to a dome in which he/she must overcome a challenge, the player cannot die in the dome but can quit at any time. Once the challenge is completed the rift will vanish and the player will be able to access whatever the rift was protecting/blocking."

3. Sticky Crate
Steven An, Cornell University, PhD student in computer graphics: "Can hold something inside (like, a bomb), and sticks to most surfaces. Can also be used as improvised stairs to climb walls, like grenade-climbing in Deus Ex."

Mollie Harms, International Academy of Design and Technology, Detroit: "Stick them to walls, enemies, and the player -- unless they have special equipment of course."

David G. Saunders, prospective student of The Guildhall at SMU: "These jackstone-shaped objects connect end-on-end, letting the creative player create anything from a box to a ladder. Once stuck together, they cannot be unstuck. (Possibly use static meshes to reduce poly count? Not sure if that would work.)"

Adam Galarneau, programmer at CAE Inc., MTL: "Sticky gum: 1 gum wouldn't be enough but if you have enough, you put them together and it forms a crate-like object that sticks to other ‘blocks' or walls (not necessarily on the floor)."

4. Chairs
John Pile Jr., University of Abertay Dundee, MSc student in computer games technology: "Chairs (square, cylindrical, triangular, etc) In real life, furniture is often used for reaching hard to get at items. Chairs are also normally found in almost any room, so it would be appropriate to have them scattered through-out levels. A stackable design could easily be made to fit a sci-fi theme." (See image, page 4.)

Cary Chichester, Georgia Institute of Technology, computational media: "I always use a chair to reach heights in the real world."