A board game to balance screen time and play for children between the ages of 8-12 years old.
15 weeks
Solo
Project manager, Coder, Researcher, Documentarian, Designer
How might we address the escalating issue of screen dependency among children to safeguard their health and development by investigating potential Screen Dependency Disorders (SDD) and identifying effective mitigation strategies?
The goal of this project is to design a board game that is equally captivating as casual video games by incorporating electronics while promoting social and problem-solving skills during group play and featuring customizable stages and adjustable difficulty levels catering to different age groups.
Sparks creativity with LEGO course construction.
Mario's journey produces iconic sounds for interactive fun.
No specific endpoint encourages ongoing imaginative play.
Versatile design accommodates various play styles.
Frosty Form, in contrast, provides clear goals and a structured game loop.
Game inspired by The Game of Life with customizable pieces.
Movement determined by a spinning wheel adds an element of chance.
Vibrant colors enhance the visual appeal of the game board.
Tangible game pieces provide a hands-on experience, particularly attractive to children.
Challenges arise as modern children seek higher interactivity, accustomed to screen engagement.
Gameplay is reminiscent of Mr. Potato Head, where players insert pieces into the main toy's body to create their unique snowman
A coding game for children aged 3 and up. Teaches coding using shaped pieces to guide a cube's path. Presents as entertainment, but serves as a valuable educational tool for young minds. In contrast, Frosty Form incorporates buttons to captivate and involve children in the learning process.
Classic Game Integration: The board game incorporates a familiar arcade classic, evoking nostalgia for parents.
User Preferences: Interviews indicate that both children and parents enjoy competition and testing their reflexes.
Competitive Element: The classic game serves as a "spinner," fulfilling the desire for competitive and reflex-testing gameplay in the board game.
Enjoyed competing with other people or building things
Play video games with their parents
Spent on video games during the summer
Spent on video games during the school term
Set strict screentime restrictions
Liked the adrenaline that games provided
Shape of the board
Light spinner instead of dice
Multiplayer
Irregularly shaped circles on the board led to spheres falling through the board.
Lack of a defined starting point.
Players encountered difficulty in maintaining the direction of the path.
The desire for a mechanism enabling retrieval of missed game features.
Perception of insufficient competitiveness within the game dynamics.
Prototype 1 underwent an early testing phase with an individual, allowing for rapid identification of game issues before wider assessment within the intended target user.
Cardboard and styrofoam
Handcut circles
Cardboard and styrofoam
Lasercut circles
A friend to figure out rules and potential problems
Target audience
Consisted of 6 LEDs on a breadboard
Small push buttons
Consisted of 12 LEDs
Arcade button in the center of the board
N/A
Added Battle component
Users enjoyed battling with each other
Kids enjoyed inserting the features into the Snowman.
The styrofoam pieces were too light, and they kept on falling over and disrupting the gameplay.
They also disliked losing too many features at once.
Rulebook was a little confusing, but once they started playing, they realized that it was quite easy to play.
The board consists a total of 12 LEDs, 4 buttons, 1 LED strip, and Arduino
The board was initially designed to have compartments to store all the game pieces, but the wires in the circuit took up too much space
Utilizing Tinkercad for piece creation allowed me to visualize the Snowman and features together, ensuring that the components were appropriately sized and aesthetically cohesive.
The laser cutter was used to cut uniform circles in the top layer of the wooden board. With assistance from a shop technician, a magnet sheet was placed between the top layer and a smaller wooden disc. A curved wood sheet was then attached to form the walls, and the bottom board was secured to the game board using nails.
The spinner numbers were 3D printed with a clear filament to allow light transmission.
To diffuse the light from the LED strip for the Battle component, an acrylic strip was attached on top.
As the magnet strip lacked the strength to hold the spheres upright, individual steel plates were glued into the holes to improve adhesion between the small magnets and the board.
For the Feature spheres, a composition of wooden balls and dowels was employed, followed by a white spray painting application.
The Features were initially crafted through 3D printing and subsequently underwent a painting process using acrylic paint.
The path cards were created so that new or younger players could start playing the game quicker and help them get accustomed to the game before customizing it from the get-go.
The rulebook included tabs so that players could easily flip to a specific page.
The box to hold all the pieces of the game
The game tutorial was created not to draw users back to the screen, but to help them to understand the game better and quicker.
Learning how to design and problem-solve for children
Expanding my skills in 3D printing and hand-building components
Soldering all the wires and ensuring the wires do not touch each other and cause a short circuit
1. Create a compartment within the board to store all the game pieces
2. Leverage a multicolor 3D printer for the Snowman Features production
3. Test my hypothesis by leaving the game with a family for a couple of days