Greg Pidgeon

After coming back off a much-deserved Xmas break our first studio session involved some group work. On the theme of our next assignment we were, in groups of 3/4, to invent a toy/game. Not bad for a days work thinking of ideas for new toys. After some discussion we began to brainstorm our ideas and this is what we came up with......

The first of our ideas was 'Electronic Shoes'. Some sort of programme built into the shoes and through the use of pressure pads enabled the user to play whilst walking. We thought the game might be some sort of aerobics or dance routine. Making noises or vibrating when the correct combination of steps is achieved. Quite amusing but hardly practical, couldn't imagine many people subscribing to having noises explode from there shoes in public.

Secondly, with environmental issues in mind we thought of the ‘Interactive Recycling Unit’. This I thought is a wicked idea. A bottle bin for example that has a game attached, encouraging people to recycle. The game we thought could either be a digital arcade style game or something similar to pinball. Credits would be obtained by depositing bottles (1 bottle per play) as encouragement and as an additional incentive tokens could be awarded in order to get prizes. Alternatively we thought a progress counter could be attached instead and a national competition ran that rewards the highest recycler.

Our third idea came off the back of my first thoughts when we were told about our new ‘Design a Toy’ assignment. When we were told about the assignment last term the first platform I thought of was a GPRS or sat nav device. I thought the fact that it pin points the users location would be a fantastic basis for a game. I threw in some ideas along with the group and we thought up not just a game but also a massive entertainment device. We thought the user would have a character on the device that could interact with other uses in his/her immediate vicinity. In order to increase the pre-set statistics of the character for these interactions the user would have to travel to certain locations. Secret items etc could also be found this way. Sly exercise incentive and perfect for today’s hyperactive young un’s!

We stuck with the last idea and I like it so much I think I’m going to adapt it for the project itself.