05.04.2021
Previously I was thinking about making a children's mobile that when a child moves the mobile starts to move or play a song.
After working on the marble run idea I realised that actually I wanted to make something a little more exciting what is more of what I was thinking at the very beginning.
I then thought about this game that I used to play and seeing if I could put it together with something like a pinball.
William IV Rosewood Bagatelle Table from Burford
There are some really lovely ones around that are made from beautiful hand crafted wood which I think I am going to add to my project.
House of Marbles Bagatelle Link
They are very bright very fun to play with and the interaction is great fun to watch and do at the same time.
Electronic Arcade Pinball Neon Series from Smyths
This is another product which has made me watch to make this product it is a very simple game and watching the bottle cap move down to the bottom I think would sound great and also look great.
DIY home depo video on how to make a bottle opener game
A member at Plus X called Lucy Hughes made one of these beer bottle opener games which really sparked this idea and getting more components added I thought would be very fun. She knows that I am doing something similar and has given me some tips which was very handy. Talking about where the acrylic needs to sit so that the bottle can opened and the cap can rall down correctly when leaving the bottle opener.
My idea was that by putting all of these games together you could make one very exciting pin ball, bagatelle bottle opening game that everyone could enjoy. I also wanted it so that every time you played there would be a different outcome that you have no control over.
This first is just everything I could think of in one go to see if it would work, but also so that I could then bring it back to basics of what I like and didn't like in in my final piece.
I did like the ending of this game but thought it was a little too simple and I really wanted each round to be different but by game not just by a dare you were given.
I then had a new idea that because everything was maybe a little more complicated than I was able to complete in 8 weeks. Andrew also mentioned that making the pin ball flippers move could be more difficult than I think as in pin ball the board is slightly angled off the ground. Whereas I want mine mounted to the wall.
I have now made the whole game a lot more simple, with no flippers or obstacles.
My aim is to have a working bottle opener game so that when you see this mounted on the wall you see something that could have been in a pub as an old game. You then use the bottle opener which activates the LED lights on the tubes which have neo pixes in so that the game starts to light up when it senses the motion.
It will then move down the board without setting stuck, I would also like it to make an satisfying noice when moving down. Then at the end it will fall into a box or holder that will open up later box or spin something that will tell you to do a game or pick a card etc. Haven't quite figured this out yet.