Today, in class, we playtested the final products of our advanced designs. For my design, I was going for a bowling theme that used a more advanced scoring system than my previous designs. I used drop targets for the pins and decorated my machine with bowling attire to give the feeling that players are in a real bowling alley.
Building my advanced design took a lot of problem solving and ingenuity. In order for the drop targets to work, I had to line them up properly so that they would remain over the playfield. Keeping them above the playfield would prevent any friction when the ball hits them. In order to properly do this, I attached the drop targets to a roof of cardstock and lifted them off the playfield using side supports. However, the supports were a bit too short, leaving some of the drop targets to scrape against the playfield. To help with this, I added a back support and a bit of fishing line to lift the roof off the playfield. The result worked, it wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough for the time being. To keep the drop targets up when hit, I used magnets, which was pretty neat to implement. The rest of the board came with careful decorating, resulting in a playfield that is much more advanced than my previous designs.
While playtesting in class, I received a lot of feedback about the theme, playability, and implementation of my advanced design. Most people thought the theme of my machine was well established and it really looked like you were bowling on a wooden floor. The game was addicting and knocking down the pins was very satisfying. However, the way the drop targets were implemented made the pins difficult to knockback at times. Other than that, most people seemed to like the concept of my design.
If I had to redo my advanced design, I wouldn’t change very much. The design came out great and it was really fun to make. However, if I had to change one thing it would be the drop targets. Although they came out better than I expected, my current drop targets aren’t the best representation of a bowling game. It’s very difficult to get a strike or spare because there are no pin-on-pin reactions when the ball hits the drop targets. This leads to a less realistic game and negatively affects the scoring system I have in place. To fix this, I’d probably use objects that can be knocked down onto each other and aren’t too difficult to set back up. Other than that, I’m proud of how my advanced design turned out and I look forward to experimenting with the Pinbox in the future!
Wooden Floor Reference: https://invisionhardwooddecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/hard-maple-hardwood-flooring-natural-select-better-natural-essential-lauzon.jpg
Bowling 7-10 Split Reference: https://www.bowl.com/uploadedImages/Source/Source_Home/Untitled-2(2).jpg
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Ball Return Reference: http://www.pintsandpins.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Century-Lanes-Ball-Return.jpg
“Baller” Bowling Ball Reference: https://www.bowlerx.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/hammer-baller-bowling-ball.png
“Flawless” Bowling Ball Reference: https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-e12a1/images/stencil/1000×1000/products/6349/31697/HMR_Flawless_NEW__03705.1545499943.jpg?c=2
“Savage Life” Bowling Ball Reference: https://images.bowling.com/large/11955.large.jpg
Bowling Pin Reference: https://www.trzcacak.rs/myfile/detail/114-1143333_png-dlpng-download-image-bowling-pin-clipart-png.png
Blue Bowling Ball Background: http://www.backgroundsimg.com/picdir/sm/bowling/backgroundsimg-tournament-ten-pin-bowling-houston-bowling-center-design-3p90y.jpg
Red Bowling Ball Background: https://us.123rf.com/450wm/tilo/tilo1803/tilo180300018/96841894-stock-vector-bowling-game-strike-over-dark-red-background-red-bowling-ball-crashing-into-the-pins.jpg?ver=6
Bowling Page Border: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41nHsq3A9IL._SX425_.jpg
