About the project

The Arcade of Focus,
An Interactive Installation

Client
NTU ADM,
FYP Project
My role
Interactive Designer, Builder
Year
2019
Duration
3 weeks
Overview
Life unfolds every second, yet we often let it slip away so easily. Living our lives worrying about the future or ruminating about the past.
Also, we get distractible and interruptible at any moment by the smartphones that we have with us all day long. However, we seldom focus on what is happening at the moment, living through the actual moment. It is now rare for us to experience things without holding our mobile phones as we want to capture the “precious moment”.

The Arcade of Focus is an interactive installation with a combination of interactive devices that explores ways for the audience to concentrate. They are invited to play with the tangible devices and they need to focus to complete the game.
Key Designs

The Interactive Devices

Bubble Welcomer
Bubble Welcomer are created to catch the audience's attention. When they enter the room, they will be welcome by bubbles and sounds made by the device. This has helped to set the playful atmosphere and invite the audience to interact with other devices.
Deposit your phone
To start playing on any installation, the user will need to deposit their mobile phone. By doing so, I hope they can focus on the moments when they are playing. The boxes are constructed with acrylic and laser cut to sizes that can accommodate the various mobile phone. Using IR break beam for detection and colours to give feedback to the user.
The secret code
The Secret Code is split into two devices. The first device demands the audience to blow through a hole and numbers in front of them would appear. The appearance of numbers only lasts for 2 seconds and will revert to 0000. They are expected to remember the numbers and key into the second device located opposite. After completing the task, they would get a reward from an auto dispenser of my name card.
Balancing Hot Air Balloon
This interactive device is made up of two components, a balancing platform and the hot air balloon acrylic box. The audience is to stand on the balancing platform, balance themselves to turn on the light in the hot air balloon box where it is covered by reflective film. They need to control the string handle at the side to move the ball at the hot balloon to the sun on the top right-hand corner. In this device, I hope the audience can explore their balancing, hand and eye coordination.
Feed the Blocks
In this device, the goal is using the catapult in front of them to shoot the wooden block into the goal. However, there will be a distracting square blocking their view and constantly moving around. The audience are to observe the patterns of the moving square and prepare to shoot. After they have completed the goal, celebration lights will light up around the machine.
Documentation

The Making Process