SMAKE!
In this workshop series, design technologists from the lab and parent-child duos from Alexandra Primary School explored how they might transform everyday household trash into electronic devices with personal stories.
The activities centered around building a controller for the video game "Snake." From the perspective of interaction design, participants were guided to create controllers offering more tangible and embodied ways of playing the game. In terms of physical computing, participants learned to build electronic circuits of switches and touch sensors that interact with mobile applications.
With these new ideas and tools, participants built one-of-a-kind controllers composed of unloved objects and household waste, transformed into working game controllers with simple DIY circuits. To tie it all together, the family created new artwork for this classic video game.
This exhibition celebrates the outcomes of the workshop and traces the transformation of trash into meaningful technology. By taking a familiar video game from the advent of ubiquitous mobile technology, and reimagining it through the eyes and hands of our next generation of makers, this collection of work wants you to consider our evolving relationship with objects, digital experiences, creativity, and trash.
These workshops were co-organized with the incredible help of Alexandra Primary School, in particular, the school leadership and TinkerLab team led by Teacher Melvin.
Clement Zheng
Sheryl Teng
Siew E Ian
Yong Zhen Zhou
Workshop Process
Hands-on introduction to simple electronic controls.
Exploring affordances and how controller design nudges human behavior.
Exploring household trash and tracing their stories.
Brainstorming and making controller prototypes from junkyard materials.
Documenting concept and system architecture. Sketching new artwork for the game based on the concept.
Try our participants’ games
RudolphMade out of reindeer hair clips, plastic box with clasp, conductive fabric tape.
Caps, no cap
Made out of paper towel tubes, bottle caps, cardboard box, copper tape.
Copper Man
Made out of an action figure, metal wire, conductive yarn, copper tape.
Radio Operator
Made out of a broken radio.
A Wheel of a Time
Made out of a broken computer mouse, toilet paper tubes, cardboard, copper tape.
What’s in the Box?
Made out of dish sponges, plywood, one-way acrylic mirror, conductive fabric tape, LED lights.
Ms Piggy
Made out of a stuffed animal toy, dish sponges, fabric scraps, conductive fabric tape.
Egglastic
Made out of an egg crate, key rings, dish sponges, conductive fabric tape, electrical wire.
Boxing Kitty
Made out of a stuffed animal toy, shoebox, conductive fabric tape.
Topsy Turvy
Made out of a dismantled plastic spinning top, 3D printed parts, copper tape.
SMAKE! Controllers at Singapore Design Week 2024