The Assignment:

For this assignment, we were instructed to look back and reflect on a time in our childhood. Once chosen the time, we must then re-create that space through a new creation.

I had created a series of shortlists of, places, smells, feelings, tastes that I can remember through my childhood. I had found that theses could all be tied in and Brough together though my birthday. It was then when I had come up with the idea to recreate a birthday party and bring that space into a new one here in Paris. After some further thinking and discussing with my teacher, it was seen to be a bit confusing, so I decided to not go any further with that idea.

A started with a new blank page and new ideas. Although not stood out. It wasn’t until one night where just as I was about to fall asleep, I had the idea to make a basketball court out of basketballs. I liked this idea. For even if I didn’t do this exact idea, it could still be a fan base. The next day I had done some further research on how I could do this and if it was possible. I collected some ideas and inspiration and away I went.

I had then decided that instead of making a simple replica of a basketball court, why not make it fun and make an arcade game version. By turning it into an arcade game, it ties into a whole other part of my childhood where I would play games like this with my friends. (the basketball toss being my favourite)

Inspiration:

Image result for basketball arcade gameImage result for basketball arcade game

Related image

 

The Process:

Making the game was quite a challenge. Getting the correct measurements and dimensions was critical. However, after a few hours of playing around and designing, I was able to do it (thank goodness we could use glue for this project).

Once I had made the base, I started to question on wrapping the game in a basketball. I felt that it could be a bit boring and predictable. This was then a new idea had popped into my head. Lollies. During the half times and after the games we would always be snacking on lollies. I had now decided that if I were to cover the set-in lollies not only would it then relate even more to my specific childhood memories of the game. Still, it will help add a child-like characteristic to my piece with all the fun shapes and vibrant colours its most definitely not going to be boring now.

A few bags of lollies, quite a few sticks of hot glue and several hours later, I had successfully completely covered my basketball creation in sugar. to keep the lollies in a good condition and overall to have a nice finish I sprayed them with a protectant coat. this way the lollies won’t go bad, but it also helps to bring the colour of the lollies to stand out and look glossier. Another touch i made was to draw little lines on the base of my court. this represents the movements and running motions that we would use on the courts.

making the mechanic of the game was also a challenge, getting my head around a way that I could make a slingshot type of design was difficult however after some time designing and playing around, I was able to get what I wanted. when it came to the design of the basketball hoops, I had originally used Starbucks coffee cups and cut out multiple mini squares around it and the glued them down. this did work and I could have left it like this however I felt that it did not look as nice and professionally as it could have been. this was when I then decided that I would make them out of actual wire and string. I made the hoop by wrapping some florist wire in a circle and tying it together. After I had done this, I had painted it white to blend in with my theme. once they had dried, I had to figure out how to tie the string to get the net experience I wanted. luckily, I found a website which had some instructions on how to do this. After I had tied them all I made sure to cover the ends in nail polish to make sure that they won’t fray.

When I look at my creation, it instantly brings a smile to my face, whether it’s because it takes me back to a time in my childhood or just because of how silly it looks. I love it, and I am overall quite happy and content with what I have done — I look forward to seeing my classmates’ reactions and their opinions of my creation.

 

Images:

Making the stand:

Painting and preparing:

Glueing the lollies:

Spraying / Setting:

Making the hoops:

 

 

The Final Product:

Playlist and Sounds:

For my presentation, I would like for everyone to be able to have a go and see if they can. score! because a real basketball game is never quite I will play a sound recording of an actual basketball game with the sounds of the crowd and the court. While that is playing I will also have a mini playlist of songs playing on top of the noises. When I played basketball they always had music playing over the speakers which made the games lots of fun. To make the playlist more personal I selected songs that relate to either basketball or lollies!

 

Critique Reflection:

GIF from class: