This week we finalized our physical board designs and build, worked on our narrative design outline, and have started our CAD file!

Working on the Build (and our budget)

Connecting the dots on the parts we need to create our Frankenstein pinball cabinet wasn’t easy.

Through working with Dave P. our pinball expert, we ensured our design was feasible, we created a final build in budget sheet form.

The process looked a bit like this:

First we created a general non technical design for our playfield taking inspiration from both the Paul Bunyan and Cover Girl layouts, since they are both using the same frame and board size as we are. We didn’t just copy one of these boards though we mashed them together and even added some newer parts, like a 3 target wide drop target and a mini screen!

Once we had an idea of how the game was going to play/feel and a general placement for our board, we did a complete thematic over hall. Using the gameplay to push our design we created a board that was meant to feel like working a factory line job. Referencing a gummy bear how its made episode for factory production, we came up with a few machines that would fit the narrative we were imagining and designed them into a round of pinball. You may be wondering why a factory line, and why there are a bunch of weird designs like “torso” and “head” well to keep it brief the idea is to have this factory line be producing a sort of Robot Bunny… Our narrative is still in the works, but more on that soon.

Finally, after coming up with a long list of potential parts and options we took our design to Dave where he gave us his advice and helped catch some of our mistakes! We still have a few parts to figure out but we have ordered the things we need to continue our learning and testing and are looking to submit the main part of our order soon.

Design Outline

What do we wanna say?
We want to talk about how intimacy and desire can be designed, managed, and exploited by systems. How something that feels sexy, cute, or loving can turn into labor, routine, and control.
We are interested in the moment when something you cherish slowly becomes something you manage, optimize, and consume.

Who are we gonna say to?
We are speaking to people living inside productivity-driven systems—workers, caregivers, and consumers—who recognize the tension between affection and exploitation in everyday life.

Narrative ARC

Below is some of the amazing work Enn has been doing to conseptualize our story. When working on our narrative because of the scope, we can’t build a fully continuous experience. so we think that a 5 day is the most we can do.
To make that short length emotionally meaningful, we know tat the narrative will have to carry a lot of weight.
When we say “days” we don’t expect them to be consecutive but we want them to be important days of the main characters life that contain key plot moments instead.
The final experience should feel more like a montage than a full movie. You can imagine it as a trailer: all the important things happen in a short span, with a steady but compact build-up towards the end.

DAY 01 Inciting incident
Orders rise and letters from “N.R.” teach you to bypass the system for higher efficiency.
You earn more and grow closer to your bunny, realizing she can sense your hidden desires.

DAY 02 Complications
Work consumes your time while the letters push you toward promotion and stranger orders.
They warn you about the system, but you ignore them and keep working.

DAY 03 Turning point
You grow numb to processing endless desires until you witness a pink pinball swallowed by the machine. You know that’s your own bunny.
You collapse, you are too desperate. You almost kill her, but she embraces you back. You cry and make love. At the end, she offers herself to be eaten so that you can be happy.

DAY 04 Crisis
The orders keep coming, also the letters. You need money, very badly. Now, N.R. invites you to join a dangerous plan against the factory for a large amount of money.
You choose stability and delete the letter.

DAY 05 Climax
N.R. is arrested and revealed to be a coworker you know.
She jumps into the machine, then dies, and all her bunnies（she stole from the factory and hers) are destroyed.

DAY ??? Resolution
You finally save enough money to leave with your bunny.
The ending implies you have already eaten her.