Brainstorming!

Today was our first brainstorm session. We stayed all day and we came up with quite a few ideas. Here they are:

Idea 1: (Pillow Tree) Deku Tree: Garden of the Castle
Tree grows out and branches out. It physically starts out in the corner and goes up to the ceiling. There may be special lights (like LED in gobo leaf pattern, soft lights). Child goes up, and using the touch screen and magic, you pull the pieces together and the pillow would be lowered down at the end. This is not Elmer, but a different tree.
Story: Similar to the star fairy. Someone planted a pillow, and a pillow tree grew out of the ground
Art Style: Tree is in layers- trunk grows almost vine like, so you can hide screens between its vines. Can have a quilted / Dr. Seuss-like look – is patched together. Leaves are different swatches of cloth.
Like Build-a Bear, you build your pillow with good wishes.
Directional Sound

RFID Tag
You start by putting in a plush pillow in the shape of an:
Acorn
Magic Sparkle Bag
Vibrating Orb
Bag of Magic Beans
Miracle Grow Tablet

Mini-Game
Pollination – you are watering and helping to take care of the tree so that it grows- and it will give you a pillow in return.
Actions:
Fluff of the clouds (pillow is stuffed with clouds)
Sewn together with light from the moon.
Water it with the morning dew

Idea 2: Rube Goldberg/Seuss/Crazy Effects
-Metal Person makes soft things, can be soft things- this theme more serious
Kangaroo inventor guy- is quirky and bad at it, but in a comical way, so you have to help him out on it. (pouring different things, etc…)

Idea 3: Bake Pillow
- cupcake land

Idea 4: Space Ship
- alien lands in the castle

Idea 5: Library
- improbable stacks of books, one of them open up
-fill their heads with things to dream about, and we’ll give you a pillow
-there are different screens (like Ben Franklin), or scrolls with different stories of characters from give kids.
Stacks are books are also pillars.
Toadstool seats
There are different stations with activities.
There is a giant book (Stories of Sweet Dreams)- glows and makes noises. When you open it, there is a pillow.
Scavenger hunt. Look up different books, get a password. Use the password to open the book (is a pictorial password)
You tell someone a bedtime story- Mad-libs style/ you make sweet dreams
Book portal- you send someone a dream, they send you back a pillow
Book takes you to slumber-land

Idea 6: Wizards
Technology:
-Magic Mirror
-Crystal Ball
-Mouse Wizard/or small virtual character
Put things into the cauldron and you work together to make the best dream There are different crystal balls or magical shapes around the cauldron that glow, sparkle, vibrate, make noises. Each represents a different theme – hope, dreams, favorite bed time story, etc. You go to each and make a wish for each one (silently). For example, the wizard might say at the hope ball, “make a wish about one person you love”. After a few seconds, the hope ball would glow pink, and the cauldron would also glow pink. After all the balls are activated, the potion is done. You look in the cauldron, and inside is a pillow!

Idea 7: Crazy Ass Machine / Rusty
Is like an engine/ powering a train. Shovel cotton into machine. Different levers and stuff. Pillow comes out. This machine was designed by the Suit of Armor, Rusty. He’s so hard and strong, that he wanted to rest on something soft and comforting. Help rusty make his dream come true.

Idea 8: Nighttime Washing Machine
There are pillows everywhere full of bad dreams. The kids will have to “cleanse” the pillows and out will come a new pillow just for them full of good dreams.

We're going to try to develop all of these ideas by creating treatments that will include artwork, a narrative, game play, and any technology that will be required. We'll then bring these treatments down to Give Kids the World to see what they have to say about them. The next couple of weeks are going to be rough!

First Day of Classes

Today is the first day of classes! We're all excited and ready to go this semester. All of our team is here, except for Brendan, who unfortunately has been delayed due to airline issues. We all hope he has safe travel and can make it here soon!

Our plan right now is to try and visit Give Kids the World in September and present them with some concept ideas for our pillow tree. We're going to brainstorm later this week and try to get some basic concepts and then flesh them out. Our hope is that when we meet with them they'll give us some good feedback on our ideas and we can have one to do from there.

We'll try to keep this regularly updated and let you know how our project is going.