Theme: The magic of organic creation
User Experience
You awake in your villa in the Give Kids the World Village, excited to start another fun-filled day. You walk downstairs to the living room, and on the table you see a scroll, tied with an ornate ribbon. Curious, you examine what has to be another gift from the gift fairy.
The scroll reads “Hear Ye! Hear ye! Be it hereby known to all in this humble yet noble village that the esteemed holder of this valuable parchment has a pure heart and a steady mind able to conjure a pillow from the pillow tree. Present this patch to Simon in the castle of miracles.” Attached is a fabric GKTW patch.
You make your way into the castle of miracles. Rusty greets you at the door; pass through the main hall, and round the corner into the garden. You see a wishing well in the center, Old Elmer to the left, and what appears to be a willow tree made out of thread to your right. There is a cobblestone path made of buttons leading from the wishing well to the willow. You follow the path over. There is a wooden sign outside the tree that reads “Pillow Tree.” You are in the right place!
Around the tree are seats made out of spindles of thread. Families are sitting down and watching a short animated film that has appeared out clouds in one of the castle’s windows. The film tells the story of the pillow tree’s creation.
The branches of the pillow tree are parted at the end of the path, making a small nook under the leaves. You walk under the leaves, and all of a sudden a light breeze begins to rustle the leaves, as they light up and shimmer with your presence. Now that you are close to the tree, you can tell that it is made up interwoven strands of thread. The leaves are patches of fabric, and there are buttons sewn on to the tree in random places. There are buds of pincushions growing out of the tree.
The trunk of the tree has a window built into it, and off to the side is a mailbox that reads “Simon the owl”. The leaves near his mailbox seem to shimmer, indicating that you can use it. You remember that your scroll told you to give the GKTW patch to Simon, and you put it into his mailbox. You close the lid, and the leaves around the mailbox start to glow, and looking into the window, you see a light turn on. You must have woken up Simon, and you hear him stumbling around in his house, asking where his glasses are. He walks up to the window, and says “Why hello there! I’m Simon, and I’m the caretaker of the pillow tree. I’ve sent out those patches out all over the world to boys and girls who have the heart and mind to help grow pillows on the tree here. The pillows from this tree are magic. They have the power to grant those that fall asleep on them sweet dreams. I can’t seem to find my glasses… you are of noble decent, so are you a knight, a princes, or a jester? Look below my window and press the patch with your symbol. As Simon says this, 3 cloth patches on the trunk of the tree light up, with a helm for the knights, tiara for the princesses, and a jester’s cap. Simon says, “While you make your choice, I am going to find my glasses”, as he wonders away from the window.
Flattered that Simon thinks so highly of you, you sit and ponder what to do for a moment. Being a boy, you push in the knight symbol. Simon comes back to his window. “Ahh! Of course you are a knight” Simon says. “Ahh yes, now I can see you. You look like a very brave knight.”
“Look around you, Simon says. “This tree has the potential to grow pillows, but it needs the help of a brave knight like you. Unlike a normal tree, that needs light and water to grow, this tree grows off of hope and happy thoughts. Once it gets enough happy thoughts, a pillow grows on the tallest branch, capturing all those happy memories. Can you help the tree grow a pillow?”
“Sure!” you exclaim, happy to be a part of this magic.
“Great!”, says Simon. “The first thing you have to do is get your happy thoughts into the tree. Do you see that large, heart shaped button next to my window? Grab on to it, and think of the people that you love. Love is the best way to fill up the pillow.”
You grab on to the button, and it immediately begins to glow. You think of your family and friends, and as you do, the button begins to vibrate and get warm. The color of the button starts to change, from a dull brown to a bright red. The leaves around the button get brighter and brighter, and you hear the wind blowing faster and faster. Woosh!
“You have done it!” Exclaims Simon. “You have added so much love to the tree that I think you have created a whole new pillow! Let me go and check”. With a flourish, Simon walks to the back of his house, and flies out his door, and up into the tallest branches of the tree, with the tag you gave him in his beak. It happens so fast that you can’t see him, but you hear the leaves rustling and shaking as he gets towards the top.
“Marvelous!” Simon says. “This is one lovely pillow. I am going to sew on the patch I sent you so you can always remember how you made the pillow.” Simon pauses for a moment and then continues. “If you shake that vine to your left, I’ll bet you can get it to fall down to you”
You grab a vine made out of twine to your side, and shake it a few times. A magical sound happens, and your pillow falls out of the branches into a thimble bucket by your side. Simon thanks you for adding more magic to the world as he flies back into his house. He says that his work is done, and turns off his light and goes back to sleep.
You leave the tree with your brand new pillow.
Alternative Owl Names
Cornelius
Hooty McOwl
Henry
Don
Jasper
Abe
Norm
Simon
Edmundo
Siegfried
Rupert
The Story of the Garden
Late one night, when all of the other residents of the Village were asleep, Mrs. Mary was very busy with her sewing basket.
“There are so many special friends at the Village,” said Mrs. Mary, “and each one deserves a special pillow of their own.” But with every pillow she sewed, pressed, and fluffed, she grew more and more tired. She tried to stay awake, but her bunny eyelids kept fluttering. “I have to finish,” she yawned, “everyone deserves a soft pillow to rest his or her head on”. But try as she might, she simply couldn’t stay awake. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until she finally set down her basket, fell asleep.
That night, she dreamt that her sewing basket began to grow. Her yarn and thread began to sprout leaves and flowers made of fabric.
Mrs. Mary awoke the next morning, and exclaimed “What a wonderful dream!” She turned around to pick up her basket and finish the pillows, and marveled at what she saw. Where her sewing basked had been stood a marvelous tree made of yarn and thread. The leaves were fabric, and sprouting like apples were fresh and fluffy pillows.
“Where did this come from,” asked Mrs. Marry. She found no one around, only a note reading, “With Love, Hope, and Kindness in every seam; we hope this tree’s harvest will bring you sweet dreams.”
Mrs. Mary didn’t know who had made her dream come true, but she knew it was a gift she would share with the whole village. She would share the gift of sweet dreams.
Location Treatment
The Pillow Tree will be located in the corner of the Castle of Miracles where the current Pillow Machine is located. The tree and its canopy will take up the majority of the space. The trail of buttons will be removable foam pieces attached to the floor. The spindle seats and other items will be removable furniture pieces. The tree will have a faux wall created along side of it that will section off a storage area for the mechanics, computing, and pillow storage.
The tree itself can be made of any material (wood or metal suggested). This will be covered in a mesh of heavy netting to support the aesthetic final cloth and fabric layers. This layer will act much like a shower curtain over a frame, and will be removable for cleaning, and replaceable for various seasons/events.
The owl’s house is a screen set into the tree. His mailbox is small mechanical device, akin to a dollar bill reader in a candy machine. Behind the reader is an optical sensor to detect the cloth patch. This triggers the owl show to start.
The gender buttons on the tree are standard spring, cloth-covered buttons. The large heart button will be custom made to house a shaker and a heater. It will rest on a pneumatic base that can be depressed into the tree’s body.
The leaves in the tree will be coated in fiber optics to make the shimmering effect. There will be ambient lighting in the tree’s nook whose brightness and color can be changed. There will be a number of speakers, two centered behind the owl’s screen, and a few more leading up the tree to create his motion. There will also be shakers in branches.
The pillow machine’s operation is based on a dual corkscrew design going up the trunk of the tree, one for each gender. Pulling on the vine triggers the release of the pillow.
The area around the pillow tree can be themed accordingly. An animation depicting the tree’s story can be made to play on a faux window display in the castle, in the clouds.
The estimated cost to create this treatment can be broken up as followed:
- Estimated cost of computer with video/5.1 audio card and monitor, graphics card, controls entire show ($700)
- Estimated cost of 5.1 audio speakers for monitor, as well as hidden in branches above ($100)
- Estimated cost of fiber optics around tree ($200)
- Estimated cost of lighting (~$2.5K)
- Estimated cost of voltage (capacitive/resistant) sensor ($20)/shaker ($100)/heater (induction coil) (4 at $15) (DMX) for heart button ($400 for DMX)
- Estimated cost of back-lit lights for buttons (EL wire) ($15), DC power ($100), can switch with DMX ($400 for DMX)
- Estimated cost of linear actuators in branches (4 at $60 each) + ($400 for DMX)
- Estimated cost of light sensor for reading tags ($10)
- Estimated cost of 3 touch sensors for buttons (knight/princess/jester) ($15 each)
- Estimated cost of motion sensor for vine ($45)
- Estimated cost of phidget I/O board ($80)
- Estimated cost of conveyer belts and motors (~$1K) + ($400 for DMX)
- Estimated cost of 6 dimmer packs (~$150 each)
- Estimated cost of construction materials (~$10K)
Total Estimate: $17,715
Game Design
The game play for the Pillow Tree is largely experiential. We feel that given the unique audience and theme of GKTW, this will work as well as a more action-driven game.
Once the tag is inserted into the mailbox, there are no points at which a player can loose the game. Every step that requires interaction will time out after a certain time, and complete itself, advancing the story. The only interactions required of the player are choosing a gender, holding onto an object, and pulling a rope, all of which are quite simple.
The experience relies on an immersive sensory experience to convey the theme and emotion rather than constructive action.
Here is the entire physical tree model.
Here are the buttons that a child will press to indicate if they're a knight, princess, or jester.
Here is the heart button kids will need to press to fill their pillows with all their wishes and dreams.
Here is a close-up of one of the branches.
Here's a close-up of the intricate vines.
Here's a close-up of the button path.
Here's a view of the tree once it's covered with the fabric leaves.
Here's a close-up shot of the fabric leaves.
Here's while the tree will look like as a child enters the canopy.
Here's a view of the tree from underneath the canopy.
Here's the tree enclosed in the entire canopy.
