Toy Design
&
Prototyping
&
Prototyping
Project 3
BLOG POST PROJECT 03: Storytelling
Guidelines:
- Make sure your project have a name.
- Explain in one paragraph your project idea.
- Include the video to tell the story of your mechanical toy. Feel free to include any photo of this project you would consider is good to show in your portfolio. Include in this post images of the process and your prototypes.
- Write a paragraph with a final reflection about your project. Did you have fun? What did you learn? what did it work and what didn’t? What would you do if you have more time?
My project is called Mono. He is an ancient, powerful magical machine with the ability to see into people’s hearts. The story behind it follows a student at a magic school who accidentally wanders into a mysterious castle and encounters the legendary Mono. Upon touching it by mistake, Mono reveals a world of desires hidden deep within the student’s mind—money, beauty, power. Overwhelmed and intoxicated, the student becomes lost in this illusion, unable to escape.
I wanted to use this magical machine as a way to visually represent how Mono reveals different desires depending on who interacts with it. To enhance the interactivity, I was inspired by the mechanics of a slot machine (yes… I know, I might have expected too much from myself here). I read the slides and had already developed the idea before realizing that most of us were picking similar techniques. I kind of trapped myself into a complex concept, which eventually led to me not fully completing it.
In addition to the slot machine idea, I also wanted to use wooden sticks to simulate the flowing movement of Mono’s robe in the wind.
To be honest, I’m not entirely happy with some parts of this project—especially because I struggled a lot with making the gear. Maybe it would have been easier if I used cardboard instead. I also want to give a big thanks to my girlfriend Amy, who supported me emotionallythrough my breakdowns, and even helped me a bit with some parts of the physical build. I know it might not be fair to other student👉👈 but she truly helped me through a rough patch.
I’ve learned a valuable lesson from this project: I need to manage my expectations better. It’s great to set ambitious goals and dream big, but I also need to mentally prepare for the possibility that things might not turn out perfectly. When I face that kind of gap between vision and reality, I often feel frustrated or discouraged, sometimes even wanting to give up—and that’s a mindset I really need to change.
If I had more time, I’d love to continue working on the eye mechanism. I really believe it’s doable—I just need more time and energy to bring it to life.