Sitting Duck Game
Wood's 'Sitting Duck' game
(Click images to enlarge)
Wood Cheng
Remuera Intermediate School
Year 8 Electronics Technology
Teacher: Malcolm Graham
Wood's workbook gallery
Wood made his 'Sitting Duck' game to answer a brief which required him to make an electronic game using a basic circuit that he could amend or add to if he wished.
Wood decided to develop a game for his four-year-old brother, considered ideas that would entertain his stakeholder, and came up with four concepts which he sketched and detailed. He chose the 'Moving Head' game, in which a player would shoot marbles at a head moving from side to side, for further development. However, when he discussed this concept with the teacher, he realised that it would be difficult to create the movement of the head inside the game box. After considering this problem he decided that he could still incorporate the sideways movement he wanted, but behind a board rather than inside the box.
In his refined design Wood had a duck sitting behind a board which had LEDs on it. One player would shoot the duck, while the second moved the duck from side to side to avoid it being shot. Based on the headings given by his teacher, Wood listed the specifications for his product, for example that it had to be light and the duck needed to be big for ease of use.
After developing his idea, Wood reviewed his existing skills and knowledge to see what he would need help with, and identified the constraints that might hinder him, such as time, skill, or tools. As part of his Planning for Practice, Wood identified the materials and equipment he would need and outlined the key stages in his process.
Wood found the biggest challenge in developing his design was getting the duck to move from side to side. He had originally planned to use a small motor with rubber bands but when he trialled that he found it too complicated. Wood then decided to use a Lego toy from home – this featured a control with switches to move the little vehicle from side to side. He had to build tracks for the vehicle and found that aligning the tracks and vehicle wheels was also quite tricky.
Wood had to overcome another problem; the LEDs would turn on unintentionally, when the duck (on its spring) moved too much making the spring touch the washer which turned the circuit on. He fixed this by using tape on the side of the washer so that the circuit would only switch on when the spring moved backwards and forwards when the duck was shot.
Wood says that if he made the game again he would use a buzzer to make it more entertaining, and make a tidier circuit. He adds that as well as learning new skills, such as using the scroll saw, he got the hang of stripping wire and now understands that developing a new game from ideas through to completion is more involved and time-consuming than he thought.
Teacher comment
Wood thinks outside the square, an advantage with a fairly broad brief where every outcome was different. Students altering or adding to the basic circuit have to design their own circuit and get it approved by the teacher; while providing structure for the teacher this also gives students the opportunity to create multiple outcomes, as Wood did.
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