The loopy toy is an engaging marble-run toy for kids aged 8-10, who have grown up as digital natives. loopy aims to teach children physics through physical, gamified play.
2020 - 2021
Solo Project
I conducted user research, crafted multiple design interations, and produced a physical prototype for playtests. This project is a work in progress and is affiliated with the USC incubator.
Teaching emerging technology
& engaging children
The digital natives of Generation Alpha are all under 10 years old & technologically adept.
Unfortunately, many of their toys haven't evolved with them. Why play with action figures when you can do so much more on an iPad?
I wanted to learn more about the biggest pain points kids face when playing with toys, so I interviewed six kids aged 8-10.
😡 Toys that “do nothing”
😊 Interactive & Multifunctional Toys
😡 “Little Kid Toys”, Outgrowing toys
😊 More Control & Creation
😡 Not hands-on, Low-Tech
😊 Toys that teach tech
Children are moving away from toys and towards video games at an earlier age, leading to increasing concerns of screen reliance.
Sources: 2020 Toy and Gaming Trends Reports by The Toy Assocoiation™ and PLAY MR.
In order to discover a good solution to this problem, I utilized the tools of mind-mapping, white boarding and sketching out initial concepts.
I approached 10 target users in order to gain feedback on these initial concept sketches, and received positive feedback on a Rube Goldberg machine concept.
I completed a competitive analysis to discover that there is currently no toy in the "building toys" category that allows for unlimited building possibilities and a variety of building block interactions.
Few chain reaction toys on the market have a variety of interesting interactions that allow for unlimited possibilities.
There is also an opportunity for differentiation using gamification.
Hypothesis
With the low-fidelity prototype, I wanted to gauge interest in the gamified marble run concept, but also test if a random timer element was compelling.
Insights
The concept was a success! The kids enjoyed the movement and interactions. They also enjoyed the randomness and added challenge of the timer.
They recommended making the board bigger but also keeping it portable, and adding more track pieces with movement.
Improvements
When ideating how I could make a play surface where the track pieces could be placed anywhere, I took inspiration from whiteboards and created this magnetic board. It has a piano hinge so the board can fold for portability and co-play.
Insights
While this version was well-received by play testers, the adults I spoke to cautioned against the use of magnets in kids toys. I also noticed that a bigger marble might be more
Improvements
I sourced a velcro that is user friendly to replace the magnetic game board. I also remodeled the track pieces to accomodate a bigger marble and to make it easier for the marble to fall into the next track piece.
The most exciting piece was a funnel that required me to find the equation of curve that would make the marble roll the slowest!
Insights
The playtesters seem happy with the bigger marble size and the soft velcro board. The packaging can be improved.
I learnt the value of constantly testing your product with both the target customer (parents) and the target consumer (children) and iterating fast.
I also learnt about the toy industry and manufacturing methods through this project.