DIY Artcade: Make money through play

K-12 STEAM education

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Through the experiences of the Two Bit Foundation, Brent Bushnell has watched the challenges and opportunities of engaging students in K-12 learning. In running the Two Bit Circus micro-amusement park he’s been hyper exposed to the great tools for arcade and game production. As a UCLA trained engineer and career game-making entrepreneur Brent lives these domains on a daily basis. Games and play are a common interest kids share, which makes them a perfect opportunity to leverage as a pathway for learning. STEAM disciplines and entrepreneurship are challenging subjects in the abstract and can shine with practical application in a revenue generating activity.

The goal of Phase Two of the DIY ArtCade project is to work with 10 communities, evenly distributed around LA County, to build 10 Artcade cabinets. Those 10 communities will be partnered with 10 artists to collaborate to customize their cabinets with their community and place them in 10 locations around LA including Dave & Busters. Those 10 locations would then monetize for their communities and demonstrate the KPIs for the project as a model for future communities to implement their own. We will shoot video content of the whole 10 cabinet program to use as a sizzle reel and demonstration of what's possible.

The DIY Artcade solution is a platform for creativity and learning. Its blend of engineering, fabrication, game design, and entertainment aligns well as a showcase for LA's creative industries. The 10 locations we begin with will hopefully inspire others across the country and around the world to create their own. Using our solution as a base, students and makers can customize their implementation and create something new. For Angelenos, that means more inspired and empowered youth, more entertaining public spaces, and a new canvas to celebrate and showcase the vast landscape of creative talent that LA has to offer. We have for years run STEAM Carnivals with Hawthorne school district in particular. Giving the kids a known great place to start from for the games they make to showcase will be rewarding for students and attendees alike.

KPIs for Phase Two are:
Revenue per week per cabinet
Uptime and internet connectivity
Opening hours of operating venues
Number of students involved in each cabinet
Challenges of sharing the project across collaborators
Website web traffic and impressions for the various pieces of social content
Pre and post survey of students involved with the program and their perspectives towards STEAM & entrepreneurship
Post survey for students who engage with the program in other ways (playing a game, helping in other ways)
Challenges of the logistics of bank account formation, payment gateway setup and other business logistics.

Two Bit Foundation will help with community selection and coordination. Two Bit will host the cabinet creation day, exhibit a cabinet and manage the artists and other venues. Strange Outfit will deliver the finished cabinet software and hardware for replication.