May 2023
Solo Project
Time Period: 1 semester
Skills: Research, Graphic Design, Prototyping, Laser Cutting, Playtesting, Presentation
This project uses a sociological lens to explore emerging fandom culture, with a focus on cultural exchange and identity exploration within the fandom community. Specifically, the project examines the issues of female empowerment and queer visibility that are prominent in the fandom culture. To illustrate the cultural exchange within the fandom community, I designed and built a capsule machine and blind box merchandise that resemble the common items in Japanese anime peripheral shops. The merchandise contains illustrations and analyses of events that individuals may encounter in the fandom community. Through audience interaction with my work, those who are already involved in fandom communities may feel a sense of resonance, while those who are not may gain a better understanding of the community. Additionally, some may even develop an interest in exploring fandom culture further.
What is FANDOM…and What is Gacha?
Fandom is a vibrant subculture that brings together individuals who share a common interest.
Perhaps you have never heard of the word COSPLAY, but you might have seen children dressed up as their favorite superheroes during Halloween. Perhaps you think you've never encountered fan-created content, but you may have heard of "50 Shades of Grey," which originated from fanfiction based on the "Twilight" series. Or you may have seen the numerous adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes," which were created by fans of the original novels. Perhaps you've never attended a comic convention, you may have attended a concert of your favorite singer or a sports match, which are all examples of fandom activities.
With the advent of the internet, fandom communities have grown larger and become more accessible. For over a decade, fandom has been an integral part of my life, providing me with a sense of community and connection with others who share my passions.
Gacha stands for a capsule machine- a vending machine that dispenses random small toy capsules, usually containing a small toy or collectible inside. Blind box merch is a type of merchandise packaging where the contents are concealed inside a box, and the buyer doesn't know what they are getting until they open it. It is often used for collectible items such as toys, figures, or trading cards, and is popular among collectors and fans of various fandoms. The surprise element of not knowing what you will get adds to the excitement of collecting blind box merchandise.
What is FANDOM GACHA?
I decided to make a Gacha machine that represents invents that might happen in the meta-fandom- not any specific fandom, but things that you might encounter in any fandom, as there might be similar/ universal experiences in different fandoms.
DESIGN & PRODUCTION
I designed badges that represent positive emotion/events in fandom.
e.g. “MY SHIP IS REAL” represents shipping- which is the act of wanting a romantic relationship between two characters. For example, if a harry potter fan wishes harry potter to be together with Hermine, they could say that they ship Harry and Hermione.
This activity became popular in 1970s from the Star Trek fandom. Many fans would like to see romance between characters and write fanfic/ create fanart for the pairing.. Not everyone might experience the activity shipping, but it is a more & more common activity now.
However, there are not only happy experiences in fandom communities. I also include 7 badge that represents possible negative experiences to reflect on topics e.g. gender stereotypes and queer visibility.
e.g. “GIRLS CAN UNDERSTAND IT TOO?” represents experiences of being judged by male fans when a female participates in a male-dominant fandom, e.g. sports, games.
(Since people participate in fandom activities mainly for their own passion and joy, I want people’s experience with my capsule machine is mainly joyful as well, so I only include a part of them in the capsule machine, but I prepared the dark side box for those who are interested to design the “dark side” of fandom community.)
If you do not know about the concepts in fandom world, its okay! I provide explanations of concept and reasons behind why something would happen in fandom community.
I made the prototype with paperboard and then used the laser cutter to cut acrylics.
You might notice that the cost of entry is 1 creation not coins… Because most people participate in fandom for their own passion instead of wanting to make money, I don’t require them to pay me, but to sketch a small piece of fan art of their favorite character to participate in the fandom activity of creating fan content.
Then, I assembled the capsule balls and put them together.
PLAYTEST
I asked people to playtest my capsule machine, and I found that people are positive about my graphic design and they said my merch look exactly like what they’ll buy in the market.
The mechanic of the capsule machine is not perfect- sometimes the ball stuck because of size mismatch and mechanics of the capsule machine I built.
However, they are overall very happy about the experience.
These are some of the fanart I received during playtest.
People feel a lot of emotions-happy, curious, proud, worried if their art is worth viewing for fandom community, which I think also shows my method of participating successfully let them enjoy the activity of creating fan content.
Most People with fandom experience feel very relatable to my content- both positive and negative experiences, which shows my project successfully resonates with people in fandom.
A user without fandom experienced learned the new concept of shipping and made their first ever fanart of their ship after they understand the concept- Nobita & Shizuka, which shows that my project also successfully made those who does not know a lot about fandom but is interested in fandom learn some new knowledge.
For future improvements, I will provide a detailed explanation of what is Fanart as a poster so people who are new to the concept can understand them better, and I plan to improve the mechanics of the capsule machine I built.