Learn to make a game controller from sheep wool and conductive fibre!
In this workshop, we used the Adafruit Circuit Playground board in combination with felting techniques to create alternative game controllers. These creations followed the style of traditional game controllers and/or were imagined in new shapes, colours, layouts, or forms. Participants worked with a kit that they could keep at the end of the workshop, including the microcontroller, industrial felt, wool roving, conductive fibre, and a felting needle, so that they can continue to refine their game controllers at home.
This workshop required no previous experience with Adafruit Circuit Playground, electronics, felting, or games.
Participants were taught to make game controller buttons using conductive fibre and wool fibre using the technique of felting to define the button shapes. The buttons were then used as capacitive controls by connecting them to the Adafruit board to make the game controller.
Each participant sewed an Adafruit Circuit Playground onto the felt cut to their desired shape and created their own design for the buttons, controller layout and the controller shape
Here are the instructional slides from the workshop.
Event Information
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
6:30pm – 9:30pm
DMG Workshop • At the Toronto Media Arts Centre (32 Lisgar Street)
Participant holding up their completed prototype 
Participant showing the interaction with their game controller 
We set up a photobooth for participants to self document their work throughout the workshop