Pixelate

Pixelate is a Guitar-Hero-style eating game in which players compete in a one-minute showdown to see who can eat the most food in the correct order. A digital interface built into a custom dining table shows players which foods to eat and when, while the game detects whether they’ve eaten the correct food by measuring the food’s resistance on the fork. Potential applications for Pixelate include encouraging children to eat more healthy foods, helping to manage portions, and educating children and adults about nutrition. Built using Arduino and openFrameworks, Pixelate gameifies the act of eating, challenging players to consider whether they think before they eat, or eat before they think.

Featured
FastCoDesign: Kids Win This Video game By Eating A Plate Of Fruit
Core77: Sures Kumar & Lana Z. Porter Present ‘Pixelate,’ a Video Game that Gives ‘Playing with Your Food’ a New Meaning
CreativeApplications:  Pixelate – Guitar-Hero-style eating game which detects food you are eating
Arduino Blog: Interactive table turns eating into a videogame
CNN Chile: Pixelate: interactive table might help fussy children eat
Also featured in PSFK, Yanko Design, Animal NewYork, Ubergizmo, Hot News ER, Trend Hunter, Polygon, Protein

Publication
Book: Every Day is Play – A Celebration of the Video Game

Exhibitions
Henry Moore Gallery
Jan 2013
London, United Kingdom

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Prototype
We presented a working prototype to the Design Interactions department of the Royal College of Art, using carrots, potatoes, bananas and strawberries as our test foods. Here a projector was used to project the game interface on the table.

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Process
Different foods have different resistances. We conducted a series of experiments to determine how to sense the food, and which foods are electrically distinct enough to work in the game.

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Technology
Pixelate was developed using OpenFrameworks and Arduino.

Created in collaboration with Lana Z Porter.
Prototyping Team: Sures Kumar, Lana Z Porter, Mohammed Ali and Johanna Schmeer.
Thanks: Tom Hulbert, Channing Ritter and Marcel Helmer