Unique blending of both the digital and analog worlds

At the 2013 Tokyo Game Show, “Food Practice Shooter” demonstrated just how effective the blending of digital and analog worlds can be when it comes to children.







The game, which was created by Takayuki Kosaka, an assistant professor at the Kanagawa Institute of Technology, is your standard point-and-shoot video game, but when users run out of ammunition, things get interesting. You see, in order to restock their bullets, the users must put down their guns and consume the appropriate vegetable in order to up their ammunition.

Cheating is discouraged through a fairly unique set-up of the game equipment: the gun controller has a camera, the user must wear a set of headphones that include within them sensors aimed at the wearer’s cheeks, and a set of digital scales are filled with three different vegetables prior to the game starting.

After chewing on one of the veggie snacks from the scales, the user must smile into the camera. This action is meant to forge a positive connection with the food over time. Both actions — the chewing and smiling — are converted into digital ammunition, and gameplay can continue.

The digital scales ensure that food is actually removed from the bins, and the sensors near the cheeks make sure the player is actually chewing on the vegetables. Once complete, the player can restart the game right where he or she left off.

While the system is a long way away from mass production, it could see immediate use in places like schools or camps.

To see it in action for yourself, check out the video below:

Story via: psfk.com

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