Physical computing / interactive game / 2019–2020
Authentic or Not.
A physical cooking game that invites people to explore traditional recipes together.
Role: Developer, fabricator, and game designer · with Shannel Doshi · Skills: p5.js · Arduino · Physical computing · Fabrication · User testing
Situation
Food carries a story.
As international students, Shannel Doshi and I saw how easily traditional dishes were confused with adaptations. We wanted to make that difference something people could discuss and discover together.
Task
The creative brief.
Build an approachable game where players choose a cuisine, select ingredients with physical controls, and see what they learned on screen.
Action
What I made.
I built the p5.js and Arduino interaction, fabricated the station with workshop tools, and refined the screens and instructions across three rounds of user testing. Shannel and I developed the project together.
Result
What the work produced.
The game was shown at the 2019 ITP Winter Show and Liberty Science Center Engineer Week 2020. The finished station joined tangible play, recipe selection, and a visual result.
Project film
See it happen.
01 / interaction design
Move cooking off the screen.
Players use a button and rotary control to choose a cuisine and ingredient layer, then move a hand or spoon near the bowls. A screen guides each step and reveals the selected ingredients at the end.
02 / testing and refinement
Make every step easier to follow.
Three test rounds revealed that the instructions were too dense and the move from cuisine to ingredients was unclear. I divided instructions across more screens, improved that transition, and added feedback to the ending.
From practice to projects
A wider visual toolkit.
The project shows how code, fabrication, and user testing can turn cultural learning into a shared physical experience.
Explore development work ↗