A new simulation allows users with disabilities to plan for
and get accustomed to everyday activities, such as shopping for groceries. The
graduating class at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has created a new game
intended to help people with disabilities struggling to gain independence. The
game utilizes blueprints from a Price Chopper grocery store and recreates the
shopping experience for the user. Armed with a virtual shopping list, users
must walk the aisles to find the products necessary to make a selected meal.
Locating the items is just a part of the experience. The user must also grab
the item from the shelf and add it to a virtual shopping cart.
Called the CapAbility Games Research Project, the students worked in
collaboration with the Adult Services Division of the Center for
Disability Services in Albany to develop a game that specifically
addresses the needs of the center’s consumers.
The game, called “Capable Shopper,” simulates a shopping trip at a
local Price Chopper. Players maneuver through the virtual grocery
store—which is based on actual blueprints obtained from an area Price
Chopper where the center’s consumers often shop—using a specially
designed joystick or a head mouse, depending on their individual
mobility.
“The most difficult—and most rewarding—part of the game development
process was creating something that was accessible to a large group of
people who had varying abilities,” said Zach Barth, a dual computer
systems engineering and computer science major. “Beyond that we created
countless iterations of the game until we achieved something
educational that was still really fun to play.”
A computer monitor set up directly in front of the user simulates the
layout of the store, and a second monitor to the left displays a
virtual shopping list. Users start the game by selecting a meal they’d
like to make—such as a spaghetti dinner, a holiday ham, or even rotini
with alfredo lobster sauce—and complete it when they’ve found all the
items on their list.
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