PixelPantry

PixelPantry

Have you ever bought food and forgot about it, only to find out it expired a few days later? With a quick scan, PixelPantry allows you to scan food items and log them into an app, which reminds you with notifications on when your food is about to go bad! View your virtual pantry, log in new items, and keep track of expiration dates. As a reward for logging and properly disposing of your food, you get to take care of a PixelPet–your very own pixel companion! Reward your pet with different items from the store, such as toys and accessories.

User Research

The United Nations’ 2024 food waste index reports around 1 billion meals are wasted daily. Most food waste occurs due to oversight–overbuying perishable items, busy schedules, and making too much food. Such issues arise especially among neurodivergent people, who already struggle to balance other aspects of their daily lives.

To analyze what specific methods would assist them in properly managing their food inventory and reducing their waste, we read through different studies on the relationship between neurodivergence, memory, and rewards systems.

Our research found that games showed improved cognitive performance with children who had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders. Many neurodivergent people go to video games, as it offers an interactive and enjoyable pastime–by combining a game with a system that rewards them for remembering their food waste, our app creates an incentive for them to remember and think about their food choices and purchases.

Brainstorming

When brainstorming what kind of game would be rewarding and incentivizing for users, we decided to utilize a ‘pet” system, where the user has to take care of an animal. The pet will then be rewarded or punished based on the user’s choices–if user consistently logs and disposes of expired food items, the user can buy accessories and toys for the pet. If the user forgets, the pet eats these expired food items, and in return, gets hurt and sick. In a roundabout way, the pet serves as a reminder to the user to properly take care of themselves, their health, and what food they put in their bodies.

We did further research on what specific colors and themes to use in the game, we came across an article called “Building Apps for a Neurodivergence Audience,” which states that neurodivergent audiences tend to be overstimulated with bright colors. Because of this, we decided to use a pastel color palette for our project. We also searched up similar games, such as Neko Atsume,as inspiration for different visual and game aspects.

Built With

• figma