Hardware store candidates

A couple of weeks ago I did a short tour of some of the hardware stores downtown in order to make a selection of game controller candidates. I visited Claes Ohlsson, Jernia and Åhlens. The reason for visiting these stores was that I knew they held a wide range of tools, kitchenware and items for the bathroom and living room. I felt that by visiting these stores I would cover most of the objects one would expect to find in a home that would also be relevant game controller candidates.

Prior to visiting the hardware stores I had set up a list of criteria that the candidates would have to fulfill in order to be included in the project. The selection criteria were as follows:

1. Not too big
2. Not electrical
3. Not harmful
4. Not expensive

The reasoning behind these criteria is as follows:
Not too big - This is simply a practical criteria. I don't want the controllers to be so big that they are cumbersome to handle. The controllers should be of a size and weight which is managable for one person using one or two hands. At this point I consider a frying pan of normal size and weight to be only slightly too big and heavy.

Not electrical - I consider electrical appliances to be unsuited as game controllers for two main reasons. Firstly most of the home appliances use relatively high voltages. This could be dangerous in a game setting if the appliance for some reason should break. Secondly most home appliances have power cords of some kind attached to them. I would like to minimise the amount of cords and wires necessary in the game setting and therefore I choose to exlude electrical appliances.

Not harmful - I don't want people to hurt themselves or others physically when interacting with the game controllers. Sharp, heavy or in other ways hasardous items will therefore not be included.

Not expensive - I want the game controllers that I will develop to be affordable for the general public. Therefore they shouldn't be too expensive.

By following this list of criteria I selected the following items from the different hardware stores:

Kitchen:
• Potato peeler
• Wine opener
• Whisk
• Grater
• Scissors
• Knife
• Fork
• Spoon
• Spatula
• Tweezers
• Sieve
• Pizza wheel /Pizza slice
• Can opener
• Cheese slice
• Slice
• Mortar
• Brush
• Glass
• Cup/Mug
• Plate
• Rolling pin
• Ladle
• Egg slice
• Nutcracker
• Egg cup

Tools:
• Screw driver
• Brush
• Wrench
• Pipe tongs
• Saw
• Folding rule
• Hammer
• Clamp/Vice
• File
• Broom
• Paint roller

Bathroom:
• Sponge
• Squirting bottle
• Toilet paper roll
• Flyswatter

Other:
• CD-cover
• Sofa pillow
• Tea candles

I will use this list for creating a survey that will map out what people have available in their homes and which items they think have potential as game controllers. Based on the results of the survey and my own judgement I will select a number of promising candidates for game controller development.