This seems like a good test electronically, but I think it relies too much on the grocery store items being non-rigid materials like cardboard or plastics which really won't hold up over time. I think that using some sort of conductive sensing is a much better idea.

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I would look a touch capacitive sensor for the food items, maybe - and putting metal on the inside of the fake food item. This would avoid the guest from having to 'jab' at the food item to trigger the force sensor.

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I know you focussed on the works like model, but I find your question very narrow. According to your storyboard, you might have wanted to explore how different types of input devices can integrate with food items made with different packaging material and how realistic the result can be. Take cardboard box for cereal, glass jar for mayonaise, and plastic box of fruit.

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I think it was a good idea to try out the force sensing and compare it to buttons. I agree that people will prefer just having to touch the object, but it was good that you actually explored this. Something else to explore here would be how many items you can sense with a single microcontroller- this would help with judging the feasibility/expenses of the concept.

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Your question of whether users would prefer to push buttons of have the items sensed by a force sensor seems like a reasonable question. The outcome of the preference for a force sensor also seems to help the room feel more realistic which will allow users to be more immersed and excited. It seems like this storyboard as a whole has multiple concepts (touch object, shopping cart, and climb walls) none of which are too complex by themselves which allows for a simpler design. Other things which could be investigated with a sketch model to help choose a theme to go forward with might include how a grocery list might help users know which items to grab/ what mechanisms could be used to make this game more challenging.

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The user research was well done. I agree that the touch sensor does add another layer of mystery behind the game.

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This seems like it was helpful in driving some important design decisions. I think you should continue with conductive testing though.

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It's no question that you can wire a force pad with a LED, but what are questions that you really want to test to help further refine your gag? And I don't think what you made answered that.

Also next time if the sound of the video is irrelevant, please cut it out.

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I'm not sure what the sketch model is showing besides the fact that you can set up a force sensor. It would have been much more useful to explore different methods of sensing on an actual product. For instance, where should a force sensor be placed so that you can reliably sense when someone is touching it? Is a force sensor the most reliable, or is there something else that is better? Boda borg and 5 Wits use similar concepts in several of their rooms, so it would be good to look into that and find out what the most reliable methods are.

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Using a force pad in this context, it would be interesting to know if the force pad is triggered by pushing and pulling on the object or just one? It might also be interesting to know how easy it is to trigger to see how many tries it will take users to trigger. The demo setup you have is clear and easy to understand, though it could be expanded to show not only how a force pad works, but how the force pad would interface with the item on the shelf. It might also be interesting to see if one could accidentally trigger a force pad by shaking the shelf while climbing/ leaning on it.

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I think the execution was well done. You were able to show how using the touch pad de/activated the light and answered your overall question of if it was doable and how to get people engaged. I also think you are looking in the right place in how to move forward.

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