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What did we talk about?
During my 1:1 with Emma I explained my theme of cognitive behavioural art therapy, and showed her my 3 game ideas presentation. I told her that I chose to take the pet simulator idea further and she was supportive of this decision. She also highlighted the idea that pets are great for well being and thinks a pet simulator is a good genre for a therapy focused game.
I also brought up my difficulty trying to make the pet simulator idea more original so we did some quick idea brainstorming together:
After having looked at the options, I really liked the idea of it being a pet shelter for animals who are waiting to be adopted. I also thought the pets representing different emotions was a good option so I joined the two together.
At the end of our discussion I had a more solid game idea - a pet shelter where the animals represent different emotions and they are waiting to be adopted. When they are adopted, the player receives a postcard for each pet, letting them know they are doing well.
Update: Further development of this idea can be found here.
Game suggestions for inspiration:
Emma gave me some existing game suggestions to look at for inspiration.
This game was made in Bitsy and is short but really effective. It features different emotions and how they can be represented. I like the simplicity of it and how it captures a meaningful message. I’d like players of my game to feel like they have gone through a gratifying experience.
This is a mobile/tablet game that focuses on a more clinical approach to therapy (for grief), integrated with a distinct game aesthetic, which I think works very well. I like the tasks they get players to complete, such as breathing exercises and selecting their current mood. I think these would be good to incorporate into my game as general therapy techniques.
