Simply-Complicated

Apurva GuptaMS-HCI

Premise

The game works on the idea of healthy relationships and what dilemma

a person faces making any relationship be it family, love or friends.

I started with the idea to design a game around ‘Long Distance

Relationships’ but generalized it to extend a step further to incorporate

the idea of keeping a happy and healthy relationship.

Game-Play

It’s a 90sec game wherein the player tries to strike a balance between himself and his relationship. The player forms

a protective permeable interface between the external influence and the relationship.

The player is faced with positive and negative influences.

For Player:

- If he takes a negative influence his health reduces.

- If he takes a positive influence his health increases.

For Relationship:

- If a negative influence permeates the relationship, the player health and the relationship health decreases.

- If a positive influence permeates the relationship, the player health and the relationship health increases.

Winning-Losing State

Winning:

Cross the blue threshold line in the middle without diminishing yourself in

90 seconds

Losing:

Run out of time.

Vanish by taking a lot of negative influences.

Cross the red threshold line (on the left) and endanger your

relationship.

Artist’s Statement

The idea conveyed by the game is the dilemma face by a person in any relationship. We all

want all the good things to happen to the relation and the partner and take up all the negative

influences ourselves. But if we keep taking the negative influences we become cold and aloof

and there is no ‘you’ in the relationship anymore.

If the relationship is healthy, we are happy. Our mind, body and soul is happy. But if anything

happens to the relationship, we dissolve a little bit too internally.

Any influence becomes positive or negative depending on how you deal with it. Things which

are not coherent or concentric with your partner can hurt you or relationship but things done

together, here, concentric strengthens the self or the relationship.

Artist’s StatementColor choices: Colors associated with love (Shade of Red) is used to be consistent with the theme. The player color was chosen so that it stands out.

The influences are designed using the metaphor of concentricity for a negative or positive influence.

The game is a simple modification of the classic space-shooter game.

Add-ons

There are a few ideas which were not implemented in the Gameplay.

The level of relationship. Depending upon how healthy the relationship

is or the player is after the 90sec time.

More robust algorithm to show the interdependence between the

player and the relationship.