Pixel Chix

A Tamagotchi is described as a “virtual pet”,but it can actually grow in a number of forms, beginning life as an amorphous blob and growing into one of many kinds of creatures depending on its condition in early life. Caring for a Tamagotchi involves monitoring its well-being by taking care of it’s essential needs: happiness, hunger, toilet, attention and discipline. The pet goes through several distinct stages of development throughout its life cycle and can even be married and have offspring.

The balancing of these meters is what gives the Tamagotchi the sense of an independent creature by simulating the requirements of care for a real creature. What makes the Tamagotchi so unique is that fact it is always on, meaning the pet requires constant vigilance by the user. The entire life and its effects is totally up to the user. This aspect reinforces the idea the virtual pet is “alive” by demanding real-world commitment.

This project aims to simulate the idea of a virtual pet based on a human girl. The series of moving images are a simulation of her life cycle and shows the real aspects from her life as contained in a hand-held device. As a viewer, you are the user who has constant vigilance upon the subject’s life and sees to her needs. The viewer sees the growth and adaption that simulate the illusion of a living creature, but the virtual pet isn’t really living. She is being watched and controlled. Every aspect of her life, even her life span, is altered by the level of care given it by the user.A well-cared for pet will grow to be more attractive and be more desirable and live longer. As a result, you can see at times her life is great, but at times you see negative aspects and consequences in her life. In this project, it will explore the fascination of technology culture and the idea of whether virtual pets can be “a form of life.”