The magic of Tamagotchis
Compared to today’s technologies, Tamagotchis were pretty basic. They had a few interactions -feed, play, bath, and cure- and that was it. Nevertheless, I spent hours everyday looking at that tiny screen.
Tamagotchis had something special that I find it’s lacking in the current tech-scene. They had a single user goal — to keep your little friend alive through a very basic set of interactions. The gadget didn’t offer much choice on what to do, as the device only offered the most necessary interactions. Looking back, I appreciate that lack of optionality that consumes so much of my time these days.
There was also something cool about seeing your Tamagotchi grow and change styles with every new level you achieved (a new level was unlocked every 10 human days, give or take).
Then the new generation of Tamagotchis was born, which allowed users to connect to each other and make Tamagotchi babies. With this update, the functionality became crowded and complicated, and it started to lose that appeal that the initial versions had.
I am interested in using Tamagotchi-like interactions with the fish in the underground aquarium — very basic interactions that allow users to see the progress of their own fish.
