''Big Huggin is an
affective video game developed by
Critical Gameplay in 2013. It was created by
Lindsay Grace
Lindsay Grace is a video game designer, artist, professor, and writer who currently lives in Miami, FL. He is best known as an academic game designer who employs critical design. He is the 2019 Games for Change Vanguard Award winner and Knight ...
. It has been shown in exhibits in United States, Mexico, France, and Brazil.
Gameplay
Its design is based on
Critical Design
Critical design makes aspects of future physically present to provoke a reaction. ''"Critical design is critical thought translated into materiality. It is about thinking through design rather than through words and using the language and structu ...
, and in contrast to classic video games, it is not controlled by mouse or keyboard, but rather the controls of the game are based on hugs made to a 30-inch custom
teddy bear
A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...
.
Development
Big Huggin' was created in 2012 by
Lindsay Grace
Lindsay Grace is a video game designer, artist, professor, and writer who currently lives in Miami, FL. He is best known as an academic game designer who employs critical design. He is the 2019 Games for Change Vanguard Award winner and Knight ...
, and its promotion continue in different cities and countries.
Kickstarter campaign
Lindsay Grace launched a
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
campaign on January 15, 2013, in order to raise US$2,500 for the continued promotion and exhibition of the game. A subsequent goal was the subsidized release of the game for children in places where giving hugs is even more valuable than usual. The campaign helped fund the production of bears and the game. The campaign was founded on February 14, 2013 and raised US$3,080.
Gameplay
Player input is collected by hugging a 30-inch custom
teddy bear
A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...
rather than a video game controller with buttons.
Reception
See also
*
Affection
Affection or fondness is a "disposition or state of mind or body" that is often associated with a feeling or type of love. It has given rise to a number of branches of philosophy and psychology concerning emotion, disease, influence, and sta ...
*
Positive affectivity
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Huggin'
2011 video games
Critical Gameplay games
Fictional teddy bears
Positive psychology
Single-player video games
Video games about bears
Video games about toys
Video games developed in the United States
Windows games
Windows-only games