''My Baby'' are a series of

single-player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. A single-player game is usually a game that can only be played by one person, while "single-player mode" is usuall ...

virtual life Artificial life (often abbreviated ALife or A-Life) is a field of study wherein researchers examine systems related to natural life, its processes, and its evolution, through the use of simulations with computer models, robotics, and biochemistry ...

simulation A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or proc ...

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

developed by French studios Dancing Dot Studio and Nobilis Games.

Games

My Baby Girl/My Baby Boy

''My Baby Girl'' and ''My Baby Boy'' are Nintendo DS video games released in North America on November 4, 2008, and in Europe on November 28, 2008. The games teach players the skills of

parenting Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a ...

(the player can choose to be a

daddy A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

or a mommy) and to the experience of raising a

daughter A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between groups ...

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

in the months that they spend as an

infant An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

. The player can choose a nationality for their child in addition to their eye color. Players must create a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

(up to eight letters) to his or her character before beginning the actual game. However, there is no need to insert either a

middle name In various cultures, a middle name is a portion of a personal name that is written between the person's first given name and their surname. A middle name is often abbreviated and is then called middle initial or just initial. A person may be ...

or a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

because of memory constraints. Two

developmental Development of the human body is the process of growth to maturity. The process begins with fertilization, where an egg released from the ovary of a female is penetrated by a sperm cell from a male. The resulting zygote develops through mitosi ...

challenges (i.e., teaching the baby how to speak or teaching the baby how to

crawl Crawl, The Crawl, or crawling may refer to: Biology * Crawling (human), any of several types of human quadrupedal gait * Limbless locomotion, the movement of limbless animals over the ground * Undulatory locomotion, a type of motion characterize ...

) must be passed before the baby is allowed to grow by one month. Using the microphone to expand the baby's

vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...

and the

stylus A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...

to put on new clothes for them helps provide the challenges that new parents face with their infants every day. Babies must be given

baby formula Infant formula, baby formula, or simply formula (American English); or baby milk, infant milk or first milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepar ...

in a bottle and the game is similar to the

Tamagotchi The is a handheld digital pet that was created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was released by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan and in the USA on May 1, 1997, quickly becoming one of the biggest toy fads o ...

devices of the mid-1990s. There was originally an option to create a "My Baby" game combining two genders in one cartridge but the idea was funneled off into two different cartridges. One of the other mandatory features of the game include

flatulence Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environm ...

, cooing, and the changing of the

diaper A diaper /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ (American and Canadian English) or a nappy ( Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate Defecation (or defaecation) follows dig ...

when the baby urinates or has a bowel movement.

My Baby First Steps

''My Baby First Steps'', known in Europe as ''My Baby 2: My Baby Grew Up'', is a video game for the Nintendo DS and Wii. The player's

has grown out of

infancy An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

and into

toddler A toddler is a child approximately 12 to 36 months old, though definitions vary. The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development. The word is derived from "to toddle", which means to walk unsteadily, like a child ...

hood. As a virtual parent, the player gets to control the character until he or she turns three years old (and approaches

childhood A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

). The baby will discover his or her entire environment, walk, babble, and even speak (saying either mommy or daddy depending on the gender of the player). Three-dimensional animations makes baby look more lifelike and an improved

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

makes the virtual baby act like the player's actual son or daughter. Babies will grow from a

physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...

and a

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...

view. The player can choose between having a boy or a girl in a single cartridge unlike the prequels. A shopping mall is introduced to purchase possessions for the baby and the home featuring generic clothing that doesn't have any fashion designer's name branded on them. The game has a realistic

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

and

pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

that teaches the player how to take care of their son or daughter.

My Baby 3 & Friends

''My Baby 3 & Friends'' is a 2010 Nintendo DS game developed by Dancing Dots and published by Majesco Entertainment. As a

, the player's

is exposed to activities like

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

, the swing set at the local playground, and even a

playground slide Playground slides are found in parks, schools, playgrounds and backyards. The slide is an example of the simple machine known as the inclined plane, which makes moving objects up and down easier, or in this case more fun. The slide may be flat, o ...

for stimulation and development. Players are also expected to allow their babies to

socialize In sociology, socialization or socialisation (see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those hel ...

with either another baby or with a

puppy A puppy is a juvenile dog. Some puppies can weigh , while larger ones can weigh up to . All healthy puppies grow quickly after birth. A puppy's coat color may change as the puppy grows older, as is commonly seen in breeds such as the Yorksh ...

. The timeline of the baby's development starts the baby off at 15 months (1 year and three months) and ends it at 30 months (2 years and six months). Thirty new skills can be developed in a non-linear fashion; making the parenting aspects of the game more in tune with the child's actual development.

Critical reception

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

awarded ''My Baby Girl'' 5.0 out of 10 (equivalent to 50% or a F letter grade), finding the graphics to be adequate but criticized the slow pacing, underwhelming

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, and lack of actual gaming content. An issue was raised with the nudity and

urination Urination, also known as micturition, is the release of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresis, ...

, which the reviewer felt might be uncomfortable for non-parents.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official My Baby website

Simulation titles
at nobilis-games.com Nintendo DS games Wii games Life simulation games Video games developed in France Virtual baby video games Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2008