INTRODUCTION
1 Title Slide

SOME REJECTED IDEAS
2 Feeling Around in the Dark
3 Left Hand of Darkness 1
4 Left Hand of Darkness 2

MY PERSONAL CHALLENGE
5 Reach a New Market
6 Improve Actual Sex

MARKET AND INSPIRATION
7 Caretaking
8 Adventure and Exploration
9 Magical Flight
10 Platform: Nintendo DS

DESCRIPTION
11 Basic Concept
12 Gameplay: Sexual response patterns
13 Gameplay: Physical and Audible input
14 Credits
15 Demo

Lapis
the game design challenge presentation

1 Introduction

Game Summit 2005
Game Design Challenge
Theme: SEX

Heather Kelley, Game Designer
Ubisoft Montreal Studios

All content herein is opinion of the creator and does not represent the viewpoints of her employer…

2 Some of the ideas I rejected.

Feeling around in the dark: an Audio-only Orgy simulation

Interesting idea but not really a game per se. Gimmicky.

How do you simulate the sensation of touch, in a non-tactile medium? Just not the same without force feedback.

3 Some of the ideas I rejected.

Left hand of darkness: Game of sex display and selection in an alternate universe with completely different gender roles - going beyond dimorphism

Drawing from feminist science fiction such as Ursula K LeGuin, Joanna Russ, and Octavia Butler

And from sociobiology of sex selection: Baboons, peacocks, bowery birds

How do you attract a mate in a completely alien place?

Some of the ideas I rejected.

The thing about Left Hand of Darkness is...Spore is probably already going there.

(And in fact, Frank's challenge entry was "Sporgy" - a sex mod to Spore.)

5 My personal challenge

I decided my game had to have a specific goal and a specific market and that would drive the gameplay. A goal and a market that were extremely underserved by sex games that already exist.

6 My personal challenge

I wanted to design a game that would improve actual sex in the world, and for an underserved population.

In other words, I want my game to teach techniques of female sexual gratification to a target audience of females.

7 Market

Draw on play patterns already popular with females: Caretaking, such as in Tamagotchi, Nintendogs, Catz, Dogz

8 Market

Draw on play patterns and visual styles already popular with females: Adventure, exploration, such as in Myst, Animal Crossing, etc

9 Inspirations

Draw on fantasies of flight: Fantastical flight – Studio Ghibli (Hayao Miyazaki), Harry Potter, etc

Representation of freedom, release, magic, joy

10 Platform

The DS is already a popular platform with females

Nintendogs, Tamagotchi and other upcoming female-friendly titles (Animal Crossing) should ensure that there is a good (large) consumer base

The touch screen and audio input features are crucial for tactile, intimate gameplay

The portability means you can take the game anywhere – including OUT of the living room, into the bedroom.

Reasonable price point means players probably have their own DS and aren’t sharing with another family member.

11 Description

SO!

What is this game?

Lapis - A magical pet adventure

(And… a stealthy primer on female sexual pleasure)

Platform: Nintendo DS

The hope is that the game would entertain females - without them ever needing to understand the sex metaphor. But at some point when they did start figuring out the connection to their own sexuality and pleasure, they would have learned some ideas and techniques behind sexual satisfaction.

12 Gameplay

Human sexual response

The way you play with the bunnies in order to win is patterned after the VARIETY of female sexual response

This is the overall pattern but it can’t be achieved in the same way every time - different things work for different bunnies, at different stages of the game

For instance you may need to use tickling at first, and then humming into the ears. But after a while that stops having an effect, and you have to start tapping on its nose.

13 Gameplay

Depending on how you touch the bunny, it reacts to being touched.

Players manipulate the creature (bunny) on the touchscreen, which gives them magical energy to fly

You can touch the bunny in different ways – stroking, scratching, tickling, etc

Also can use the microphone to talk, sing to, blow on the fur…

The bunnies are analogous to female anatomy… not literal looking, but evocative

14 Thanks To

My prototyping team:

15 Demo

Visit the Demo page to download and play the game demo