Project Goal and Explanation

The project goal is to create a game with a cheerful and fun atmosphere, but with a serious underlying message. The game's core message is "HyperConnection," which is delivered through a Tinder-like app populated solely by AI.

 You live in a world where there are only a couple of humans left, and the internet (similar to the "Dead Internet Theory") is partly taken over by AIs pretending to be human. Can you find the real person?

The choice for this kind of game comes from the research we did on hyperconnection. 

Technology makes it very easy to connect with people and is therefore one of the biggest factors contributing to hyperconnectivity. You can simply pick up your phone and immediately connect and communicate. In real life, however, it takes much more to truly connect with someone.  However, with the ease of being able to connect with everyone and everything, there also comes a problem with connections not feeling genuine. It reminds me of the problem with AI: people are becoming increasingly connected to AI chatbots because the problem with hyperconnectivity is not that people feel they don't have enough connections, but that they don't have satisfying connections and are constantly searching for those connections.

The problem is not that people are not connected enough, but that there is no satisfaction in the relationship. However, when it comes to AI chatbots, there is the emerging problem that this can be faked, called: “Illusions of Intimacy”. Which when the user realises, becomes a tool for loneliness. 

“Vehicles become “vehicles of loneliness” when hyperconnectivity takes the shape of a lifestyle and technological devices are persuasive in the user’s living spaces."

The problem that comes with AI is that they are trained to sound and look human, and due that issue there is a very small boundary between the human and the AI indicating that the person behind is real. People get so emerged into the conversation that they after a while forget that the person they are talking to isn't real.

This game tries to teach the player not to immediately trust everyone and everything you see on the internet, and remindes the player to take a step back from the constant urge to connect. 

Player Experience 

Players primarily feels: 

• A Bright Atmosphere: A fun and enjoyable mood.
• A Sense of Urgency: The need to quickly find a match creates a feeling of "action."
• A Sense of Emptiness: The melancholy that comes from realizing how much effort it takes to connect with someone in this digital world.
• Paradoxically, a beautiful and enjoyable app.

Controls

• On the right you will see the description of each profile displaying:
  • Compatibility Rank: How much does this profile match with you
  • Interests: What kind of interests does the individual on the screen have
  • Latest Activity: What was the last thing the individual was up to
• On the left side you can review messages the individual sends to you.
• Based on the left and right screen you can decide by using the "heart button" meaning to accept the individual the "skip button" meaning you decline the individual. 

References

Game development:

• Unity
• Unity Localizer
• ChatGBT for coding
• Gemini for translations
• Twine
• Asesprite
• GitHub
• Freepik
• OdinInspector
• Dottween
• Epidemic Sound (BGM) (paid)
• Ultimate SFX  bundle
• Modern CSV
• Notepad++
• PixelStudio

Research sources:

• https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-022-09669-4
  
• https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/intimacy/how-sexual-addiction-creates-false-intimacy-recognizing-the-signs/
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/391878621_Illusions_of_Intimacy_Emotional_Attachment_and_Emerging_Psychological_Risks_in_Human-AI_Relationships
• https://www.sundevs.com/blog/the-science-behind-ai-chatbots-understanding-natural-language-processing
• https://www.command.ai/blog/why-are-ai-chatbots-designed-to-sound-like-people/