What would you do if your Tamagotchi suddenly started reflecting what real life was like? We've all had one at some point in our lives, tending to our little animal or, in some cases, a chicken drumstick, and trying to keep them alive, but when things start to get a little more cl0ser to home, the whole thing starts to feel a bit more like an episode of Black Mirror!
Enter YouTuber and creator Terence Grover who has made a giant version of the little egg-shaped keychain with his own Raspberry Pi-powered Tamagotchi game inside. The first line of Terence's video titled 'I made a Tamagotchi with a Job, Debt, and a Drug Problem', states that 'It's 2025 and the world is going bonkers', and his Tamagotchi mirrors that. It's like the Tamagotchi you know and love but with much more depth to it, taking into account the pyramid of hierarchy of needs as stipulated by Abraham Maslow. Mental health aficionados amongst you will know that this includes us as human beings finding stable sources of things like food, safety, love, a feeling of belonging, and an understanding of self-actualization, i.e morality and self-awareness.
So a Tamagotchi that has to go through all the trials and tribulations we as humans do every day and make it up as it goes along without trying not to die? Got it - not stressful at all!
Terence has had to learn how to program a game from scratch and wanted to make a life sim game that was a parody but one that highlights the rollercoaster nature of what it means to be human. If you make a mistake here you can't just play a quick game and sort it out - every decision counts, including 'commit crime' or 'go to drug den'. Dark, but I like it!
In true YouTube fashion, Terence has documented the process of his build in a video above. With three simple buttons, a screen, a custom casing with the iconic clashing Tamagotchi colours, and minigames based on raising self-esteem, education, socialising, housing, and other things I've only just stopped worrying about at 35, it's definitely impressive but a far cry from cleaning up a small chicken's poop messing around with Mothma after watching Godzilla!
If you fancy finding out more, then head to Terence's GitHub page to check out the assets!
