Posted November 21, 2025 by 8huva
Functionally, the pet would be a cute little guy that the player grows attached to but it also provides visual feedback of the increasing addiction. The pet starts out cheerful and bright eyed but as the game goes on, it could prioritise scrolling over sleep and that could make it have dark circles under its eyes.
Making the pet appealing to a broad audience was important so that the player builds a relationship with it. I wanted to use bold solid colors with no borders because I wanted to animate some interactions using meshes in unity. The solid colors would hide pixel distortions more effectively compared to solid lines. I also wanted to design some characters with personality and some without. I was unsure whether the player would want a blank slate to see themselves in or a little creature with its own quirks and habits.
Like - If you liked the pet’s design
Mid
Delete - If you hated the design
After each sorting, I took a photo of the board and asked them their thoughts.
I brought the results to my team and we weighed in with our personal choice, #1