2024, Dating Simulator for Dating Violence

MONKEY DORI

Monkey Dori was a PhD project spearheaded by Devika Gupta, supported by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Sangath Foundation in Goa. It was developed as an interactive and engaging way to help young people learn about and address harmful patterns in their romantic relationships.

We decided upon the format of a Dating Simulator in which players embody Dori, an explorer and aspiring geologist, on their quest to find an Eternal Sage. Dori has two choices for their companions - Kai, a shy but sweet deer, and Raka, a strong but mysterious wolf.

Dori and their companion traverse different terrains that change based on the present dynamics of the relationship. Terrains include - The Turbulent River, The Valley of Bitter Truths, and The Abundant Forest. Monkey Dori was developed on RenPy and playtested with 100 young people aged 18-25.

Team: Devika Gupta (Concept, Writing), Adrita Das (Game Design), Alafiya Hasan (Game Desing, Art), Alita Dharmaraj (Writing), Vishesh Kumar(Development)

process

1 . Brainstorming

Since the whole team was working remotely, we collated and organised our thoughts on a Miro board and finalised on our idea over bi-weekly Zoom calls.

2 . Script & Concept Art

We made a draft script with the first few introductory scenes and concept art for the characters to go with it.

3 . Storyboarding

Based on a rough script and outline, I sketched out a storyboard and made a clickthrough Figma prototype that we could test. This prototype showed changed in terain, interactions, transitions, and more.

4 . Prototyping

The final art and script were compiled on Figma to make our developer, Vishesh's, job easier.

sketch to final

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