A simple pixel game about taking care of a grandma that was developed by a man in China has touched the hearts of many people online.
His creation has evoked a feeling of nostalgia among netizens about their own experiences interacting with the elderly in their families.
In the five-minute game called Grandma, which has been released on a game distribution platform for free, players need to finish tasks involved in looking after a grandmother who injured herself in a fall, reported the Xinmin Evening News.
The chores include preparing meals, buying her favourite drinks, pushing her in a wheelchair and helping to bathe her.
Players are asked to choose “yes” or “no” to do these tasks to complete missions.
In the end, the grandma says thank you to the player before she is taken away by a giant bird, symbolising her death.
Many people say the game is reminiscent of Game Boy, which was developed by the Japanese company Nintendo and was popular with Chinese students in the 1990s.
Its inventor, Zhou Yichen, 32, said he created the game because he misses his grandmother who died last year.
Zhou, from Wuhan, Hubei province in central China, said he was raised by his grandparents until the age of three and recalled that his grandmother was “strong and always smiled”.
His grandmother had a fall last March, and Zhou took care of her.
After she died weeks later, Zhou began designing the game last July. He finished it in February.
“Since I studied art creations, I intend to turn my important experiences into artworks,” Zhou was quoted as saying.
“I chose to display my game like that of Game Boy because the latter is what I often played during my childhood.”
Zhou then added: “I liked taking her out for a stroll. I think she was happy when passing the places where she once worked and meeting her friends.”
He said that at first he did not publish his game online, believing that the death of a family member was very personal.
But when he shared some pictures of his game on the internet, he was surprised to receive a huge amount of interest and support.
“I have not been touched by a game for a long time,” said one online observer.
“This is the simplest simple but most humane game,” another person said.
While another netizen said: “The background music sounds like the vital signs monitoring instrument at a hospital. The game reminds me of the time when my grandma was hospitalised.”
The overwhelming response prompted Zhou to release the game online.
He said he plans to launch some cards based on his game for collection in the future. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
