Plush toy psychotherapy

[lakerz]

Hi everyone,

I thought some might be interested in this very unique game. You play the role of a mental caregiver, and your job is to help out some stuffed toys who are mentally traumitized. :D I thought this game was super cool and high on style and atmosphere.

Click Here! (http://www.parapluesch.de/)

[Intrepid Homoludens]

It's deceptive. It looks hyper-cute on the surface, but deeper in it becomes more intriguing and rather somber, I'm wondering how accurate the psychological information really is. Seems so, the Jungian analysis was well researched from what I remembered studying his stuff. I 'cured' Kroko, but had a difficult time with Lito and gave up (it was way past my bedtime anyhow). Dolly seemed incurable, I'm guessing the game isn't exactly complete yet.

Oh, and this game is actually a well disguised sales pitch. You have the option of purchasing the patients anytime during your play.

[Draco2.5]

Strange but intriguing

[Intrepid Homoludens]

:) Isn't it? Somehow after a while I felt drawn to the patients.

[Martin Gantefoehr]

That site got a lot of attention over here in Germany. It is a diploma thesis project by a communications design student from Hamburg. As far as I know, he consulted fellow students and staff from the psychiatry faculty to back up his work with medical facts.

Great game. :)

[lakerz]

Yeah, Dolly the sheep is still being developed. I was rather perplexed as to why I couldn't do anything other than a medical exam on Dolly until I read the note in the outside reception area behind the nurse.

I agree with you Intrepid that the game is very cutesy on the surface, but does get kind of somber when you start figuring out what is tormenting the stuffed toys. I forget which toy Kroko is, but in my opinion the hippo is the tougher of the two to cure. Did you know there is an electro-shock tool under the bed to be used as a last resort if all other treatment fails? :crazy: :D Someone else made a mention of it as I had missed it during the first play through.

Martin, that is interesting that it is done by a student for a thesis. It is very well done, I hope he/they continue to develop it with more characters.

[RainbowLight]

Weird. Really weird. I think I'll stick to healthy stuffed animals.

[Fienepien]

I loved it. Cute and even hilarious at times. I played it again, to see stuff that I missed the first time. Very well done, there were so many nice details that made perfect sense. Weird? No, novel. A very creative mind at work. Somber? I guess that in the best games there's always a hint of darkness, but I don't understand why anybody would call it somber. It's about cuddley toys, cribs and hot-water bottles, not about tortured and murdered people in an asylum... Blackstone Chronicles anyone?

[Intrepid Homoludens]

No, not somber in the sense of violence, but more in the sense of tragedy or sadness, gloomy.

[Fienepien]

No, not somber in the sense of violence, but more in the sense of tragedy or sadness, gloomy.

Yes, that's my interpretation of the word somber too. Probably because the word is the same in my own language. ;)

When I try to analyse my game experience, I'd say that the trauma part, discovering what's wrong with the toys, is the most engaging because it appeals directly to basic feelings we all share. The human condition and all that. So I guess that's where you see the tragedy. IMO it's also the best integrated part of the game, all the pieces of the trauma puzzle fit. The official diagnosis and the jargon, although well done, didn't add much for me. The treatment aspects are a bit incongruous, but they're very funny.

[jjacob]

If you think this is somber, then avoid playing the Shalebridge Cradle mission in Thief Deadly Shadows, seriously. That one is somber in all senses of the word; Best. Level. Ever. (in.any.game.anywhere)
But this game is nice as well, totally different interpretations of psychotherapy though ;) Was it totally made by one person?

[Zanthia]

Nice and unusuall game. Esprcially if u don't look in that help book :)

[Tanukitsune]

Cool! You can buy them too! :P
Oh wait. I allready have a deranged plush toy... :devil:
http://keenswag.com/choppingblock-beaniebutch-front.jpg