''My Baby'' are a series of

single-player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the gameplay. Video games in general can feature several game modes, including single-player modes designed to be played by a single player in add ...

simulation A simulation is an imitative representation of a process or system that could exist in the real world. In this broad sense, simulation can often be used interchangeably with model. Sometimes a clear distinction between the two terms is made, in ...

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by French studios Dancing Dots Studio and Nobilis Games.

Games

My Baby Girl/My Baby Boy

''My Baby Girl'' and ''My Baby Boy'' are Nintendo DS video games released in North America on November 4, 2008, and in Europe on November 28, 2008. The games teach players the skills of

parenting Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and educational development from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a biologica ...

(the player can choose to be a daddy or a mommy) and to the experience of raising a

daughter A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state, condition or quality of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show r ...

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

in the months that they spend as an

infant In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of ...

. The player can choose a nationality for their child in addition to their eye color. Players must create a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

(up to eight letters) to his or her character before beginning the actual game. However, there is no need to insert either a

middle name In various cultures, a middle name is a portion of a personal name that is written between a person's given name and surname. A middle name is often abbreviated and is then called middle initial or just initial. A person may be given a middle ...

or a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

because of memory constraints. Two

developmental Development of the human body is the process of growth to maturity. The process begins with fertilization, where an egg released from the ovary of a female is penetrated by a sperm cell from a male. The resulting zygote develops through mitosis ...

challenges (i.e., teaching the baby how to speak or teaching the baby how to

crawl Crawl, The Crawl, or crawling may refer to: Biology * Crawling, any type of tetrapod quadrupedal locomotion with the torso persistently touching or very close to the ground. ** Crawling (human), any of several types of human quadrupedal gait * L ...

) must be passed before the baby is allowed to grow by one month. Using the microphone to expand the baby's

vocabulary A vocabulary (also known as a lexicon) is a set of words, typically the set in a language or the set known to an individual. The word ''vocabulary'' originated from the Latin , meaning "a word, name". It forms an essential component of languag ...

and the

stylus A stylus is a writing utensil or tool for scribing or marking into softer materials. Different styluses were used to write in cuneiform by pressing into wet clay, and to scribe or carve into a wax tablet. Very hard styluses are also used to En ...

to put on new clothes for them helps provide the challenges that new parents face with their infants every day. Babies must be given

baby formula Infant formula, also called baby formula, simply formula (American English), formula milk, baby milk, or infant milk (British English), is a processed food, manufactured food designed and marketing, marketed for feeding to babies and infants ...

in a bottle and the game is similar to the

Tamagotchi is a brand of handheld digital pets that was created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was released by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan and in the United States on May 1, 1997, quickly becoming one of the bigge ...

devices of the mid-1990s. There was originally an option to create a "My Baby" game combining two genders in one cartridge but the idea was funneled off into two different cartridges. One of the other mandatory features of the game include

flatulence Flatulence is the expulsion of gas from the Gastrointestinal tract, intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swal ...

, cooing, and the changing of the

diaper A diaper (, North American English) or a nappy (British English, Australian English, Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or containing waste products to p ...

when the baby urinates or has a bowel movement.

My Baby First Steps

''My Baby First Steps'', known in Europe as ''My Baby 2: My Baby Grew Up'', is a video game for the Nintendo DS and Wii. The player's

has grown out of

infancy In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of ...

and into

toddler A toddler is a child approximately 1 to 3 years old, though definitions vary. The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development. The word is derived from "toddle", which means to walk unsteadily, as children at thi ...

hood. As a virtual parent, the player gets to control the character until he or she turns three years old (and approaches

childhood A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

) (but a glitch on 23 months prevents to go over 23 months because still if you do a circle with the cuddling toy the baby will never dance on the spot). The baby will discover his or her entire environment, walk, babble, and even speak (saying either mommy or daddy depending on the gender of the player). Three-dimensional animations makes baby look more lifelike and an improved

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

makes the virtual baby act like the player's actual son or daughter. Babies will grow from a physical and a

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

view. The player can choose between having a boy or a girl in a single cartridge unlike the prequels. A shopping mall is introduced to purchase possessions for the baby and the home featuring generic clothing that doesn't have any fashion designer's name branded on them. The game has a realistic

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

and

pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

that teaches the player how to take care of their son or daughter.

My Baby 3 & Friends

''My Baby 3 & Friends'' is a 2010 Nintendo DS game developed by Dancing Dots and published by Majesco Entertainment. As a

, the player's

is exposed to activities like

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

, the

swing set ''Swing Set'' is an EP by Ani Difranco, released July 11, 2000 on Righteous Babe Records. Track listing #"Swing (Radio Set)" (Ani DiFranco) – 3:57 #"Swing (Album Version)" (DiFranco) – 6:13 #"To the Teeth (Shoot-Out Remix)" (DiFranco) – ...

at the local playground, and even a

playground slide Playground slides are found in parks, schools, playgrounds and backyards. The slide is an example of the simple machine known as the inclined plane, which makes moving objects up and down easier, or in this case more fun. The slide may be flat, o ...

for stimulation and development. Players are also expected to allow their babies to

socialize In sociology, socialization (also socialisation – see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and ...

with either another baby or with a

puppy A puppy is a Juvenile (organism), juvenile dog, generally one less than 12-18 months old. Puppies are markedly underdeveloped and dependent on their mothers at birth (displaying ''altriciality''), but healthy puppies grow quickly and begi ...

. The timeline of the baby's development starts the baby off at 15 months (1 year and three months) and ends it at 30 months (2 years and six months). Thirty new skills can be developed in a non-linear fashion; making the parenting aspects of the game more in tune with the child's actual development.

Critical reception

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

awarded ''My Baby Girl'' 5.0 out of 10 (equivalent to 50% or a F letter grade), finding the graphics to be adequate but criticized the slow

pacing Pacing may refer to: In sport * Pacing, an athletic technique of spreading one's effort out over longer-distance track and field races (also in swimming) * Pacing (horse gait), a horse gait used in standardbred horse races * Motor-paced racing ...

, underwhelming

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

, and lack of actual gaming content. An issue was raised with the nudity and

urination Urination is the release of urine from the bladder through the urethra in Placentalia, placental mammals, or through the cloaca in other vertebrates. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, v ...

, which the reviewer felt might be uncomfortable for non-parents.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official My Baby website

Simulation titles
at nobilis-games.com Nintendo DS games Wii games Life simulation games Video games developed in France Virtual baby video games Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2008