(CNN) -
We could all use a slightly more optimistic human connection these days.
At least that's what the people behind the design company Frosty Pop think. They have decided to do something about it with the new App "BeanKind".
Video game specialists - who live on Vancouver Island and New York - have teamed up with Welsh artist Harry Hambley to create BeanKind (a play on words that roughly translates to "be nice"), a new app designed to create a "Emotional social experiment" by making the world share some love.
"It was never about creating another video game in the classic sense," said Frosty Pop co-founder JD Ostrow by email.
"It's about responding to something we feel right now: people at home, who want to be with family and friends, who use digital (platforms) to find remote connections."
Participating is easy.
After downloading the app, just tap on the illustrated heart designed by Hambley, whose cartoons and stickers have earned a huge following on Instagram.
As you add your own "love touches," you can watch the rest of the world add up in real time as well.
Touch generates 'haptic' feedback, which means you can feel a vibration when you touch your phone.
Even while you're out of the app, your touches will continue to accumulate automatically.
“On many levels, it was about creating an anti-mobile game.
No ads, no in-app purchases, totally free and with a more meditative experience, ”said Ostrow.
«You cannot win or lose.
BeanKind is about achieving a community goal rather than an individual one.
It's us, not me.
The little bean
At the core of the game is Hambley's signature character, Bean, a wide-eyed, light pink illustration designed two years ago during his senior year of high school in Cardiff, Wales.
Since then, the artist has amassed nearly 2 million followers to an Instagram account dedicated to his web comic, Ketnipz.
Here you can see Bean in several short animations, which recently saw him frustrate "Karen", who does not want to wear a mask in line, and has accidentally used the Grim Reaper cape as a face towel.
“I always wanted to make a video game (or) an app for Bean, but I really didn't know where to start,” Hambley said, by email, about the partnership with Frosty Pop. “We had some ideas in the works, but it wasn't until It all happened with the pandemic earlier this year that we knew exactly what we wanted to do.
"The more things got worse from day to day, the more we felt the need to make a game focused on connection and making small contributions of optimism."
In the app, Bean gently moves up and down as you tap the heart, change the background illustration, or add furniture to decorate your custom space.
As the number of touches of love from around the world increases, new characters, such as a dog or an old woman, are "unlocked" to join Bean.
"I wanted Bean to bring something a little more positive," Hambley said.
“In many ways, Bean helped me through a rough patch in my life, so it felt good to try to see if I could help others as well, if only in a small way.
"(This year) has really put a lot of people on the circuit, including myself, and these days everything feels much more chaotic and uncertain," he added.
“I must have gravitated towards the idea that Bean could decorate a space, because I felt like regaining some autonomy over my own environment.
Of course, being able to change the scene in a video game is something completely different than actually being able to change my real life environment, but I still found a lot of comfort in the idea.
The goal of BeanKind
The goal of BeanKind, if it can be said to have a definitive one (the game can be categorized as part of the "idle" genre, in which points are earned through simple or repetitive actions), is for users to unlock all Bean's friends so they can be together.
Altogether, this feat will require 43 trillion touches.
The app tracks where love comes from, with more than half of the 80 billion touches of love sent globally from the US at the time of writing.
An illustration of Frosty Pop co-founders: Greg Stogdon, Faisal Sethi, JD Ostrow.
(Credit: Courtesy of Frosty Pop)
Frosty Pop approached Hambley because they "see the world similarly" and because the design agency was "inspired by Ketnipz's sensibilities," Ostrow said.
"When we started this company, we wanted to rethink how games, brands and purpose come together to create things we believe in."
Ostrow, who worked at clothing brand Theory and spent ten years in senior marketing positions at Burberry, joined Frosty Pop last year, along with former Burberry Senior Vice President Creative Greg Stogdon, the company was first established. six years ago by game developer Faisal Sethi.
Today, the trio focuses on games and digital products that promote social responsibility, equitable representation, and empathy.
"We will continue with projects that lead with play, optimism and fun, embracing digital and creativity with awareness," said Ostrow.
ApplicationsSocial networks