The Gameplay

Gameplay and interaction with a Tamagotchi device begins when the player starts up the device and hatches their Tama egg, triggering the life cycle, which includes the baby, child, teenager, and adult phases of a Tamagotchi lifespan ("Tamagotchi"). Tama pets progress through the stages of life normally, as long as the player takes good care of the pet; if not, death can occur at any stage.

Through gameplay, the player bonds with their Tama pet through care and play. Buttons on the device allow the player to rotate through the various types of interaction, and the health status will assist the player in selecting an appropriate activity ("Tamagotchi_(1996_Pet)"). The player can choose to feed the Tama pet, give it medicine, play a game with it, clean up its poo, turn off the lights when it’s sleeping, or discipline it when it misbehaves. The Tama pet will beep when it needs attention from the player, and the player interacts with the device to determine what the Tama pet needs, or does not need, at that time (binary, "Tamagotchi_(1996_Pet)").

Figure 1. a scan of the instruction manual for a Tamagotchi explaining the gameplay (binary).

Because the Tama pet needs constant care, attention, and interaction, the player carries the device everywhere ("Tamagotchi Effect"). The healthier and happier the Tama pet becomes, the more the player wants to care for the Tama pet, which leads to a healthier and happier Tama pet, introducing a positive feedback loop. This contributes to an emotional attachment to the Tama pet, and to the Tamagotchi device.

Figure 2. a flowchart illustrating the architecture of Tamagotchi gameplay, beginning with the hatching of an egg through bonding and forming an emotional attachment with the Tama pet.

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