Making Babies at Sago Sago
Welcome to the world, Babies! Sago Mini Babies — the 15th member of the Sago Mini App family — has just arrived and already it’s in the #1 spot for best toddler app worldwide.
And while you’re getting acquainted with Baby Jack, Harvey, Robin and Jinja, you may notice something new. They’re not just looking at you — they are reacting to your every move. That’s thanks to game developer John Park who brought them to life in this latest app adventure.
John is one of the original members of the Sago Sago crew and his imagination can be seen in other favourites like Music Box, Pet Café, Monsters, Friends and Toolbox. For him, the making of Babies signals a new approach, one that moves away from classic animation to a more responsive experience for our Sago Mini users.
Here, he gives a behind-the-scenes look at the birth of Sago Mini Babies.
Why create a world of Babies?
JP: Kids love to love. We wanted to create a place for both girls and boys that merges big kid duties with little kid fun. The overall goal was to create the illusion that the characters are alive. We wanted the actions to be more varied and responsive to what the children do.
How did you bring them to life?
JP: Sago Mini Babies is our most involved app thus far. During the six-month development process, I spent the first two creating the characters by their individual parts — head, body, arms and elbows — just like a puppet. Rather than animating frame-by-frame, this new approach allows the babies to act in response to what the user is doing, adding a new layer of emotion and reaction. It’s almost like a magic trick — I wanted the users to think the babies are real.
So what are the Babies busy doing?
JP: There is a real sense of cause and effect. We want to encourage that desire in kids to care for someone more vulnerable than them. Like other Sago Mini apps, the user taps things or drags them around, but this time, how the characters react and their movement is more diverse. You’ll see the characters lean towards you when you feed them their favourite foods or gradually see them shift from being excited to scared as you raise them higher in the swing.
What do kids love best?
JP: The new app gives little ones a chance to play the role of caregiver. There are kids who totally want to nurture and they get satisfaction in making the babies happy. Others may want to taunt the babies, like making them wear an outfit they don’t like. This app gives them an opportunity to explore the limits of their actions in a safe place. The babies’ cries and giggles are both cute and contagious. The fact that kids laugh when the babies laugh and they say “aww” when the babies cry, they are projecting emotion on them. And that’s a good sign.
What’s your favourite part?
JP: The dance activity highlights the “puppet” movement really well. The way the babies bounce, wave, and laugh when kids hit the musical instruments is hilarious. It was fun to make up those dance moves.
Final thoughts?
JP: In the end what I hope to do in all my projects is create the illusion that something is alive. I want to make the kids feel something, bring giggles and smiles to their faces. If it gets laughs, then you know you did your job.
