A little help from my Mom and Judy

So I've changed the very very beginning just a bit.

When the child starts up IFIT, they will first be asked two questions: "Are you a boy or girl?" and "Who puts you to sleep at night?"

The boy/girl question will lead to the game child being the same gender. While the 2nd question will determine who puts the game child to sleep and interacts with them throughout IFIT. Also this effects the very end of the interactive animation. Mothers will either tell a story or sing the child to sleep. Father will turn on the TV or tell a story.

We also thought about adding a how to make a dreamcatcher thing.

New Idea

A growl will sound in the room. The child user will pick the place they think the monster is.
Most likely the child user will pick a place where their own monster comes from. There are zero indicators where the monster "actually" is since all areas are clickable.

Beginnings will be randomized.

• Scary movie
• Argument from parents
• News on TV

Places where monster can be.

• Under the bed -> close up the bed
• In the closet -> Dress up the monster in silly outfits, dress up game
• Corners of ceiling -> eat a comforting snack in the kitchen, teach kids how to make healthy snacks
• Outside the room ->denounce that a monster could get inside, show locks
• Made out of objects in the room -> Monster Spray, spray all monsters inside

Each place where the monster can be will start a response video/animation that may or may not be interactive. Also the response might not directly co-ordinate with where the monster is (at this moment in the planning stage.)

All will end with a song, story, or a happy tv show put on by the mother. (they will all correspond with the situation)

Animation note: Parental figures faces are not shown.

Beginning of IFIT

Blog as an easier to read document.

•Imaginary Friend Instructor (IFI) greets the user and begins to explain the situation. Child can not see the IFIT (Imaginary Friend in Training), but can see the IFI because the IFI is the child’s original Imaginary Friend. Children can see only their own imaginary friends.
o Would you like to help a girl or boy?
* Girl= Tabby. Green eyes, black hair, blue pjs, stuffed animal. Animals are predominately around her room. Green is the main color.
* Boy=Tobby. Brown eyes, blonde hair, white shirt and pants, toy cars and planes. Mechas are predominately around his room. Red is the main color.

•IFI takes the IFIT to see their chosen child and tells them a little about their life and problems. They then go through the portal into the real world where the chosen child is watching a movie.

•The child is watching a scary movie with screams and very mild violence. The user can not see the screen but can see the facial expressions.
oShould they be watching this movie so late at night?
*Yes = Hmm, are you sure? Scary movies are ok for adults cause they are older and know better. But kids haven’t learned nessicary skills like karate to defend themselves from the bad guys!
*No = That’s right! Scary movies can put scary thoughts in a kid’s head. Lets hurry and help ___ before they get too scared.
*I don’t know = Well that’s why I’m here. What we got to do is stop ___ from watching this movie. I’m pretty sure if they keep watching the movie, they’ll get more and more scared! And you know what happens when people get scared, they think of all sorts of other scary things.

•The duo stop the child from watching the movie but to no avail, the child has gotten scared and is looking around nervously. Mom comes it to tuck him in and doesn’t see that he’s scared. She turns off the light and ___ is still a bit scared. Suddenly there is a growl somewhere in the room.
oDid you hear that? We can hear what ___ can hear. Also see what he can see! Do you see anything in the room?
*After a while clickable red eyes show up underneath the bed. There’s a monster under the bed! Get back get back! Monsters will eat us easily!

•After hearing the growls ___ calls back their mom who tries to sooth him down. She tells him that monsters can’t fit under the bed. They are just too big.
oBut we saw the monster! Maybe it wasn’t real. Is ___’s mom right?
*Yes= I guess you’re right, but it sure seemed real! Well what should we do to make sure?
•Stuff the bed with toy boxes.
•Lower the bed to the ground.
•Board up the bottom.
*No= But mommies are always right! They know even more than us imaginary friends do. What if we did something to keep the monster from staying underneath the bed?
•Stuff the bed with toy boxes.
•Lower the bed to the ground.
•Board up the bottom.

Developing Methods

The Monster

Do you know what the monster looks like?
*Yes *No
Does it look like an animal, a human, or something else?
*Animal *Human *Other
What kind of body shape does it have?
*Insect *Reptile *Bird *Cat *Dog *Sea Creature
How many arms and legs does it have?
*None *2 *4 *6 *8 *Too many!
Does it have eyes? What kind?
*None *Glowing *Colored
Does it have special powers?
*No *Blending *Elemental *Teleportation
Can it speak a language?
*No *English *Unknown


Rewards- child can input rewards and guess points for them and a sheet can be automatically generated (Game version would allow this to be printed)

If the monster looks like something familiar to the child's normal life, this might pertain to a different fear. For example if the child is afraid of a wolf monster outside their window, they might be afraid of the neighbor's dog. If the ooze monster that dwells underneath their bed frightens them, they might very well be afraid of water. Ask them about it. If some of these are true, delve more and follow the basic steps. Expose, Explore, Envision.

IFIT boiled down

*"Hey so you're th enew trainee eh? Well today's your big day. No more practice! This is the real thing.
*Hey we're shor ton imaginary friends back home. Think you can help out

or go an entirely different route...

Maybe a teaching animation/game for adults? Bring their inner child back in order to interact with their child as an equal.

Environment
-Find potentially scary things around the house or outside: shadows, noises, creaks

Monster
-Perhaps the monster is an enlarged fear of your child's current worry. Switch the situation around. Make the monster silly or maybe tell a story of the monster afraid of the boy above his head.
-Denounce false beliefs.
-Obtain description of monster through use of a drawing, song, or other.
-Monsters are very real to your child. While you might think their version looks a bit like Monster's Inc. in reality their imagined creation might even scare you too.

Removing the Monster
- Use "Monster Spray" or suck them up with a vacuum. If that doesn't work, call in a friend that your child doesn't recognize and call them the "Monster Busters"
- Invest in a bed that has no underneath side. Fill the underneath side with boxes of toys. Encourage them to bring out the toys revealing to them there's nothing under there
- Careful what you say 3 hours before bed time. Arguments or passionate conversations can send a child's mind any direction.

Your Child
-Don't overreact; Sleeping with your child can cause them to lose bravery thus always running to you for safety.
-Respect their feelings; be on their level. Believe them. Don’t ridicule.
-Bring them into a comfort zone.  Kitchen is a great place. Everyone loves food.
-Once the extermination has been completed, comfort your child.
-Give the child control over the situation.