Coming soon, the Internet-enabled Elf on the Shelf. In stores for Xmas!
It sees you when you're sleeping. It knows when you're awake. It knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. You better watch out. Brought to you by Google and the U.S Department of Homeland Security.
"Take him to different places and earn check-in points. Make new Teddy friends by meeting them often and unlock achievements!"
Okay - I'll be "that guy". Why are they doing this? Presumably the target market is children for this specific implementation, but is it just having them do tasks for the sake of incrementing a counter in the app, or is there some actual benefit to encouraging the child to jump through these hoops? Not every toy needs to be educational, but what purpose does this thing have apart from just existing because it's possible?
I can attach a beacon to my toilet paper. It'll let me know when I'm nearby, and I can earn check-in points every time I take a shit. But why? Some of these things need to start asking themselves why they exist.
While we tried to think about new ways a toy could be implemented, our brains were stuck in the ways we play today - with points and achievements. So while the idea is radical, it suffers from having parts of it get inspiration from today's apps.
It sees you when you're sleeping. It knows when you're awake. It knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. You better watch out. Brought to you by Google and the U.S Department of Homeland Security.