Doki-Doki Universe

Hover mouse over screenshots for commentary.

July 2014

		The little girl leaving the robot on the planetoid.
QT3 waiting for his family to turn for him.	This is a typical conclusion following a personality test. As you can see, the art style is great!	You can see a summary of yourself at any time.
	You have a "steed" you can ride around the universe, looking for planets to explore or to take personality tests.	You can sometimes see what people/things are thinking so you know how to help them out.
After taking a personality test the tester says this. Every time.	And wouldn't you know it? I think that drawing is awesome!
	After you answer the questions you can elect to see an explanation of how the game decided on your personality traits.
I got this result about two months before my first child was born.	As you can see, some of the personality test questions are quite intriguing.	And the explanations are sound.
		I think this is a great example of how the tests do not provide simply surface level interpretations.
	Probably because of how I answered the gnome question, eh?
	Finally! Someone who sees video games as something positive! Take THAT, tabloids!
	This is an example of one of the planets.	I must have helped out this appreciative penguin.
I convinced a dad to let these two friends play together (which has obvious comedic value). Many of the quests have little heart-warming themes to them, like not being prejudiced towards others.	You take the personality tests from things who identify themselves as monks.
That's a darn good question. . .		I think this question is great. You wouldn't suspect at first glance that it is designed to measure social skills or expressiveness, but the rationale behind the question is sound. Good personality tests are hard to fool, and this question is a good example.
		Well, the one with the least accountability, of course!
This is definitely true of me.	This entire planet is covered in poo.	It's called sublimation, little guy.
Quote of the week.
	Each character has things they do and don't like, and you can affect your relationship with them based on what you give them. Giving poop to a dung beetle seems like a good fit.	My trusty steed. You earn a variety to choose from.
Another trusty steed.
You can ask the game to see how compatible your are with people on your friends list. I know this guy from an online forum, and apparently we'd be good friends!
So much is conveyed with such simple artwork . . .		Quest advice.
		What a kind piece of sushi!
Characters send you email like teenagers text.		You can decorate your own planet. I am, of course, building a poop house.

Apparently this monster isn't as big a fan of poop as the dung beetle was . . .		"Citay" is a great name for a city.
The map screen, where you fly around to different planets or take personality tests.

Doki-Doki Universe is a game unlike any I've played before. In a way it's kind of like classic "point and click" games like Monkey Island, but it has another layer. I suppose the main purpose of the game is for the player to learn more about themselves, which I think is pretty cool.

You play as a robot named QT377665, or is that his model number? In any case, you are an old, out-dated robot who is left on a small planetoid by a family who is moving. A little girl in the family says she'll be back for you and gives you a red balloon to keep you company. After several years of waiting, QT3 is convinced by a passing alien that the little girl dropped him off because he did not have enough humanity (like the newer robot models) and thus he should leave the planetoid, learn about and gain humanity, and find the little girl himself.

You search across the galaxy for various clues about where the girl might be, and along the way you help people with various problems. By helping them you learn a little more about yourself and gain humanity.

But the point-and-click gameplay and story is only half of the game. The other half is taking quirky personality tests in order to learn more about yourself. I think this is where the game really shines. The personality tests are not scientifically validated nor have they likely been subject to rigorous peer-reviewed scrutiny, but they are actually pretty good.

In my experience, most casual personality tests are not really worth much as the test taker simply responds with traits that they desire to have or want to appear to have. Real psychological tests are much more complex and measure a wide variety of aspects of personality that the average person just doesn't have an awareness of. The tests in Doki-Doki Universe are light hearted and offer an explanation of your responses after the test. Though I wouldn't agree with everything, my clinical opinion is that the tests are actually looking beyond the surface and providing some meaningful explanation. Whether or not the tests are valid is actually not very important because they are designed simply to get you thinking about yourself with a more open mind. And in this regard, I think this game really shines!

The Therapist Gamer

The little girl leaving the robot on the planetoid.

QT3 waiting for his family to turn for him.

This is a typical conclusion following a personality test. As you can see, the art style is great!

You can see a summary of yourself at any time.

You have a "steed" you can ride around the universe, looking for planets to explore or to take personality tests.

You can sometimes see what people/things are thinking so you know how to help them out.

After taking a personality test the tester says this. Every time.

And wouldn't you know it? I think that drawing is awesome!

After you answer the questions you can elect to see an explanation of how the game decided on your personality traits.

I got this result about two months before my first child was born.

As you can see, some of the personality test questions are quite intriguing.

And the explanations are sound.

I think this is a great example of how the tests do not provide simply surface level interpretations.

Probably because of how I answered the gnome question, eh?

Finally! Someone who sees video games as something positive! Take THAT, tabloids!

This is an example of one of the planets.

I must have helped out this appreciative penguin.

I convinced a dad to let these two friends play together (which has obvious comedic value). Many of the quests have little heart-warming themes to them, like not being prejudiced towards others.

You take the personality tests from things who identify themselves as monks.

That's a darn good question. . .

I think this question is great. You wouldn't suspect at first glance that it is designed to measure social skills or expressiveness, but the rationale behind the question is sound. Good personality tests are hard to fool, and this question is a good example.

Well, the one with the least accountability, of course!

This is definitely true of me.

This entire planet is covered in poo.

It's called sublimation, little guy.

Quote of the week.

Each character has things they do and don't like, and you can affect your relationship with them based on what you give them. Giving poop to a dung beetle seems like a good fit.

My trusty steed. You earn a variety to choose from.

Another trusty steed.

You can ask the game to see how compatible your are with people on your friends list. I know this guy from an online forum, and apparently we'd be good friends!

So much is conveyed with such simple artwork . . .

Quest advice.

What a kind piece of sushi!

Characters send you email like teenagers text.

You can decorate your own planet. I am, of course, building a poop house.

Apparently this monster isn't as big a fan of poop as the dung beetle was . . .

"Citay" is a great name for a city.

The map screen, where you fly around to different planets or take personality tests.

Doki-Doki Universe