Games that sit at the bottom of the player’s screen are growing in popularity, with recent titles like idle-farming simRusty’s Retirementreceiving overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam.My Little Lifeis anupcoming life simulation gamefor PC that’s also designed to live at the bottom of the player’s screen with various display options. However, instead of a farm to manage,My Little Lifelets players watch their own little character live out their life, build a career, and more, freeing up players' time to do other things. It’s an idea that might bringThe Simsor even Tamagotchi to mind. Indeed, solo developer Stevis (Stevie) Andrea from 9FingerGames recently comparedMy Little Lifeto ‘a modern day Tamgotchi’ on Twitter/X.
Of course, there are plenty of core differences betweenMy Little Lifeand all these titles. However, fans ofRusty’s Retirement, Tamagotchi, or those just looking for a game to enjoy in between tasks, may be curious to learn more about what to expect fromMy Little Life. In a recent interview with Game Rant, Andrea explained Little Life’s gameplay, its comparisons to Tamagotchi, and howRusty’s Retirementwas a big inspiration.
My Little Life’s Tamagotchi And Rusty’s Retirement Inspirations
Kicking things off, Andrea talked aboutMy Little Lifeas a modern-day Tamagotchi which he said is, in some ways, a better description than a life sim. He explained how the initial idea was to have something “living on screen all the time, very much like a Tamagotchi” that “felt alive and felt like it had its own life.”
Indeed, much ofMy Little Lifeis designed to play out itself, with players building their little character a home and watching them live like a fish in a bowl. However, whereMy Little Lifecrucially differs fromkeeping a Tamagotchi aliveis that players don’t have to feed or care for their character, who cannot die. That’s all part ofMy Little Life’s core design philosophy that doesn’t force interaction.
“It’s built in a way to not be distracting, but to be just something fun to happen on your screen while you’re thinking. The same way as like you’re thinking about something at work, and you might look out the window for a minute while you’re thinking. That’s the time when I want somebody to look and watch the character just live out their own little life while they’re thinking about something else.”
My Little Lifecould also appeal to players looking for something similar tofarming simRusty’s Retirementfrom a design perspective, which Andrea said was a big inspiration. That said, while Andrea added its bottom-of-screen design is the only shared feature as a very different game by comparison, he said this is still a “huge thing” given it informedMy Little Life’s entire approach.
My Little Life’s Relaxing And Non-Distracting Gameplay
Although the player’s character inMy Little Lifewon’t grow old or die like in Tamagotchi or ingames likeThe Sims, it sounds like there is still a lot to see. Andrea added he is working on incorporating recreational activities into the game where characters can do things like socialize with other characters and host parties.
“There’s loads of stuff you may do in the game. There’s loads of paths you can take your character and things you can place and like, modifications you can make. But it’s never like in your face that you have to do it otherwise there’s consequences like a lot of other games do. It’s very chill.”
While characters fulfill their own basic needs like food, they will react to what the player does, such as by working on the house or their careers. For anyone looking for a potentially non-distracting or relaxing life sim-stylegame that effectively plays itself,My Little Lifecould be just the ticket.
