Independent Exploration · Work in Progress
Player Plus One
A life-aware gaming discovery concept for people whose time, energy, or social circles have changed. Player Plus One helps players understand how they want to play now, then find a compatible person, small circle, or game that fits.
This idea is personal to me. I met my wife through a dating app after spending a lot of time answering questions, exploring what mattered to me, and learning what real compatibility looked like. That effort led me to the perfect match and someone I am deeply compatible with.
It made me wonder why finding platonic connections rarely receives the same thoughtful support. Life moves quickly, circumstances change, and finding a gaming friend or crew that fits your current reality can be difficult. Player Plus One explores how self-discovery and compatibility can help people form meaningful gaming friendships at any stage of life.
I want to center the experience around Quest, a form of gamified onboarding that continues beyond account setup. Each Quest uses short scenarios to help players explore their availability, social energy, communication preferences, and changing relationship with gaming.
Over time, these experiences build a more current understanding of the player. The AI matching system can then surface people and games that fit who they are today and the gaming identity they may still be growing into.
Together, these experiences reveal an evolving Persona, or Soul, that represents how someone plays and connects. The AI matching system would use that identity to find compatible people and games, rather than making assumptions based on gender, race, sexual orientation, or age.
Work in progress
I’m defining the first complete Quest, including its scenario questions, Persona or Soul reveal, match explanation, and safety boundaries.
Prototyping the journey from the first question to a personalized reflection and recommendation, then test whether it feels fun, accurate, safe, and worth returning to.