Gregg the Egg

Well hello,
Thank you for being here! Yanna, Nikki and Reyhan have created this little playground for you to explore. In it, you'll see Greg, our gregarious little creature.

Our little Greg loves going to the park and being around people. Please be kind when you see him and give him some love. We invite you to play with him on this little playground that has been designed for him, so don't hold back and please pick him up!

Work/concept/experience

Every little creature might have some sense of attachment to them, and willingness to play. Whether you are introverted or extraverted, a lack of social interaction can lead to some lonesome feelings in every single one of us. This applies no less to our little creature Gregary, also known as Greg the Egg. Greg is in need of constant social interaction in his private little playground. Whenever he is alone, he gets sad and starts to cry. When he cries he makes sad soft noises, which breaks everyone's heart, and convinces every human being (with some human sense) to pick him up and play with him. This cheers him up, and instead of crying sounds he will start making happy beeping sounds. As long as someone is playing with him, he is happy. People can play with him in his private playground, by using the swing, seesaw or merry go round. But people can also choose to play with him by holding him in their arms and gently rocking him back and forth.

Wider context, inspo, motivations

Our main goal with this project was to create something that would win over the hearts of the audience. Be it with attractiveness or cuteness. After the initial brainstorming about different ideas, we went into the direction of wanting to create something that would be grateful for some type of interaction. After sparring about our initial idea we decided on the creatureness we wanted to go for, gregariousness. Someone, or something, that is gregarious typically refers to a person who is sociable and enjoys being in the company of others. You can also see it as someone who loves socializing and being around people. With this description in mind, we started thinking about our concept for Greg the Egg.

Greg his insides consisted of an Arduino Nano, an accelerometer and a lot of wires. As he was not able to move himself, it was very important for him to feel when he was being moved and played with. His outside consisted of an egg shell, covered with soft pink yarn, to showcase his cute but delicate being. He also has his very own playground, consisting of the aforementioned swing, seesaw or merry go round. These have been handmade in order to fit Greg the Egg perfectly. By making use of paint, paint stirring sticks, a basket, a hamster wheel, two small easels and a lot of green paper.

Our final product shows a cute little egg, with the tendency to cry when left alone for too long. With the aesthetics of a cute little fluff ball, Greg will for sure steal your heart, making you want to play with him on his little playground.

We found that during the exposition people would be drawn towards Gregg the Egg, wanting to play with him and handle him delicately. We noticed a lot of the audience looking at Greg as if it was their own (fur)baby, making sure to play with Greg. In moments like those, we realized we had achieved our goal: creating a creature with gregarious characteristics. Greg didn’t want to be left alone, and the audience didn’t want to leave Greg alone.

Questions that Gregg the Egg evokes:

Do people feel the need to interact with a creature that gets sad when alone?
How do people feel when interacting with a gregarious creature?
Will people experience some sort of attachment to a gregarious creature that is made to look innocent and cute?

Related works

Similar to Furby and Cry Babies, Greg is designed to elicit emotional responses from people to encourage interaction. Furbies communicate their needs through their own language, and respond to touch, sound and light. Cry Babies, on the other hand, cry real tears and make crying noises when they need attention. Inspired by these interactions and the almost universal appeal of nurturing cute and helpless creatures, we designed Greg as a simpler being that still evokes emotional responses from the audience.

Greg brings smiles, Greg brings joy, Greg brings company <3

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