I didn’t set out to make a statement. I just wanted to code a dress-up game.
I had pages of outfit sketches, a clear vision, and enough experience with JavaScript to know I could make something playful—something younger girls would enjoy. The idea was simple: let users mix and match clothes on a digital paper doll.
But when I shared the first version with my professor during a creative coding class at Tulane, he asked a question that stuck with me: What is this game really saying?
At first, I didn’t get it. It looked great. The layout worked, the code ran smoothly. But when I stepped back, I realized the version I’d built wasn’t saying much at all. Just a faceless doll, floating in pink, surrounded by clothes.
Instead of scrapping the game, I rewrote its purpose. I started thinking less about what users could do and more about what the game could reflect.
Now, it opens with a choice:
Accept the feminine challenge?
You can’t say no. The game won’t let you.
After that, a screen fills with rules. Not just one or two, but dozens—fast, conflicting, impossible to follow:
Be confident, but not loud.
Wear makeup, but not too much.
Be effortless, but perfect.
Then the dress-up begins. Everything looks sparkly and bright again, but now, each outfit choice deducts a life. No matter what the user picks—too modest, too bold, too boring—they lose. There’s no winning.
Behind the Code
Every outfit in the game started as a hand-drawn design. I printed blank versions of the same Barbie base and used markers to build out dozens of looks directly on top. Then I scanned them, digitized them, and coded them in so they’d snap into place on the digital figure.
Even though the game carries a deeper message, the process was still fun. I got to combine a lot of my interests—coding, drawing, design, and working on a project that’s both playful and pointed.
Why It Matters
The finished product is subtle. There’s no long explanation built into the interface. But players figure it out. And that’s the whole point—because that’s how these expectations feel in real life: confusing, shifting, hard to name, but impossible to avoid.
Play the game here!