SHINO: IMAGINARY FRIEND

• Main Author: Yasmin, Amira
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/49835
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

As a social being, people have the needs to interact with each other. However, not everyone possess the personalities and abilities preferred to socialize effectively. Additionally, some people have difficulty welcoming another people into their circle. Sometime, an individual may also decide to retract from other people for personal reasons. In such conditions, they might start to create imaginary personages to fulfill their social needs. These imaginary personages, more commonly termed as ‘imaginary friends’, may be associated with children but can also be assumed by adults. The author experienced such events in the past and created an imaginary friend named Shino whose main purpose is to support and motivate her. Inspired by that experience, the author sought to manifest Shino in the physical world in the form of an interactive application similar to video games, titled “Shino: Imaginary Friend.” A software called RPG Maker MV will be used as the main engine for this artwork, augmented by Live2D Cubism for extra animation features. This artwork will derive from the psychology of transitional object developed by Donald W. Winnicott, as well as the theory of art function by Edmund B. Feldman. Through this work, the author wishes to convey the role of an imaginary friend as an outlet of therapy, source of motivation, and a bridge to let the troubled individual communicate with their world.