{"id":454660,"date":"2024-01-28T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-28T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.destructoid.com\/?p=454660"},"modified":"2024-01-28T08:54:04","modified_gmt":"2024-01-28T14:54:04","slug":"ipad-baby-is-an-eye-straining-reckoning-for-our-ceaseless-self-obsession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.destructoid.com\/ipad-baby-is-an-eye-straining-reckoning-for-our-ceaseless-self-obsession\/","title":{"rendered":"iPad Baby is an eye-straining reckoning for our ceaseless self-obsession"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d be revisiting the mind of walkedoutneimans<\/a> so soon after Tyko\u2019s Dying Together<\/a><\/em>, but here we are with iPad Baby<\/em>. I need a breather. I can\u2019t take this much sensory overload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel that deeply, since more and more I can\u2019t stand the internet. There are too many people there. Too many thoughts, opinions, and content<\/em> flying around in all directions. It becomes impossible to parse the important information from the irrelevant. Worse yet, companies like Google are continually pushing irrelevant content<\/a> to the forefront by allowing those who produce it in bulk to rise to the top of searches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not sure why I need an interactive interpretation of this distressing reality we live in, but here\u2019s iPad Baby<\/em> to extrapolate on the relentless assault of garbage we\u2019re under each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"iPad
Screenshot by Destructoid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Into the sludge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re dropped into iPad Baby<\/em> with absolutely no explanation of what is going on, and none is forthcoming. However, your screen is already dominated by an iPad perpetually displaying meaningless video and a Ring camera pointed directly in your face. The world you are in is a spaghetti nest of corridors painted with watermarked and conflicting images. Flitting around these abominable hallways, are 2D homunculi compiled of various imagery. Almost immediately, you probably want to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The iPad on the side reminds me of \u201cSludge Content<\/a>,\u201d a TikTok phenomenon where videos are cut together with other unrelated ones. Your digital companion shows ceaseless footage of gameplay of (maybe) mobile games, the head and shoulders of a Sim, and scrolls of microtransactions. It\u2019s meaningless to gameplay, but that\u2019s perhaps the point. It\u2019s just there, passively gnawing at your attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The actual game here is actually rather simple. When you get near enough to one of the figures, you\u2019re displayed a few items that you need to collect from the environment and throw at them. The obstacle you run into is that the hallways are intensely disorienting, and the inhabitants of the world move at a hyperactive pace. By the time you find the item they need, they could be absolutely anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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