Shape Valley
Why I made Shape Valley
Hi, I’m Zach. I’m a dad, and Shape Valley started as something I made for my son.
Like a lot of kids, he loves cars and driving games. But the games everyone plays were too much for him. Something like Mario Kart is packed with colours, noise and things happening all at once, and there’s a lot to keep track of. Instead of having fun, he’d get overwhelmed. You could almost watch his nervous system go into overdrive.
I didn’t want to just take driving games away from him. I wanted to find one that let him enjoy driving without all of that. When I couldn’t find one, I decided to build it myself.
A calmer kind of game
Shape Valley is built around one idea: take out everything that overwhelms and keep the part kids actually love. That means soft pastel colours and simple shapes, slow and steady motion, and quiet sounds. There are no timers, scores or flashing rewards, and no “game over”. There are no ads either, and nothing that tries to keep a child playing longer than you want. Every mode is a small, gentle job: a calm drive, a taxi ride, tidying toys with a dozer, or mowing neat stripes in the lawn.
If you’d like to know more about the thinking behind this, I wrote a guide on what low-stimulation games are and how to spot them.
From one kid to many
My son often plays Shape Valley when he meets up with his schoolmates. Other parents noticed, and they loved the idea of a driving game that kept things calm. They kept asking when they could get it for their own kids, so I’m turning it into a public app for iPhone and iPad.
I made it for my son, and for kids like him. I hope it brings a bit of calm to your family too.
Say hello
I read every message. If you have questions, ideas or feedback, email me at zachlaudev@gmail.com.
— Zach