Kinder World: the cosy mobile game changing the way we view self care

As we continue to experience the pandemic’s on-going effects on our mental health, many are feeling burnt out and struggling to look after themselves.

We spoke to Co-Founder and CEO of Lumi Interactive Studios Lauren Clinnick about how their free-to-play mobile game Kinder World is helping people across the globe practice self-care.

What led you and the team to establish Lumi Interactive Studios?

My cofounder Christina Chen and I founded Lumi Interactive back in 2018.

Before that, my career in marketing gave me the opportunity to work on all sorts of different products, from fruit juice to data encryption, but video games have always been my one true love.

After many years working in demanding, stressful, occasionally toxic spaces, Christina and I knew from the very beginning that we wanted to do things differently at Lumi. We believed in the opportunity that game development DNA could bring to the mental wellbeing space, so we’ve focused intensely on creating experiences that both delight, and make a difference for our players.

It’s our mission to make the world a kinder place.

Co-Founders Christina Chen (left) and Lauren Clinnick (right).

What has the journey been like from the conception of Lumi to the creation of Kinder World?

Kinder World is our free mobile game all about houseplants, healing, and practising kindness.

Inspiration for the game came during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when Melbourne was in the middle of the world’s longest lockdown and the world felt anything but kind.

We knew that we needed to prioritise our own mental health, but the apps and services we were using at the time just felt like homework. They made our well-being feel like just another thing to add to the to-do list, which had the complete opposite effect we wanted when it came to our mental health!

As game developers, we knew that joy, creativity and community elements could make it easier and more rewarding to be kind to yourself - and so Kinder World was born.

It’s amazing to think that Lumi only had three employees back then (myself, Christina, and our lead artist Mandy) at the start of 2022, and now we’ve grown to a team of 20 fabulous humans all over the world!

Much of your development has been generously funded by community backers on Kickstarter, funds from Film Victoria, and various support in the form of venture capital. In what capacity did this funding impact the development of both Lumi and Kinder World?

Kinder World wouldn’t exist today without all the smart, supportive help we’ve received along the way.

What started as a very simple idea became a very simple prototype, which we took to Kickstarter to see if there might be an audience for it… and the response was overwhelming!

We received some early funding from VicScreen, which we used to build and polish the game, and after a lot of hard work, we eventually managed to secure early support from Australian VCs Galileo Ventures, and then a record-setting $9.75 million AUD seed round led by Andreesen Horowitz.

Now we’re full steam ahead on helping Kinder World reach as many folks as possible!

Kinder World offers in-app self-care activities for users to interact with to practice mindful well-being exercises. What process did the team go through in researching and bringing these activities to life?

Science has always been at the core of what we’re trying to achieve with Kinder World.

Even our earliest prototypes were created in collaboration with mental health experts, to make sure our game could live up to the promise of actually helping people treat themselves (and each other) with kindness.

These days, we’re lucky enough to have a full-time well-being researcher on our team. Dr Hannah works closely with our game designers, artists, and engineers to make sure that every detail of Kinder World is crafted with intention and to make sure we’re helping people in a uniquely effective way.

There are many recommended mental health and well-being apps on the market. What is it about Kinder World that you believe makes it unique for users?

So many of our competitors treat well-being as self-improvement, but Kinder World is more about self-acceptance.

We meet our players where they are, with a warm hug, and tell them that they’re exactly where they’re supposed to be. We don’t give them a long to-do list as homework to go away and turn into someone else. It’s also our game elements such as characters, a living world, and the community elements that deliver a very different experience to our players.

Cosy, wholesome games are increasing in popularity for many across the globe. What feedback have you had from your dedicated community since Kinder World’s testing stage and launch?

For decades, the video game industry has been an overwhelmingly male-dominated space for so-called hardcore gamers.

Things have been changing lately, with the rise of wholesome, non-confrontational gaming experiences that place the emphasis on calm, inclusive experiences.

If players are looking for an action-packed hardcore experience, there are plenty of games that cater to them, but our community have made it quite clear that the cozy game movement is a trend they love to see.

One of the unique features of the app allows users to leave comforting messages for other players, which you’ve coined as ‘crowdhealing.’ Why did you choose to include this feature?

We’ve all had moments where self-care seems like a little bit too much effort, but our research has told us that it can be much easier to summon the strength to take care of someone else, like a friend, a pet, or even a houseplant.

It’s all part of our hypothesis that being an active member of a kind community can actually have a greater impact on a person’s well-being than if they were to tackle it on their own.

Plus, it’s always nice to receive a random act of kindness from a stranger!

In what ways has the self-care and mindful ethos of Kinder World established itself in your team’s business practice?

We can’t just talk the talk about making the world a kinder place without walking the walk ourselves.

The well-being of our employees has been an absolute priority from day one, and it’s why we’ve brought a four-day work week and a monthly well-being stipend into our workplace culture.

How have you noticed the daily self-care practice of Kinder World benefiting your own mental well-being?

Meditation never really worked for me, and other apps I tried often ended up creating more stress for me, rather than less!

Watering my plants, emotional naming, and the occasional breathing exercise in Kinder World has been a much more accessible way for me to think about my own mental health, which honestly makes it much easier to recommend to people all over the world!

What expansions are you hoping to build into Kinder World as it develops?

I can’t give away all of our secrets just yet! But I can say that we’re working very hard to bring some amazing updates to Kinder World throughout 2023 and beyond!

New characters, new rooms to decorate, new plants to grow, and new well-being exercises are just the tip of the iceberg… but I’ve already said too much.

If you want to be the first to know when new updates are on the way you can also follow us on Tiktok, Instagram, Twitter, and just about everywhere else on the internet. If you’d like to join our kind community and take part in the development, then we’d love for you to join our Discord as well.

We’re always trying to improve our game and get feedback throughout the development process, so if you do download it for free on Apple or Android, then please let us know what you think!

INTERVIEW: NATALIE WILLIAMS
PHOTOGRAPHY: LUMI INTERACTIVE