How I Turned Divorce Statistics into an Interactive Digital Product
Marriage Simulator: The First Year — A product development experiment that combines game design, financial literacy, and behavioral psychology to help prospective couples understand the challenges of married life before experiencing them in the real world.
This product was created using ChatGPT and Gemini AI tools for the brainstorming process. For development, Google AI Studio was used, along with OpenCode to refine the structure, and Android Studio to create the APK file. Testing was conducted via USB debugging prior to the APK release build.
Why Did I Create Marriage Simulator: The First Year?
Amid the current shifts in social norms, I’ve observed a trend where more and more people are delaying marriage, while divorce rates continue to rise, particularly in Indonesia. At the same time, economic pressures, rising living costs, career demands, and a lack of emotional readiness pose significant challenges for couples looking to start a family.
From these observations came Marriage Simulator: The First Year, a life simulation game that invites players to experience the dynamics of the first year of marriage through a series of everyday decisions that affect the couple’s financial situation, emotional relationship, stress levels, and quality of communication.
This project is not just an entertainment game; I designed it as a digital product experiment that combines elements of education, psychology, and decision-making simulation.
Background of the Issue
Some people view marriage as the ultimate goal of a relationship. In reality, however, marriage is actually the beginning of a series of new challenges.
Some of the factors I’ve observed include:
1. Rising Cost of Living
The prices of basic necessities, housing, education, healthcare, and children’s needs continue to rise year after year. As a result, many young couples hesitate to get married because they’re worried they won’t be able to meet their household needs.
In real life, financial conflicts are one of the main causes of arguments between couples. And most people only truly understand the complexities of managing family finances after they’ve experienced it firsthand.
Through this simulation, players are faced with various financial decisions, such as:
Managing monthly expenses
Saving or investing
Dealing with emergencies
Setting priorities for family needs
Balancing personal needs and those of your partner
The goal is to provide a safe learning experience without having to face real-world financial risks.
2. Those Who Are Not Yet Mentally Ready but Decide to Get Married
Not everyone who is of marriageable age is mentally ready for marriage.
Some couples enter marriage with high expectations but little understanding of:
Couple Communication
Conflict Resolution
Stress Management
Division of Household Roles
Empathy Toward Your Partner
When reality doesn’t live up to expectations, small conflicts can escalate into major problems.
That’s why in Marriage Simulator, I’ve included not only an economic system but also psychological variables such as:
Love (affection)
Trust (confidence)
Stress (emotional pressure)
Financial Stability
Every decision will affect the balance among these four aspects.
3. Lack of Opportunities to Learn Before Marriage
In many aspects of life, people can practice before facing real-life situations. For example, a pilot uses a flight simulator, an athlete uses game simulations, and a manager practices through business simulations.
However, when it comes to marriage, most people learn directly through real-life experiences, the consequences of which can be significant.
I see an opportunity to introduce the concept of “marriage simulation—the first year”—a safe space for players to understand the consequences of the decisions they make before facing them in the real world.
Why Choose a Game Format?
I believe that interactive experiences are often more effective than one-way information delivery. And I focus on the fact that everyone has a different way of absorbing information. For example, some people learn better by listening, reading articles, reading books, or following a step-by-step process. Games serve as an alternative medium for learning.
Various studies show that a game-based learning approach can improve:
Understanding of financial concepts
User engagement
Decision-making skills
Learning retention
The source is as follows:
Research by Cannistrà et al. (2024) shows that financial education games can significantly improve financial literacy compared to conventional learning methods.
Meanwhile, a study by Son et al. (2022) found that simulations and gamification can help reduce behavioral biases in financial decision-making.
These findings reinforce my belief that games can be an effective educational tool, especially for complex and sensitive topics such as marriage.
The Product Thinking Approach Behind This Game
When developing Marriage Simulator: The First Year, I didn’t start with the features. I started with the problem.
Problem
How can we help people understand the challenges of married life before they experience them firsthand?
Hypothesis
If individuals can experience simulations of financial management, communication between partners, and the consequences of household decisions through interactive media, they will be better equipped to face the challenges of marriage.
Solution
Creating a simulation of the first year of marriage that presents various real-life scenarios through a system of choices and consequences.
Metrics
Some metrics that can be measured include:
Game completion rate
Player retention
Average playtime
Changes in player understanding as measured by pre- and post-surveys
Level of engagement with financial and relational scenarios
Potential for Future Development
Although the game is currently being developed as an indie project and a portfolio product development initiative, this concept has the potential to evolve into:
EduTech
As a tool to support financial and family literacy education for college students and schoolchildren.
Corporate Wellness
As part of an employee wellness program focused on financial management and mental health.
Pre-Marital Counseling
As a tool to support premarital counseling that is more interactive than traditional methods.
Government & NGO Programs
As a means of educating the public about financial and psychological readiness before marriage.
Marriage Simulator: The First Year was born from a simple question:
“What if someone could get a taste of the challenges of the first year of marriage before actually going through them?”
Through this project, I want to demonstrate how product thinking, game design, and behavioral simulation can be used to solve real-world social problems.
For me, games are more than just a form of entertainment. They can serve as learning tools, platforms for behavioral experimentation, and a means to help people make better decisions in their lives.
As a Product Builder, this project exemplifies how I identify problems, validate solutions, design user experiences, and translate social issues into digital products that have a real impact.
Project: Marriage Simulator: The First Year
Alternatif Free Download : https://lynk.id/atomicdesign2/v54dy5re8kkl
