I see an opportunity for a new game product here: "Virtual Caretaker".
One could take digital pictures of room interiors from a home, then input them into the software component, which would build a 3D model, and do the same for the exteriors of player/sitter and baby. One could then add behavioral characteristics for each person, perhaps even recording voice samples: "Feed me", "Not now-- Daddy's busy... FATALITY!", etc. One could even input models of the real baby's toys, so the simulated baby could play with them.
Points could be awarded and retracted in various ways. The simulated player could rack up points in embedded video games on a screen-within-a-screen, perhaps piped-through software titles actually owned by the player/sitter. Changing the baby too often would result in fewer points due to inefficient use of gaming time, while if one let a poopy mess go for too long, one could lose points for a resulting rash or chemical burn. Too little attention over a long period, resulting in a substantial developmental or emotional deficit, could result in loss of "justice points", in severe cases leading to the dull interior of a simulated cell and a game-over condition. But that's the beauty of the game-- it would all be simulated. No harm, no foul.
And as players became increasingly addicted to the game, one could introduce spendy new hardware extensions, perhaps beginning with body-motion sensors for the real-world baby, allowing for real-time duplication of its movements within the virtual world. The way would then be prepared for the pi�ce de r�sistance: a full-functioned robot body to duplicate the movements of the virtual sitter, which would continue to be driven via hand controller by the real sitter. A responsible parent would only have to make sure that the robot's battery stayed charged, and could leave the home with greater confidence than ever before.
