TunTun Diary: Exploring AI-Generated Storytelling and Virtual Companionship for Nightmare Relief
Zi-Xin Wang, Shan Luo, Siyu Tian, Yunxi Cai, Long Ling, Mu-Han Xu, Jiaxing Yu, Guanting Lu, Jiajing Zhu, Liping Luo
SIGGRAPH Asia Posters December 14, 2025 DOI: 10.1145/3757374.3771484 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Preliminary deployment study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 20 |
| Population | Young adults |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key points | Participants in a preliminary deployment of the TunTun Diary mobile game reported emotional relief and increased comfort after engaging with AI-generated comic-style retellings of their nightmares, often describing the experience as soothing and playful. The authors argue that combining therapy-inspired reframing with interactive storytelling and virtual companionship can lower barriers to everyday emotional support. |
Abstract
Nightmares disrupt sleep and heighten daytime anxiety, yet therapeutic support is often hard to access due to limited clinician availability, cost, and clinical framing. We propose TunTun Diary, a mobile game in which an alien puppy named TunTun “eats” players’ nightmares and returns gentle, comic-style retellings. The system uses generative AI to reinterpret users’ nightmare descriptions into positive narratives. Through simple text-based dream input and playful pet interactions, players form an emotional bond with TunTun as a safe and supportive companion for coping with negative dreams. In a preliminary deployment with 20 young adults, participants reported emotional relief and increased comfort after engaging with TunTun’s transformed dream comics, often describing the experience as both soothing and playful. These findings highlight how integrating therapy-inspired reframing with interactive storytelling and virtual companionship can lower barriers to everyday emotional support. By illustrating a novel application of AI-based visual storytelling in game contexts, TunTun Diary opens opportunities for future research at the intersection of visual computing, affective interaction, and game design.