A Topic of Virtual Pets
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I was a typical Sunday morning when i am home with my kiko, a 10 month husky. Some thoughts just popped up on my mind that i can't help sharing with you guys.
Even the best historians could not tell when humans first started keeping animals as pets. We do not know the exact species of pets but we do know why we keep them. Pets are the most dependable, loyal friends. Their love is unconditional and without any judgment. However, raising a pet can be really challenging. It's like caring for a kid. You can't leave them alone. Problems pop up when you have to walk away. Who's gonna take care of them?
Thanks to the genius Japanese toy innovator Bandai, all the problems were solved! In 1996, we had a new option – the first electronic pet, Chicken Little! These colorful egg-shaped pocket toys are really cute. You can take them wherever you go! Except for that they are toys, they are just like normal pets. You have to feed them, bath them, play with them and teach them how to follow your orders. If you're careless, they could get sick or even die! Yah…maybe you'll feel sad about it but just one click, you can start it all over again! Brilliant! Isn't it?
And then, the digital pets evolved, in even wider scale and become more intellectual! You have electronic cats, dogs, rabbits…and lot more, anything you could imagine! The first and the most famous robot doggie Aibo, designed by SONY in 1999 (I have to say, the Japanese people is genius in entertainment!), has open the age of home entertainment robots. Aibo is an autonomous robot doggie that acts both in responses to external environment and according to its own judgment. It can even express various emotions, grow through learning, and communicate with human beings! It's really a great innovation however not everyone could afford it. The price of USD 2,500 per set still prevents lots of people from taking it home. Come on, it's even more expensive than a real living dog!
People never stop the pursuit of fun. So, we have the virtual pets! Internet has made a lot of miracles and the virtual pet may be one. For those who are a bit lazy but would love to experience the fun of raising pets, and don't want to pay any charge, adopting a virtual pet on line would be a great idea! It is totally free and there will be hundreds of choices! There must be one that fits you. You can feed it, take it for a walk, groom it, make it do tricks or whatever…and there is a huge virtual pet fans community…you can make friends from all over the world!
And the pets also play an important part in the MMO world. Nowadays, many MMORPGs have their own pet system. It adds to the attractiveness of the game and become an important component of a successful game... Talking about pet raising system, the following games need to be mentioned.
WOW – Maybe the most popular MMO nowadays, with a huge variety of pets, from cute and cuddly to slithery. However, except for a few mechanical combat pets, pets are simply status symbols and don't do anything other than exist and look cool.
Rappelz – A free 3D fantasy MMO that boasts a fairly extensive pet system that offers many features including a unique summoning class devoted to pets, pets that can be captured and bought in stores, and various pet abilities that can aid you in different situations.
Eudemons Online – A free 2.5 D fantasy pvp MMO with a great pet raising system that allows players to assemble their own special fighting forces. Not like the pet systems in other MMOs, eudemons will assist their masters in pvp and pve combats, taking most of the damage. They have their own skills. Players can summon up to 3 eudemons at a time and can upgrade their pets to higher level through different composing. The game even has eudemons for the twelve constellations!
In this virtual world, pets play many roles – pets, friends, partners and even protectors. They are not weak anymore. They could be strong defenders. Since when, we've become so much relying on them emotionally? Hard to tell…
The only thing we could tell is, pets serve a distinct function in our day-to-day life. So, what's the next generation pet will be like? A robot pet that contains animal genes? Who knows? Maybe! We will see!