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!