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Virtual pet games??

Posted 2024-08-25 14:40:00 (edited)
#1259255
Neopets has absolutely no breeding mechanics and is lore-heavy, if that's what you're looking for. The website is currently in an awkward transitionary phase between the old spaghetti code and the new, so if you choose to play/return, do expect to go back and forth between it a lot.
TheClassCalico
#3096
Posted 2024-12-26 10:24:29
#1411144
Poppy Seed Pets might scratch the itch you're looking for? I personally love the game to pieces and it's definitely more focused on the critters interacting with the world around them.
Mischa
#4435
Posted 2025-01-09 16:07:44
#1427645
Browser games: I highly recommend Furrypaws, its a fun dog game that focuses on genetics and breeding. There is also a horse game called Horse Reality, which is similar. Ovipets is a more fantasy magical breeding game. Howrse is another horse game, more based on mythology and more magical than realistic. Clan Gen is based on a book by Erin Hunter (Warriors) in which it generates a clan of cats for you control but it might be easier to understand if you read the books. 		Howls_N_Wags
#149218
Posted 2025-01-19 10:57:21
#1437569
Creatures is a game series from the 90s about taking care of the eponymous creatures, the Norns. They look kind of like monkeys, with big eyes and big ears, are bipedal, and can learn how to speak. They can interact with other creatures in their habitat, such as bugs, small animals, and even other creatures capable of speech such as the Ettins and Grendels.

Different Norns have different personality modifiers. Some can be more aggressive or friendly than others. They can be taught to seek out a certain item, or to fear it.

The game, to me, is mainly about the biology of Norns. They need to eat and they need enrichment, of course. But they can also be put in danger by their environment. For instance, they can fall gravely ill if they ingest something poisonous, or if they catch an airborne disease in another environment than their home! It is your job to heal them and keep them out of trouble.
Of course, they can also have offspring, and you can breed for certain traits too, though is it much more rudimentary than the biochemistry and artificial intelligence at play.

Fun fact: this game series from the 90s still has the best artificial life simulation! The lead programmers are neurologists, after all.

Playing Creatures is very much like watching an ant colony; there are many moving parts and many different ways that interactions can play out.

The entire game series can be bought on GoG.com and steam, and the modding community is incredibly active, despite servers for C3 having shut down a while ago.
peepy
#25053
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