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Article #1: Digital pets

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A digital pet, also known as a virtual different digital pets, some of them are
pet, is a type of artificial human used to give a sense of reality to the
companion. They are usually kept for user (such as pet's responds to "touch"),
companionship or enjoyment. People may and some for enhancing playability (such
keep a digital pet in lieu of a real pet. as training).
Digital pets are distinct from robot pets Communicating with digital pets
and other entertainment robots in that With advanced video-gaming technology,
they have no concrete physical form other most modern digital pets do not show a
than the hardware they run on. message box or icon to display the pet's
Interaction with virtual pets may or may internal variable, health state or
not be goal oriented. If it is, then the emotion like earlier generations (Such as
user must keep it alive as long as Tamagotchi). Instead, users can only
possible and often help it to grow into understand the pet by interpreting their
higher forms. Keeping the pet alive and actions, body language, facial
growing often requires 'feeding', expressions, etc. This helps keep a pet's
grooming and playing with the pet. If the behavior seem natural, rather than
interaction is not goal oriented, the calculated, and fosters a feeling of a
user can explore the character of the pet relationship between user and digital
and enjoy the feeling of building a pet.
relationship with it. Often these games Sense of reality
use realistic visual effects or To give a sense of reality to users, most
interaction to make the pet appear alive digital pets have certain level of
and give a sense of reality to users. autonomy and unpredictability. The user
Gadget-based digital pets can interact with the pet and this
Some virtual pets, like Tamagotchi, are process of personalizing can make the pet
sold on a self-contained, hand-sized more unique. Personalizing increases the
computer. In the case of the Tamagotchi, feeling of responsibility for the pet to
a small screen has an image of the pet, the user. For example, if a Tamagotchi
while buttons on the case let the user is unattended for long enough, it will
perform different tasks, such as feeding, "die".
playing with, or washing the pet. Interactivity
Dissatisfied pets can emit beeps and To increase user's personal attachment to
sometimes "die". the pet, the pet interacts with the user.
Digimon was originally sold on a gadget Interactivity can be classified into two
similar to Tamagotchi's, but able to categories: Short-term and long-term.
connect to other Digimon gadgets in order Short-term interactivity includes direct
for the pets to fight. interaction or action to reaction from
Sonic Adventure 2 for the Sega Dreamcast the pet. Example: "touch" a pet with
had virtual pets, called Chao, which mouse cursor and the pet will give a
could be either used in game or direct response to the "touching".
transferred to the Visual Memory Unit, Long-term interactivity includes action
which enabled a transformation from that affect pet's growth, behavior or
game-based to gadget-based. life span. Example like training the pet
Webpage-based digital pets may have good effect on pet's health.
Virtual pet websites such as Neopets are Long-term interactivity is quite
usually free to play and accessible to important for a sense of reality as the
all who sign up. They can be accessed user would think that he has some lasting
through web browsers and often include a influence on the pet.
virtual community, such as the planet Two kinds of interactivity are often
Neopia in Neopets. In these worlds, you combined. Such as playing with a pet
can play games to earn virtual money; (short-term interactivity) may make the
which is usually spent on items and food pet more optimistic (long-term
for your pets. interactivity).
Some sites adopt out pets to put on your Example of common features
webpage and use for roleplaying in chat Responds to calling
rooms. They often require the adoptee to Responds to touching
have a page ready for their pet. Training the pet
Sometimes they have a setup for breeding Supplies or toys for the pet
one's pets and then adopting them out. Dressing up the pet
Other sites that adopt out pets to put on Competition or trial amongst pets.
a webpage are centered around writing for Meeting other pets.
and breeding said pets to create newer, Ethical Concerns
often 'showier' creatures. Members are Humane treatment
often encouraged to create their own There are some ethical concerns about
species of draconic creatures, to adopt digital pets. As the digital pets are
from other members, and to breed the more realistic, they simulate different
various species together. Unlike with kinds of emotion and self-awareness. They
some adoption agencies for webpage based may require the same animal rights,
cyberpets, where the owner of the species according to some fields of philosophy.
is the only one that can breed said Digital pets and children
species, the Nexus encourages all of its While users can do whatever they want
members to share and interbreed their with their digital pets nowadays, it may
species together, and the resulting encourage young users to form bad habits.
offspring are usually adopted out to It is arguable that a relationship with a
story-based or stats page-based digital pet cannot compare with a real
web-pages. relationship with an animal, because a
Some games also allow users to breed a real relationship teaches children that
pet for combat against other players. their desires can't always come first.
Game- or application- based digital pets Digital pets over real pets
Other virtual pets come in software run Some people suggest that digital pets are
on PCs or video game consoles. Since the preferable for a number of reasons.
computing power is more powerful than Having a digital pet in place of a real
with webpage or gadget based digital pet ensures real pets don't have to
pets, these are usually able to achieve a suffer, and it is arguably training
higher level of visual effects and before adopting a real pet. PETA has
interactivity. Games like Nintendogs suggested that robotic animals can help
render realistic figures of dogs. people recognize that they are not up to
Example game or application based digital the commitment of caring for a real
pets: the creatures in Black and White, animal.
Nintendogs, Petz, Catz, Dogz (in Gameboy Impact of virtual reality on digital pet
Advance and DS), and Pets in Sims 2: Some people suggest that the simulated
Pets. experience of digital pet lacks the
History constraints of the real world that
Digital pets were a massive fad in Japan, allows us to apply substantive ethics.
where they originated, and to a lesser The virtual environment failed to
extent in the United States during the simulate real social consequences.
late 1990s. There have been significant Another problem about problem about
improvements of digital pets since digital pet is the "virtual slavery". A
Tamagotchi's success. From dot-images robotic pet could be made in the shape of
(such as Tamagotchi) to rendered and a human, a problem raised by the fiction
animated 3D games (such as Nintendogs). Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by
Today, there are also "Digital Pets" Philip K. Dick.
which have physical robotic bodies, known Relationship with digital pet
as Ludobots or Entertainment robots. There is research concerning the
The idea of an animal companion composed relationship between digital pets and
of technology rather than flesh has also their owners, and their impact on the
inspired a lot of fiction, such as the emotions of people. For example, Furby
anime Digimon (itself a contraction of affects the way people think about their
"Digital Monster"). identity, and many children think that
Common features of digital pets Furby is alive in a "Furby kind of way"
There are many common features between in Sherry Turkle's research.






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