And in the spirit of total ignorance of self-preservation, I decided not to let the lovely leftovers of my seafood feast go to waste. I had it for lunch again today. :)
I’ve been doing some work in preparation for adding pets to the project. Initially, it will be a pet with a simple set of animations, and the user will be able to upgrade their pet based on their xp level. I’d like to make the pet interactive in the sense that it reacts when you pet it, thus increasing the happiness level. Eventually, I want to add pet companions to the virtual world. I see them as guides and advisors, but also as creatures that need to be taken care of (much in the way that hunter pets work in WoW). The pet AI would be able to give simple FAQ-type information, and guide you to certain places (again, similar to the way that city guards do in Warcraft).
And then come horses and other mounts. :) They would work both as a pet that needs care, and also as a mini-game (grooming, feeding, taking quizzes from horse trainers on horse care, conformation, etc.). You could explore the countryside on your horse, or show it in virtual shows. The 12-year-old girls would love it. And would they come in pink sparkles? Need you ask? lol…
I’m very blue today, speaking of horses. I had to meet with my vet again yesterday, and he’s going to do more scans of her leg. But he was making these non-committal forays into preparing me for what was likely to come, such as “The prognosis for recovery isn’t very good, to be honest. We’ll do more scans, but you should start to think about what you want to do.” Poor Lizzie. I think about the morning that we found her so ill, when I had barely walked onto the yard and as soon as she heard my voice she started screaming. My Lizzie, the psycho mare who hates everyone, and I’m her safe place. I’m also the one who will have to do this for her, and be there at the end.
That was a bit of a personal story getting off the topic, so back to pets in game. I suppose that I started wanting to add pets after seeing the Fable 2 pet videos. The dog was stunning. I fully plan on buying and playing Fable 2 now just because of that dog. How cool would that be?
Everyone needs something to love. Some people, some kids, need to learn how to love, need to learn about care, responsibility, and the effect that our actions can have on helpless creatures. A pet mechanic in the game would be a great way of doing this.