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--- companions_in_games [2009-01-22 16:04] – davegriffiths
+++ companions_in_games [2009-01-26 11:49] – davegriffiths
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 =====Pet companions=====
-Unlike other games, pet games are solely concerned with creating an attachment with an NPC. In this way, the NPC is the focus of the game. Other gameplay elements are introduced as a way of increasing the bond between the player and the NPC. Most pet games are targeted at a younger audience, although in practice these games can have a much broader appeal.
+Unlike other games, pet games are solely concerned with creating an attachment with an artificial companion. In this way, the companion is the focus of the game. Other gameplay elements are introduced as a way of increasing the bond between the player and their pet. Most pet games are targeted at a younger audience, although in practice these games can have a much broader appeal.
 ^ Game  ^ Interaction ^ Attachment level ^
-|Nintendogs |DS touchscreen for stroking and cleaning, and the microphone for training and talking to your puppy.|The best selling game of all time, so it's doing something right. The NPC interaction feels very natural using the pen on the touch screen, and the voice control is done well - it takes a few attempts each time to learn commands, which fits well with the technical solution. The nature of the DS console might largely be part of the success, along with the shameless use of dog breeds per game release.|
+|{{:nintendogs.jpg}} [[http://www.nintendogs.com/|Nintendogs]] |DS touchscreen for stroking and cleaning, and the microphone for training and talking to your puppy.|The NPC interaction feels very natural using the pen on the touch screen, and the voice control is done well - it takes a few attempts each time to learn commands, which fits well with the technical solution. The best selling game of all time, so it's doing something right. The portable nature of the DS console might largely be part of the success, along with the shameless use of dog breeds per game release.|
+|{{:tamagotchi.jpg}}[[http://www.tamagotchi.com/|Tamagotchi]]|3 buttons, allowing you to feed, clean and play games with your pet. It tells you when it needs feeding, and dies if it's not attended to.|A huge success, which indicates a good attachment. So much so that it proved controversial due to children taking them into classes to keep them alive. Keeps well out of the uncanny valley as the Tamagotchi hardware (the name comes from the words egg and watch in Japanese) is very limited, so the display only tens of pixels across - which only adds to it's appeal.|
+|{{:chau.jpg}}{{:chaudc.jpg}}Chau Adventure, part of [[wp>Sonic Adventure]]|Similar to Tamagotchi, but crucially, and of high relevance to [[Project Lirec]] the 'chau' pets migrate from the DreamCast console to a hand held device (either a [[wp>VMU]] or a GameBoy Advance) and back again. The chau can be taken away and trained (or evolved) for various tasks in the main game, and can even be bred together by connecting two people's VMUs togther.|The chaus were not a core element of Sonic Adventure, so this feature was more of an experimental idea taking portable pets from Tamagotchi and integrating them with a full game. However, it was fairly successful and well received.|
 =====Teams of companions=====
+There are also examples of games which immerse the player in more complex social situations, involving groups working together, or squads fighting together.