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Dogz and Catz

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This article is about the 1995 and 1996 PC games. For the Gameboy Advance and DS game Dogz, see Dogz (2005 video game). For other games called Dogz or Catz, see Petz.
Dogz: Your Computer Pet
Catz: Your Computer Petz
Original PC cover art of the two versions; Dogz (left), Catz (right)
Developer(s)PF.Magic
Publisher(s)Mindscape
The Learning Company
Platform(s)PC
Release1995 (Dogz), 1996 (Catz)
Genre(s)virtual pet

Dogz: Your Computer Pet and Catz: Your Computer Petz are a pair of virtual pet simulation software developed by PF.Magic, and released in 1995 and 1996 respectively. Developed for Windows, they were the first games in the Petz series, and were followed by Oddballz.

Gameplay

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Upon starting the program the user is prompted to "adopt" one of 5 animals. In Dogz you get a choice between a bull dog, terrier, scotty, setter or chihuahua.[1][2] Before choosing one you get a chance to play with each to get a feel for its personality. after that you can name and even paint your selected individual.[3] From there the user interacts with the animals on the desktop. Depending on how the animals are interacted with they will change their mood and over time their personality.[4] Actions include calling your animal, feeding and watering them, playing with toys, and disciplining bad behaviour.[3][5]

The software can also be used as a screensaver, with optional password protection, with the Dog (in the case of Dogz) barking at those trying to get in.[6]

Development

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I decided then and there to make something so incredibly cute, that nobody could point to it and cry 'foul' again—least of all Captain Kangaroo [⁠Bob Keeshan, who spoke against Night Trap]—thus the digital puppy game was born.

PF.Magic's co-founder Rob Fulop had previously worked on the FMV game Night Trap. That work had been subject to an intense controversy, for allegedly promoting gratuitous violence, and was even one the subjects of a hearing on video games by the United States Senate.[7] After seeing the response, which Fulop considered "completely bullshit", and having it impact relationships with friends and family, he vowed to make something that nobody could possibly find objectionable.[7][8] In his own words he tried to find the "most sissy game that [he] could come out with". He also was inspired by a discussion he had with a mall Santa, about what children where asking for, for Christmas, which was "the same [...] thing that kids ask for every year," a puppy.[8]

The game reused the rendering technology previously developed for the PF.Magic fighting game Ballz, in which all the characters made were made of connected spheres.[8]

The concept of virtual pets allowed the development team to experiment with creating "interactive, real-time autonomous characters", as cats and dogs acted in ways that the team thought simple enough to successfully implement.[9][10]

Reception

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Reviewing Dogz for the The Salt Lake Tribune, Kim McDaniel gave the game 4 out of 5 stars, praising its believability of the animals, and the feeling that they learn and grow over time.[11] In the Herald News, Robert Phillips, thought that it was "pretty good" and would make a great stocking stuffer.[2] Courtney Blodgett, of The Republican, felt it would be great for somebody who was unable to keep pets.[1] CNET⁠'s review of the software thought that while it wasn't as ambitious or groundbreaking as previous pet simulator El Fish, it was fun.[14] According to Wired it amounted to "little more than an interactive screensaver".[15]

In a review for Catz, Violet Berlin gave the game a score of 9/20, opining that the experience was "completely pointless" and "amusing for all of three minutes".[5] Entertainment Weekly⁠'s Bob Strauss was more positive giving Catz a B+, complementing the fidelity to the real animals.[12]

Sales and legacy

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Dogz was an immediate success on release, with around 200,000 copies selling in the first year.[16] By the beginning of 1998 Catz, Dogz and their sequels—Catz and Dogz II: Your Virtual Petz—had collectively sold more than 1.5 million units.[17] According to Margaret Wallace, an employee of PF.Magic's at the time, customer data showed that the dominant users of Catz and Dogz were women and girls.[18]

The game and it's immediate sequels would go on to inspire a large online community.[19]

Following the success of the first two games PF.Magic developed Oddballz, following the same virtual pets mould, but with imagined cretures "such as a cross between a walrus and a rabbit".[20]

Game Boy Color ports

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In 1999, Mindscape published ports of both Dogz and Catz, developed by Saffire, for the Game Boy Color.[21][22] The graphics and gameplay are ported as close to the original as is possible on the handheld, with added unlockable animal breeds and toys.[23][24] The game was generally negatively received, when compared to the PC versions, with an aggregated GameRankings score of 49% and 44% respectively.[25][26] Craig Harris, of IGN, thought that while more elaborate than Tamagotchi, the inability of Game Boy games to multitask and amount of batteries the system used made the Tamagotchi a much more compelling virtual pet experience.[23][24] Likewise GameSpot's Doug Trueman wrote that anybody who saw themselves as "a gamer [would] probably view this title as little more than a drain on battery power.".[21][22]

Reception

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  1. ^ a b Blodgett, Courtney (17 June 1997). "Computer pup: man's new Best Friend". The Republican. p. 19. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b Phillips, Robert (15 December 1996). "Dogz: Big Fun, No Pooper Scooper". The Herald-News. p. 23. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b Spandafori, Gina (12 September 1996). "Pet Lovers, Fetch one of These Programs: 'Dogz' or 'Catz'". The Columbian. p. 44. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  4. ^ Hartling, Judy (21 December 1995). "Owning a Faithful dog With no Muss, no Fuss". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. 58. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  5. ^ a b Berlin, Violet (20 July 1996). "Veterans can get their Kicks Elsewhere!". Paisley Daily Express. p. 8. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  6. ^ Riekert, Mary (2 July 1996). "No Vets Fees or Food Bills for new fad in Pets". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. p. 44. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Hickey, Patrick, Jr (4 April 2018). The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews with Cult and Classic Video Game Developers. McFarland. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-1-4766-3123-3. Retrieved 24 October 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b c Donovan, Tristan (23 March 2011). "The Replay Interviews: Rob Fulop". Gamasutra. p. 4. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  9. ^ Stern, Andrew; Frank, Adam; Resner, Ben. "Virtual Petz: A Hybrid Approach to Creating Autonomous, Lifelike Dogz and Catz". AGENTS '98: Proceedings of the second international conference on Autonomous agents. pp. 334–335. doi:10.1145/280765.280852.
  10. ^ Frank, Adam; Stern, Andrew (1998). Multiple character interaction in Petz games. Computer Game Developers Conference. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2024 – via Gamasutra.
  11. ^ a b McDaniel, Kim (11 March 1996). "Going to the Dogs". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. 11.
  12. ^ a b Strauss, Bob (2 August 1996). "Catz: Your Computer Petz". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Catz". computerandvideogames.com. 13 August 2001. Archived from the original on 4 January 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  14. ^ Scisco, Peter (1996). "Dogz: Your Computer Pet". CNET. Archived from the original on 21 December 1996. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  15. ^ Leah, Chelsea. "From Tamagotchi to 'Nintendogs': Why People Love Digital Pets". Wired. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  16. ^ Jackson, Steve (24 September 1996). "Conjuring up a Touch of Animal Magic". The Daily Telegraph. p. 50. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Dogz and Catz Dash Past 1.5 Million Mark; PF.Magic's Virtual Petz Brand Established as Leader in Category". The Free Library. 1998-02-19. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  18. ^ Juul, Jesper (10 February 2012). A Casual Revolution: Reinventing Video Games and Their Players. MIT Press. pp. 211–212. ISBN 978-0-262-51739-3.
  19. ^ Famularo, Jessica (18 September 2015). "Gaming's Forgotten Petz Subculture and the Women Who Shaped It". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Family pet Loses its fur". The Daily Telegraph. 31 December 1996. p. 46. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  21. ^ a b Trueman, Doug (15 February 2000). "Dogz". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 18 October 2003. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  22. ^ a b Trueman, Doug (15 February 2000). "Catz". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 6 February 2004. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  23. ^ a b Harris, Craig (13 January 2000). "Dogz". IGN. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  24. ^ a b Harris, Craig (15 January 2000). "Catz". IGN. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  25. ^ "Dogz". Game Rankings. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  26. ^ "Catz". Game Rankings. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
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