Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of virtual world and MMO style
The Sims 3 Pets expansion pack has entered a gaming world that's changed dramatically since Sims 2's Pets came around. Pet breeding and caretaking games have been around for ages, but now Facebook games, mobile apps, and even Second Life have opened up the world of casual pet-themed games to even more people. It may seem like Sims 3 Pets will be able to tap into this market easily, but the world of pet gaming is far more diverse than it seems, and the same people addicted to the current pet care games may be disappointed by what Sims 3 Pets has to offer.
Don't get me wrong, I love The Sims 3 and the latest expansion has been incredibly fun, like the equally creative and engaging expansions before it. They've changed a lot of the pet design and care mechanics since The Sims 2, where the dogs and cats available were little more than objects in a larger household, like furry furniture.
By contrast, the newest animal additions to the world of The Sims 3 are worlds apart. Now pets (including cats, dogs, and horses) are literally members of the family: They can be controlled like human Sims, they can have good and bad personal relationships, they can learn skills, they can be given traits from creation or trained with new ones during gameplay. Pet creation is also significantly more flexible than it was in The Sims 2, allowing for both small and large breeds with an incredibly detailed coat and shape customization interface. The only real limit I've found with the customization options is that leg length cannot be controlled, which means that breeds like Munchkins, Corgis, and even toy and teacup breeds won't look as accurate as more conventionally shaped breeds.
Most important for many, though, is that these pets can be bred, passing on physical features and traits to their offspring. That's the heart of the massive breedables industry in Second Life, which is generating substantial revenue for creators and lucky breeders alike, as well as microtransaction-riddled games like PetVille and Pocket Frogs. Hamlet speculated a couple weeks ago that much of this SL market would be drawn to the new Pets expansion, and while I agree that's true, I don't believe that it will last. Here's why:
While all these games have animal care in common, that's really where the similarity ends. Breedables like Meeroos, for example, have more in common with trading card games than the play style of The Sims.
While interacting with the animals is fun, it's not the main appeal of the breedable gaming hobby. The goal is to breed animals to bring out their rare genetic traits. Tiny sized animals, giant animals, unique coats, and extreme eye colors all contribute to the rarity and exclusivity of a newly bred virtual pet. When new traits are added to the code of these pets, the first animals born with those traits can usually be auctioned off or traded for startling values. This ability to collect and evaluate breed quality, even in the way pedigree animals are valued in real life, is completely absent from The Sims 3 Pets. There's no real barrier between the everyday and the exotic breeds to drive the coveting and collecting urges of breeding game fans. Simply put, that's not where the challenge of the game is.
It's a mistake to paint all pet care games with the same brush, because the challenge is not always the same. Care and interaction is the heart of The Sims 3 Pets (just as it is in The Sims on its own), so those looking for the challenge of cultivation and collection likely won't find much here to hold their interest.
Meeroos image credit: Melissa True, from her Flickr stream.
Iris Ophelia (Janine Hawkins IRL) has been featured in the New York Times and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and with pop culture/fashion maven Johanna Blakley.
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