Early Development of Pets
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Having pets in Toontown was proposed very early within Toontown's development cycle. The original deadline for pets for testing was 8/3/04, and the original deadline for live release was 8/30/04. The development of the pet system was designed from the ground up with the consideration of future expansions in mind.
Main Goals
- Improve Toontown 'stickiness' by increasing emotional attachment and instilling sense of responsibility
- Increase sense of urgency for trialers to subscribe
- Provide new marketing-friendly feature
- Add multiplayer interest to the Estates
- Introduce new and different gameplay experiences
Pets Overview
- Every new Toon has a Pet waiting for them
- Pets much be cared for (feeding, playing) or they will get unhappy
- Pets live in the Estate and Estate Houses
- Toons bring their Pets with them when visiting another Toon's Estate
- Pets that live at an Estate can show up even though their owners are not logged in
- Toons can purchase new Pets and trade in old Pets at Pet Shops
Pets
- Have body, two feet, mouth, and eyes
- Are 2 feet tall on average (~1/3 Toon height)
- Are differentiated by color and "pattern" (spot pattern, fur, scales, etc.)
- Have simple, single-word (two-part) names
- Owner chooses Pet's name with a name picker
- Can burrow into and out of the ground (a la Toon teleport)
- Seem like real animals
- Are free-roaming and autonomous
- Are aware of Pets and Toons around them
- Have a focus on attention, eyes that focus on objects (like Toons' eyes)
- Communicate with Toons and other Pets through icons and emotes
- Respond to certain SpeedChat statements
- Have emotions (happy, excited, angry, sad...)
- Get hungry, lonely if not taken care of
- Are fed jellybeans by Toons
- Can follow Toons/Pets around the Estate
- Can be chased by Toons/Pets
Pet Shops
- Located in Playgrounds
- Existing Pet Shop Clerk NPCs will be moved into the shops
- Toons can trade in their Pet for a different Petr
- Grace period so that you can change your mind about getting rid of a Pet
- Some patterns are more rare than others, therefore more valuable