Have you ever wondered what it takes to make these amazingly realistic, 3D puppies and kittens? Well for starters, it takes about two months and at least four artists (approximately 1,280 hours) to create one FooPet. The entire process requires nine stages and several iterations before the final product is able to meow or bark on your screen. Creating FooPets is no easy task!
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Earlier this week, the New York Times ran a great story about the request for new scientific studies exploring the health benefits of companion animals. The article discusses the affect the interaction between humans and animals can have on development and health and whether this interaction has therapeutic and public health benefits.
As most of you probably know, the original idea for FooPets – very realistic looking and behaving virtual puppies and kittens – came from the imagination of our very own veterinarian, Dr. Ron. Having lots of experience with the love, devotion, and emotional attachment shared between people and their pets, Dr. Ron strongly believed realistic virtual pets could bring a similar strong bond of pet ownership online.
Now while the NYT story focuses on studies about real-world pets, one could ask whether any possible health benefits experienced through the bond of pet ownership might also be experienced from a virtual pets environment? We hear from users all the time about how they consider their FooPets a part of the family and how much they enjoy caring for them.
Given the lack of current scientific studies incorporating virtual pets experiences into research, it could be a very long time before we know for sure whether the same kinds of health benefits can be derived from online interaction with virtual pets compared to real pets.
We do know this information as a starting point, though. Several of our users have shared their personal experiences with FooPets and the emotional benefits they have received. We have been contacted by parents/grandparents teaching their kids about pets; people who are bedridden due to illness or injuries; parents who are caring for children with disabilities; people who live alone or feel isolated; and even people who can’t have real pets because their living arrangements won’t allow for them.
Regardless of the specific situation, the response to FooPets from these users is very similar. They express how much they enjoy their FooPets, how happy their pets make them, and how much they love to see them at feeding or play time. In some cases, we’ve been told that FooPets give something to look forward to, something to help cure blues, or something positive at the end of a tough day. This kind of feedback is especially rewarding for the FooCrew and we’re very thankful our users have shared their stories with us.
I think most would agree we don’t necessarily need scientific research to tell us that a lot of satisfaction and joy comes from caring for our pets. Whether real or virtual, the wag/swish of a tail, sound of a playful bark/meow, or an enthusiastic chase of a favorite toy can be all it takes to make any day a little brighter.
FooCrew Lynne
Wendy Brock from Associated Content wrote a great “How-To” article on FooPets.com. Read it here.
Thanks Wendy!
-FooCrew Lynne
Here at FooMojo, our FooPets lab is a 24/7 gig. The FooPets development team is always hard at work on new features and games we hope make the site even more fun. This week, we released the FooPets Arcade. The arcade is filled with mini-games such as puzzles, memory testers and other arcade stuff people love to play. You can win FooGems and when you are good enough, battle it out for a place on our leaderboard. Trophies are awarded daily so dust off your display case and start practicing.
FooCrew Lynne
This week, Associated Content wrote a great story about safe, fun websites for kids and FooPets.com made the list. The article mentions many other awesome websites for kids that are new and different so check it out. Thanks, Leslie!
FooPets owners can now pick breeding partners and share the fun of building their own virtual pets family tree
REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. – September 8, 2009 –FooMojo, Inc., creator of the world’s most realistic and emotionally engaging virtual pets, today announced FooPets Breeding, a new feature of the FooPets.com virtual pets social game that lets owners take part in planning and building their own FooPets family trees. Individually or together with a friend, FooPets owners can now breed two FooPets and raise a litter of puppies and kittens until they are old enough to be adopted. During the breeding process, FooPets owners are responsible for proper care of their FooBabies including feeding and watering, providing required healthcare and when ready, arranging for adoptions to good homes.
“Pet breeding in the real-world can be very rewarding but it’s a process that requires hard work, a substantial time-commitment, financial resources and dedication,” said Dr. Ron Hornbaker, veterinarian, founder and CEO, FooMojo. “FooPets Breeding gives virtual pet owners the opportunity to experience the excitement of building and caring for their own pet family tree but also raises awareness that there are serious responsibilities involved.”
FooPets Breeding is an entertaining and fun way to learn the aspects of pet breeding. For owners, creating their own personal FooPets genealogy can be an exciting experience. Every parent and baby FooPet has a unique personality profile that tracks the pet’s character traits determined by their breed. Personality profiles help owners find optimal breeding partners based on desired pet personality and behavior. Over time, FooPets family trees can evolve based on breeding history and bloodlines.
With FooPets Breeding, owners experience a condensed, comprehensive, simulation of the real-world breeding process. Once owners purchase a litter license and select a breeding partner, they can pair FooPets for conception, followed by a gestation period and then delivery. At delivery in approximately four weeks time, between four and seven adorable baby FooPets will arrive. After a two week weaning period when parent FooPets watch after the litter, baby FooPets then will require two weeks of careful attention from their owners before they are ready to be adopted. At this point, baby FooPets are old enough for adoption to good homes. By giving or selling baby FooPets to family and friends, owners can join their family trees and share in the fun of crafting personal FooPets genealogy to include specific desired traits and characteristics.
FooPets Breeding
Availability:
FooPets Breeding is now available in the FooPets social gaming application. Because FooPets Breeding involves bringing new, live virtual creatures into the world, serious responsibility is required. For detailed information regarding rules and guidelines, please visit http://www.foopets.com/breeding.
Many different breeds of FooPets puppies and kittens are now available for adoption on different locations across the Internet. For Facebook and MySpace users, FooPets can be adopted free-of-charge through the FooPets application. FooPets also can be adopted free-of-charge on the newly launched FooPets.com Web site.
About FooMojo, Inc.
FooMojo is the creator of FooPets, the world’s most realistic and emotionally engaging virtual pets. The 3D puppy and kitten FooPets are “real” in nearly every sense, growing, playing, learning tricks, developing personalities, and requiring regular feeding and care. As part of an entertaining social gaming application, users of all ages can adopt a FooPet on Facebook, MySpace, and the FooPets.com Web site, with more locations coming soon.
Aimed at enriching the lives of real people and animals with engaging, social game play, FooMojo was founded in 2007 by Dr. Ron Hornbaker, a veterinarian who believes the special bond between people and their pets could be recreated online. FooMojo’s creative and development efforts are led by a talented group of web developers, along with artists and animators from the feature film and gaming industries. Most importantly, FooMojo is committed to supporting real pets in need, and through its non-profit FooPets Foundation, works with leading animal-related charities such as the ASPCA and The HSUS.
Located in Redwood City, Calif., FooMojo is backed by notable investors including Softbank Capital, Softbank Corp. Japan, Mike Maples, Jr., Ron Conway and Baseline Ventures. For more information visit http://www.foomojo.com.
One of the comments we hear most from FooPets owners is how much they love to share their pets. Everyone in the FooPets community at one time or another, has had fun feeding a friend’s pet to help out, snapping and posting a cute photo of a puppy/kitten doing something adorable or even gifting some extra FooGems to a new member who really needed them. Sharing is what makes FooPets.com such a fun place to hang out.
The FooCrew is hard at work coming up with new stuff to make sharing more fun and we’re excited to introduce FooPets Greetings, personalized e-cards that feature the pet of your choice. Whether you already own a FooPet or not, FooPets Greetings are free, easy to create and can be received by anyone with a valid email address. Just visit: http://www.foopets.com/greetings and start sending your FooPets e-cards today.
Have fun,
FooCrew Lynne
Teri Webster over at the Examiner just covered FooPets and posted this video along with the story: