
Tamagothi (1997) - loosescrews
http://www.studiohunty.com/tamagothi/
======
rogeryu
See this article: Building the Infinite Matrix of Tamagotchis

[http://hackaday.com/2015/11/24/building-the-infinite-
matrix-...](http://hackaday.com/2015/11/24/building-the-infinite-matrix-of-
tamagotchis/)

A limitless network of Tamagachi has been created using some amazing tricks to
feed, socialize, and monitor the beast now known as the Tamagachi Singularity.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_-e_cJ1-Gs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_-e_cJ1-Gs)

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alvern
Thanks for sharing the talk

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AndrewHart
I made a modern virtual pet, for iOS and Apple Watch. Apple Watch seems like
the perfect modern form factor for one of these.

[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/raise-
emoji/id1045353760](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/raise-emoji/id1045353760)

~~~
J-dawg
This got me thinking, a virtual pet could be a great way of gameifying
positive activities. Maybe you could exercise your pet by going for a run
yourself, or make it more intelligent by doing a language tutorial. You could
connect any fitness or learning app that provides an API. Every pet would end
up being unique because of the unique combination of activities done by the
owner.

Right now I can't figure out if that's a good idea or a really terrible one.
Do I really want a virtual dog looking at me angrily all day because I didn't
take him for his morning walk?

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xiaomai
Nintendo released one of these back during the original tamagatchi craze. It
had a pedometer built in, so you needed to exercise to feed your Pokemon.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Pikachu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Pikachu)

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SmellyGeekBoy
Oh wow, I remember this from my school days! (and the Tamagotchi on which it
is based, of course). Funny to see it still online. I remember 13-year-old me
thinking it was hilarious at the time...

Thanks for the nostalgia trip, OP.

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mbrutsch
> (and the Tamagotchi on which it is based, of course).

Thanks for that, I thought I was in another Berenstain time loop for a second.

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malux85
I would love a modernized tamagothi, I live in London and aren't allowed pets,
but I would love a wee virtual cat.

Face recognition is at the point where you can recognise different faces
(members in the family) so that would make the kitty happy and play a bit.
Throw a ball around and play fetch, that sort of thing

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gregorkas
You should try My Talking Tom -
[http://talkingtomandfriends.com/tom/](http://talkingtomandfriends.com/tom/).
(links to stores in the link). If you're more keen on female cats, there's
also My Talking Angela (or other virtual pets from the series). Check it out,
it's really well made and tons of fun ;).

~~~
GFischer
Another very popular one is Pou.

[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.pou.app&hl=...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.pou.app&hl=en)

It's also an impressive story of a single developer.

[http://www.wamda.com/2013/05/the-24-year-old-lebanese-
entrep...](http://www.wamda.com/2013/05/the-24-year-old-lebanese-entrepreneur-
behind-pou-top-mobile-kids-game)

I think Pou is much more similar to the original Tamagotchi, and very
impressive too.

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kriro
I remember the Tamagotchi crazy back in the day (this is a very well done play
on it, really enjoyed the linked site) but never owned one (and am not sure
how they worked exactly on a technical level). I wonder if it is technically
possible that some of them are still "alive"? I wonder if the programmers made
any implicit assumptions about lifespan that were tested by now (assuming the
batteries could be changed without "killing" them).

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phowat
Yes, tamagotchis did age and eventually died even if taken care of.

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J-dawg
This reminds me of people holding funerals for their Aibo robot dogs. The
future is going to get very weird.

[http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-
tech/new...](http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-
tech/news/japanese-hold-funerals-for-robot-dogs-after-sony-lets-them-
die-10098773.html)

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greggman
As an aside, the game that launched the Sony Pocketstation was inspired by
tamagochi. "Doko demo issho"

You played with your characters and they would ask you questions like "Tell me
something you like". You'd type in something like say "banana". The character
would then ask something like "Is it something you (a) use (b) eat (c) drive
(d) wear ..." and it might ask "How much do you like it? (a) a lot (b) so-so
(c) a little".

Later you might meet a friend, Jill, with a pocketstation. The pocketstations
could communicate via infrared. You'd play hangman against each other. While
that was happening, in the background the game would transfer some (all?) of
your info.

Later you'd be playing with your character and it might say "Hey, did you know
Jill really likes bananas?"

It was a big hit in Japan. It never came out in the USA IIRC.

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TazeTSchnitzel
Oh gosh, the standalone redistributable flash player with a swf embedded. I
remember those.

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jacquesm
Adobe 'air'? Pretty much Adobe trying to re-make java the flash way.

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theinternetman
Could always tell when you were using a Flex or Air UI, they had a very
distinctive clunkiness.

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zamalek
I owned one of these. I remember them being a genuine problem in school. Some
parents would actually agree to look after the pet while the child was at
school - not bad for such a simple algorithm.

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hashkb
I tried some of those operations (beat, specifically) on some of my sister's
'gotchis; mostly affects the owner, I found.

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jmnicolas
There's probably a joke in the name but being not a native speaker can someone
explain it to me please ?

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Conlectus
It's Tamogachi but with the word "Goth" (short for Gothic, typically used to
describe macabre / death-related things. Lots of the colour black, etc.).

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jmnicolas
Got(h) it, thanks !

