Interacting with pets can be really comforting, after all, they are the most loyal creatures on earth. Also, they are loved by almost everyone. However, despite many deep desires to own pets, many people are unable to adopt one. Mainly due to varied reasons, like work-life restrictions, or they are unable to take time out to give full-time care to them. And this is where virtual pet apps come into the picture. The advancement of technology allows you to pet animals without keeping them in your home. So you can keep them with you all the time as virtual pets.
What is a Virtual Pet?
A Virtual Pet or Digital Pet is a form of artificial pet simply kept for the purpose of entertainment. And just instead of a real pet, they keep a virtual one. There are a number of people using virtual pet apps. Today there are pet apps integrated with Artificial Intelligence that stimulate the sensation of having a pet in your arms. These apps allow the users to experience everything they would do with a real pet. It includes watching them grow, feed, train, teach, and clean. In fact, the users can engage in a lot of interesting activities with their pets. And these virtual pet apps are loved by adults and children alike.
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Types of Digital Pet apps?
There are two types of Digital Pet apps available out there:
Web-based:
Usually, virtual pet apps are available for free, easily accessible via web browsers, and include a virtual community, like Neopia in Neopets. This arena allows users to make virtual money playing online games and spend their earnings to buy food and other items for their pets. Few of the websites even adopt pets to place on a webpage and use it to role-play in chat rooms. However, this requires adoptees to have a page for their pets.
Often these websites create a setup to breed one’s pets and later offer them for adoption. These web-based websites have a single non-dynamic image for each pet and various colors which leads to a lot of similarities in the pets. Simulation websites are also available that attempt at simulating a real-life discipline. Like a pedigree dog show, and usually these sites have a breeding aspect like markings and genetics.
Software-based:
A lot of digital apps are available that allow their users to care for, breed, and raise virtual pets. They offer a simulated experience to their users. Here the computing power is more robust as compared to webpage-based digital pets. Hence, the software apps allow to offer better visual effects and interactivity. The digital pets based on software are capable to learn and perform a variety of tasks. In fact, the quality of rich intelligence is what differentiates artificial pets from other kinds of A-life, where individuals have simple rules but the population as a whole develops emergent properties. Artificial pets are pre-programmed to behave in a certain way and they are not really emergent.
If you are looking to create online pet games, at Octal Info Solution we offer digital pet app development solutions. In this article, we have listed the best virtual pet apps for iOS and Android. Let’s first start with the category of Android & iOS apps for Virtual pet games.
Virtual Pet Games for Android and iOS
Wildscapes:
Available on both iOS and Android, Wildscapes is a free-to-play app where the game aims at building a whole zoo. Here the zoo can be filled with a lot of animals, fast-food cafes, gift shops, and public infrastructures, such as benches, parks, and restrooms. The app allows its users to talk to people visiting your park and the quests are completed with you interacting with the visitors. Users can go a level up by playing minigames, which offers them to earn points.
My Cat:
Among the most popular virtual pet games, My Cat is a cute pet cat simulator. Here, the users can feed the cat, rub its belly, take walks, and bond with just like any real cat. This app has Augmented Reality (AR) features that allow projecting the cat right on the living room floor, so the users can play with the cat as if it’s with them.
The app also allows you to take pictures and share them on social media, and in case of the cat is busy eating food or sleeping, then you can also engage with mini-games offered by the app. However, this app is not completely free to play and requires a weekly subscription of $9.99 to unlock its features. It offers a 3-day free trial period to experiment with the app, and the users can choose to stick with the free version if desired.
My Tamagotchi Forever:
This app is a mobile remake of a famous game from the 90s, however, despite the app offering a good virtual pet apps experience, it is nowhere like that classic game. The app allows users to adopt their Tamagotchi and raise it, feed it, play with it, and clean it afterward. Its augmented reality feature is impressive and any recommendations the app just for its AR feature. Meanwhile, the app offers a freemium game with freemium mechanics.
My Talking Hank:
For years kids enjoyed playing with the My Talking Tom app, and it was among the first virtual pets that kids liked so much. Post its massive success, its developers came up with a few more apps and one of them was My Talking Hank. The app allows users to find a puppy needing their love and is ready for adventure together.
My Talking Hank has real pet needs that have to be met, and even though all the app users have the same puppy on screen, still they perceive the pet differently. This makes My Talking Hank unique for each user. Other than caring, the puppy demands to be entertained, like he loves taking pictures, and users can help it put together a collection of pictures of all animals. The app allows users to talk in a funny voice like simply saying a phrase, and the phrase will repeat in a hilarious manner.
Fishdom:
This free-to-play virtual pet game has a simple premise, where users can build an aquarium for their tropical fish via a series of ‘tapping puzzles’. This game’s graphic style and the initial plot are a lot similar to Pixar film, Finding Nemo. Like the movie, the game starts with the user dropping a clownfish into their tropical tank, and upon doing this, they get a blue fish that also looks similar to the secondary character of Finding Nemo.
Meanwhile, the app is a lot different from most pet-raising games as its gameplay is pared down, it focuses more on enjoyment than complexity, and the minigames users play in this app has a single goal to remove as many tiles from the board in a few moves possible. The game can also resize and move around the objects in the fish tank and users looking for some mindless entertainment certainly have fun with the game.
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Virtual Pet Apps & Games for iOS
Cat Sim Online – Play with Cats:
There are numerous virtual pet apps available, but not all of them are 3D or realistic as most of these apps come with cartoony styles and 2D graphics. But not all people enjoy playing with pets that are flat cartoons as they prefer virtual pet games with a more realistic touch and Cat Sim Online does just that with a realistic virtual cat. However, the unique aspect of this app is it allows ‘the user’ to play as the cat, hence unlike other pet caring apps, here they don’t have to take care of the app, instead run wild with imagination and be the cat themselves. Quite cool, isn’t it?
Hay Day:
This popular pet game published by Supercell looks a lot similar to the Farm House app and offers an experience of a virtual pet for its users. Here the users can build farms, customize/decorate a section of the country, explore the Valley, and raise farm animals. The app allows users to invite their family and friends to play the game. It is available for free, and to purchase the in-app products, users are required to pay $2-$12 per item.
My Cat! Virtual Pet Games:
Just as mentioned above, this app is also available on iOS and this virtual pet game simulates a real cat. It allows users to feed My Cat, rub its belly and take it for walks. However, the best part of the app is its Augmented Reality feature and users must not miss out on that experience.
Dogotchi – Virtual Pet:
Dogotchi comes from a retro-style simulation series started by Wildagotchi, where the app users can take care of 12 adorable dogs, play with them, feed them, bathe them, and cuddle them. The more the user takes care of the pet, the happier Dogotchi is, and happier means the pet growing fast. Users love taking care of their pets and playing with them.
Hellopet:
This unique virtual pet app uses a screen overlay feature on the phone to give the experience of a little pet. Here the pet is running around the phone all the time and users can see it wander by as they are texting or scrolling their devices. The game involves users adopting the pet, taking care of it, and playing mini-games. Despite the traditional setting of this virtual pet app, the users love the idea of their dog running across the screen all the time. All in all, it’s a fun app that its share of users really enjoys.
Virtual Pet Apps & Games for Android
Happy Pet Story – Virtual Pet Game:
The users who can have a real pet, really enjoy engaging with the app, which offers users to have cats, dogs, and other adorable animals running on their phone screen. Besides, it enables users to create a fun room/home for their pets, and they can unlock new pets, rooms, and items on the app by buying or collecting the cookies. The app is published by Applepie Studio Inc. and it is available for free, however, to buy in-app products, the users are required to pay $1.99-$49.99 per item.
Moy 7 – Virtual Pet Game:
This unusual virtual pet app has around 7 parts of game, with each having its own features, details, and additions. To some users, Moy looks like an octopus, but they have to accept it as their pet. Moy 7 has high-level graphics and design which leaves the users thrilled. The users enjoy taking care of Moy by feeding him, bathing him, and taking him to picnics.
The latest game version allows interaction with nature and the environment and that is really the next level. Users can walk with the pet and explore new locations in the game. This app offers around 80 mini-games, along with other fun activities. It allows users to find arcades, puzzles, races, and other genres. Each user can choose what they like, as Moy being their pet, will also like interesting & unusual activities.
Hamster Life:
It is rare that people desire to pet a rat, hamster, or guinea pig, but it can be a unique experience, and some would surely like to give it a try, at least virtually, and with the Hamster Life app they can do just that. The app shows how easy and fun it is to raise a hamster and make it a friend. The app contains many funny actions & movements and all the users have to do is find their own hamster.
They can pet the hamster, play with him, feed him, and put him in the car. Though, it is necessary to go into the game every day to check on the pet. Hamster Life app allows users to change the design of the house where the hamster lives and watch him grow. All in all, the app is a real rodent simulator where the Hamster will drink and eat on his own. The users are just require filling the bowls in time. Here the users can also try to start many hamsters at once.
Bubbu – My Virtual Pet Cat:
Similar to Tamagotchi in terms of mechanics, Bubbu is a virtual cat that users love to take care of. The app players enjoy feeding their Bubbu, dressing up, cuddling, and bathing. The app offers more than 30 mini-games, and here the users can also have fun styling their cat, and building a house for it. They can have fun with the cat and play with it as much as they like. People who prefer dogs as their pets can go with another offering of the developers, an app named Duddu. It is entirely similar to Bubbu, except that users care about playing and taking care of a virtual dog.
Talking Tom Series:
Published by Outfit7, the My Talking Tom series is among the most iconic virtual pet apps, and it has My Talking Tom 1 and 2, Talking Tom Gold Rush, My Talking Angela, and a few others. The original app version has more than 500 million downloads. Its users love to feed and take care of the Talking tom. The app offers a lot of mini-games and customizations, and even after so many years, it is still holding its place is being one of the best virtual pet apps.
Hellopet:
This unique virtual pet app uses screen overlay functionality on the phone to give a little pet to its users that run around the phone virtually all the time, like when you are in the middle of sending an email or watching a video. The app’s mechanics are quite different from other virtual pet apps. But, it still allows some similar mechanics like adopting, raising, feeding, and taking care of a pet. Its users can engage with the app by playing various mini-games and enjoys its simple 2D art style.
Its best feature is the screen overlay that allows the pet to run around on the home screen all the time. And even though some might some it gimmicky, it is adorable as it is like a real pet randomly asking for attention. The users can download the app for free, however, they need to pay to make the in-app purchases.
My Boo – Your Virtual Pet to Care & Play Games:
This app doesn’t settle for just any type of animal. Instead, My boo allows users to adopt a pet blob with eyes and a mouth. The users can raise and feed their little blob monster, making sure it isn’t sick. Besides, the users can play with the style by trying different clothes for their pets. Despite being a basic virtual pet game, the app strikes the right chord as far as game mechanics go. Most people find it utterly satisfying. But the in-app ads can be quite annoying. However, to deal with this issue users can pay a small fee to skip the ads entirely.
Cat Condo:
They say cat purring has a magical way of calming down people and at Cat Condo. The kitten is always available to the users to change their mood at any time of the day. The game allows users to create their own homes for cats, where the cats live, and they can find them. A home filled with cute animals and add more and more to your home.
Usually, people start with a little kitten and over time they can have more. Cat Condo offers several types and breeds of cats, and users need to unlock each of them for achievements & rewards. As the users take care of their kitten, they receive an award, and this allows them to expand their condo. The app allows users to watch their pets grow bigger every day and the condo can be filled with toys so cats are not bored while users are away.
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How Virtual Pet app works?
Usually, these games are played free of cost through websites or apps, and they simply require users to sign-up. There is also a virtual community available with the app and the users of the app can play games and earn virtual money to spend on pet food and items.
How much does a Virtual Pet app cost?
It is difficult to state the exact cost to develop an app. Considering the number of hours usually taken to create a virtual pet game app, the average cost can be between $30000-$70000 for an app with basic functionalities and for a single platform. In case, you are looking to make the app available for more than one platform, it will cost around $50000-$120000.
Final Opinion:
The app market is available with many virtual pet-raising apps, both on Apple App Store and Google Play Store. It is because the users love the idea of having a virtual pet. And if you are looking to create a virtual pet gaming app, then you are at the right platform. At Octal IT Solution, we offer the best app development services and have years of experience in delivering great app results.
