Petz

Petz is the title of a series of virtual pet simulators released for Windows and Mac PCs between 1995 and 2002. The first four generations were developed by P.F.Magic, and the final generation was developed by Studio Mythos (utilizing the same engine). Shortly before the release of the fifth generation, the Petz franchised was purchased by Ubisoft. Catz 5 and Dogz 5 were the only games published by the new owner that followed the original formula. While games continued to be published under the Petz title until 2014, these games are completely unrelated to the original series.

The classic Petz series is very difficult to describe with words alone. They are some of the earliest pet simulators in existence, with the first release predating even the original Tamagotchi (1996). Uninfluenced by later landmark releases such as Nintendogs (2005), Petz holds a fascinating place in history, absolutely brimming with personality and yet lacking many of the most iconic features of modern pet simulators.

In order to place my petz into the game scenes, I first took screenshots of them in Petz 4 (1999) and Petz 5 (2002). I then used Krita, a free digital art program, to layer the screenshots over top of 3D renders made in Bryce.

To take the pictures, I had to use some tricks. Petz usually want to look at the player, so I used toys to direct their gazes in the direction I wanted them to look in. I used the hand vacuum to get more fearful expressions, and the music box to convince them to dance.

Stamps

You may have noticed that each ending also comes with a stamp image. Stamps are a tradition within the online Petz community; some people have thousands of stamps in their collection! The stamp prizes on this site are about four times the usual size, to allow for more detail. Here's some regularly-sized stamps for comparison (feel free to collect):

Cast

Get to know the puppies and kitties (and etcetera) of Bryceland!