STEEMPUNK-NET game Pets - a fantastical addition.

As soon as I heard the developers were thinking of adding pets into the steempunk-net game I began to see all manner of possibilities for their inclusion. (The pets, not the developers. At this stage, anyway. ;) )

I would, therefore, like to offer my suggestions for consideration. All pics used are merely to visualise possible concepts. I cannot draw well enough to offer original artwork, or I'd be designing them like mad!

I think swapping the word pets out and using the broader term beasts might better encompass the types of creatures that could be used. Plus, some pets can act rather beastly at times. (Not looking at you in particular darling cat, of course not!)

The first picture I saw which really sparked my imagination, was this wolf.

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The idea that lurking beneath the skin of a seemingly 'normal' beast could lie the mechanics of a clockwork invention seemed like such a fitting Steampunk concept, and so perfect for the steempunk-net game.

So, taking the wolf for a moment - because let's face it, who wouldn't want a pet wolf by their side to help fight in the battles? - lets explore various design concepts that can be found on the internet, and presenting some choices as to which visually-appropriate beasts the developers may wish to offer in the game.

This artwork would have to be my ultimate favourite, simply for its beautifully-stunning visual representation.

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But I would imagine something like this would be amazingly time consuming and intense for the art-team members to reproduce. I do love that the beast has steampunk layers both inside and out. The outside pieces could consist of strategic battle armour, while all the clockwork mechanics, which make the beasts move, are housed internally.

If we were to factor in simplicity of beast design, mixed with appeal (who wants a repugnant pet??) and harmony with the game concept as a whole, this next offering may be the best option presented so far.

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One thing that may become an important consideration in the final design concept is that of providing a mass-appealing alternative choice to the current Crypto-Kitty (or indeed any other) collectibles-craze doing the rounds.

Applying the Beasts

I think that adding beasts to the game opens it up for the inclusion of a number of really exciting ideas. For example,

1. Using them as stat boosters, in varying degrees. Each different type of beast would give the player a certain formula of additional power across each of the factors of experience, strength, education, defense, dexterity, and constitution.
2. Beasts could be chosen based on the way their real life counterparts perform in their natural environment, which ties back to point one. There could even be an opportunity to use the game as a platform for raising awareness of those beasts who are on the rare or endangered lists. (I'm not sure how this could be worked to the game's advantage, but I have only so many brains to use, sorry guys. :p)
3. Having rare beasts, which are much more difficult to obtain, or indeed could only be 'borrowed', but have more advanced stat-boosting capabilities. These beasts could be, for example, won by the top players in certain categories each week; and able to be used by those players for the next seven days. This would give those lucky players a boost to their battles during that time, and work as a great incentive for players to want to reach those top spots.
4. As I touched on earlier, the beasts could be designed as collectibles too, and thus adding a layer of sales to the game; whereby players (or perhaps even non-players?) could purchase & trade beasts for currency rather than the battle process. I would imagine there would have to be some structure to this kind of shopping but, as I don't play Crypto-Kitties or similar games, I'm not sure how that would work exactly. This is where the visual design of the beasts would become so important, in order to future-proof their appeal within the game.
5. Trading beasts within the game - for example if I found myself with an excess of wolves perhaps I could sell or trade one to another player, or even back to the shop at a preset price. This would be added to the development of the shop facet of the game, as beasts could also be traded or sold to buy gear or weapons.
6. Adding to the concept posed in the first example, there could even be a snake in the grass element added. That one beast nobody wants to win because it actually drops the player's stats! To be fair to the unlucky player this 'snake' is only with the player for a set time (e.g 6 hours of actual playing time). Annoying but not harmful enough to make a player walk away from the game.
7. Lastly, and actually most importantly ... they can be given really cool names! :D

I've only highlighted the Wolf so far as a game beast choice, but what of others? I shall round off my suggestions with some further ideas. I collected these pictures based on their visual appeal, but keep in mind all beasts would be drawn in the same chosen style for the game. Enjoy. :)

Owl

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Cat (1)

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Chameleon

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Fox

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Bird (Sparrow)

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Bear (Koala)

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Cat (2)

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and I simply could not resist ... :D
Kiwi

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I hope you have been inspired by something you've seen or read here.

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Posted on Utopian.io - Rewarding Open Source Contributors

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