Software:Paws and Claws: Pet Vet

From HandWiki
Short description: 2006 video game
Paws and Claws: Pet Vet
Developer(s)Independent Arts Software
DTP Entertainment
Neopica BVBA
Sproing Interactive Media
Radon Labs
Publisher(s)THQ
ValuSoft (PC)
SeriesPaws and Claws
Platform(s)iOS, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Wii, Windows
Release
Genre(s)Pet-raising simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

Paws and Claws: Pet Vet is a pet-raising simulation video game by German studio Radon Labs in which players can nurse dogs, cats, horses, birds, hamsters, guinea pigs and rabbits back to health. The game features 20 ailments. Players can design their own clinic, choose which kennels to build and expand existing buildings to provide further services to their patients.[1]

Gameplay

Players assume the role of a veterinarian running a pet clinic and must heal sick pets back to full health. At the beginning of the game, this involves treating smaller pets such as guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, and birds. As the player gains experience, larger animals such as horses, dogs, or cats become available. The clinic's facilities can be expanded and altered (for instance, the style of kennels used to house the animals). Expanding facilities enables more pets to be housed and increases the range of treatments available. Players are also responsible for managing the clinic's finances and supplies.[1]

Each type of pet has a different type of task to be completed in order to heal them. Dogs can play fetch and be taken for a run to increase their fitness and horses can be ridden and taken out to the pasture. The Nintendo DS version utilizes voice recognition via the inbuilt microphone to issue commands to pets as well as to calm them during treatment.[1][2]

There are six available buildings to construct and expand: the practice, the therapy house, the small animal house, the cat house, the dog house, and the horse stalls. In town, there are nine stores to conduct business and train players' characters.

During the game, players can learn about different diseases and ailments. Ailments include fungus infection, Vitamin E deficiency, ear inflammation, mold infection, rabbit flu, lung infection, corneal injury, liver infection, sunburn, asthma, and tonsil infections. As players move through the game, they are able to keep animals in animal houses for prolonged treatment. In the small animal house, they may keep guinea pigs, rabbits, or birds that have more serious injuries and diseases. When animals are in the animal houses, players must treat and feed them every day.

The game has a large playing world in which the character's actions are constrained by what time of day it is in-game. The clinic opens and closes at certain times of day, and if players wait too long to service a customer, they will leave the clinic. Patients must be healed in a certain amount of time, and customers will not pay their bill if players do not heal their animals.

Characters

In the game, players assume one of three characters: Hanna, Alex or Sophie. As one of these characters, players have many responsibilities to the clinic and the animals they are treating. They can dress the character for work, riding a horse, or for leisure. Players can also make them walk with the arrow keys or run while holding shift and using the arrow keys.

Settings

The game takes place in town, the animal practice, small animal house, cat house, therapy center, dog house, horse barn, fields and meadows, the forest, the beach, and town outskirts. The fields, meadows, practice, and town are the areas of the world that do not have to be purchased. The small animal house, cat house, therapy center, dog house, and horse barn are things that players must purchase using the money they receive from treating patients. The forest, beach and town outskirts are areas players can eventually earn by completing objectives.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[4] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[5] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[6] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[7]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[8][9] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[7] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[7]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[10] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[9] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[11] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[12] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[9]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[13] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[14][15][16] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[3] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[17]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[18] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[19]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[20]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Grabowski, Dakota (2007-02-02). "Paws and Claws Pet Vet Review". GameZone. http://nds.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r30398.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-14. 
  2. ↑ Thomas, Lucas (2007-02-14). "Paws & Claws Pet Vet Review". http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/764/764168p1.html. Retrieved 2008-05-05. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  4. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  5. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  6. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  8. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  10. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  11. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  12. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  13. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  14. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  15. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  16. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  17. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  18. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  19. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  20. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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References



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