Virtual pets have become something of a hit with people these days. From Tamagotchi to the Nintendogs and Kinect’s very own Kinectimals, these cute and furry critters on your screens have captured people’s hearts. If you sit down and think about it, there are some inherent benefits to taking care of virtual animals — for one, you don’t have to clean up after them.
Today’s featured Kinect hack utilizes the Kinect’s capabilities to bring the experience of taking care of a couw without having to be at a farm:
“We created a virtual cow that you can feed and caress. In the game you can also answer some questions about animal health and nutrition. This game was created for a cattle trade fair here in Brazil. The agency who developed the game is called Tween Design Interativo and we use Unity3D plus ZigFu Wrapper.”
It’s an interesting concept and something that can probably be applied in other settings to give people an opportunity to experience things that they otherwise would probably not be able to. And again, it’s another thing that brings us even more closer to making the holodeck a reality.