Ron Enderland
A lot of us are punching on these keyboards because we love it. Then again,
there are a lot
of us who are doing this because we have to. Dogz is a cute little program
that seems to be primarily aimed at the latter group.
You can download the shareware version directly from the website listed at
the bottom of
this review.
Dogz is basically a pet for your desktop. When you first start the program,
you are given
previews of five different dogs available for adoption. These run the gamut
from hound
through terrier up to bulldog.
Once you’ve selected a dog to adopt, you go through a registration process.
At this point, if
you have the shareware version, you need to cough up your $19.95. Once you’ve
done this,
you are allowed to “take your dog home.” He (or she) now has a playpen on
your desktop.
It is your responsibility to keep your dog fed, watered, and happy. The
cursor changes to a
hand when it enters your pet’s playpen. You can now scratch him, call him, or
throw toys
around with him. You have the ability to change your pet’s colors, access to
treats that can
be used to train him, and an option to let him run rampant across your
desktop. A password protected screen saver is also included.
According to program documentation (which is unfortunately accessible only
through the
web page), your pet will grow out of this playful stage into adulthood, and
his behavior
will change accordingly. I find this fascinating.
If the boss walks in, the playpen and toolbar can be quickly minimized.
The dogs are quite similar to the real models, enjoying attention, having the
ability to be
taught to do tricks, and sometimes being a little underfoot. Wisely, the
developers left out
the “poop and pee” feature that is unfortunately the norm with real puppies.
As near as I can tell, you can only have one dog at a time. You can readopt,
however,
giving up the pet you currently have to try another.
I own a couple of Schnauzers, so I adopted a terrier. I soon had him turning
backflips,
standing on his head, and rolling over in response to hand signals. In this
respect, he is
sharper than my real dogs, Murphee and McDuff. My onscreen pet proved
completely ineffective in keeping my backyard free of cats, however!
So, if you’re chained to a computer at work, Dogz can be an
attitude-improving, fun
companion. If you want a real dog but can’t have one, it can also fill that
gap in your life.
Twenty bucks seems cheap enough for all this love and companionship.
Multimedia Cafe Scorecard
Product: |
Dogz
|
Company: |
1-800-48-ADOPT
PF. Magic snail mail:
501 2nd Street, #400
San Francisco, CA 94107
Web site: http://www.pfmagic.com/dogz/adopt
|
Cost: |
$19.95
|
System Requirements:
PC:
486DX, 25 MHz recommended
Windows 3.1 Enhanced Mode required;
compatible with Win ‘95
VGA color display required; 256 colors highly recommended
6 MB of free Hard Disk space required
4 MB of available RAM required
Mouse required
Optional: Windows-compatible sound card
and speakers for sound effects
Mac:
Mac LCII or later model
7MB of free Hard Disk space required
Requires System 6.0.7 or later, System 7 compatible
Breakdown:
Entertainment Value 3
Educational Value 3
Concept 3
Depth 3
Interface 3
Overall Score:
(* 0 rating, 0 votes)
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