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Virtual Pets!

A reconstruction of my life as a virtual pets owner.

What is a Virtual Pets?

According to Wikipedia "a virtual pet (also known as a digital pet, artificial pet, or pet-raising simulation) is a type of artificial human companion. They are usually kept for companionship or enjoyment, or as an alternative to a real pet."

I'd add that they can also be expensive, noisy, and sometimes annoying, but overall they're always there to keep us company.

Plus, they don't make a mess, or at least they limit themselves to doing so virtually.

First encounter

I didn't know it at the time, but the Furby that kept looking at me creepily at night, was my very first contact with a virtual pet.

It was an original white Furby, which had been given to me for Christmas. It was later joined by its less capable siblings from McDonald's.

Despite the creepiness it was a toy I loved, I wonder where it is now.


I'm old, but not so old

When I first laid eyes on a Tamagotchi advertisement, it wasn't the original from the 90s, but its remake from the 2000s: the Tamagotchi Connection Gen1.

As the annoying child I've always been, I immediately knew that this strange cybernetic egg absolutely had to be mine.

After all, it was the era of Pokemon and Digimon (what is this, a foreshadowing?), and we all wanted a fantastic little pet that could join us on thousand adventures.

And so, I got my very first Tamagotchi: a black Connection Gen 1. It was perfectly round, with no antenna on the side and a red section at the top that emitted the magical infrared beams allowing it to connect with other devices.

The distinctive feature of Tamagotchis (and many virtual pets in general) is that they grow by reacting to their owner's behavior. If you treat them well, you get the "good" Tamagotchi; otherwise...

At the time, I wasn't a good owner.

I used to have fun stuffing the Tamagotchi with candy until it reached its maximum weight of 99g, giving it quite a few toothaches in the process.

This process always resulted in a "bad ending," which for that generation meant getting Masktchi or Gozarutchi, the stubborn tamagotchis.

I used to call them the ninja and the alien.

As a kid, I had no idea that those two were "wrong," and the instructions were incomprehensible, so I didn't worry about it too much. However, on the rare occasions when I got a different evolution, I was thrilled and wondered what the reason was.


The accident

I was always a child who took good care of his toys, so I still can't explain how it happened: one day, fate would have it that my Tamagotchi, left in my trouser pocket, went for a spin in the washing machine, frying its circuits.

VRRRRRRRR

Back then, we lived like savages, we didn't know that a device dropped in water should be put in a bowl of rice to save it, so we tried a different approach: we decided to carefully dry the Tamagotchi with a hairdryer.

You won't believe it, but it worked! The Tamagotchi's circuits began to pulse again, bringing the little creature back to life.

The only reminder of the accident was a small wrinkle inside the screen, formed when it got wet and then dried.


Plot twist

That same year, I underwent surgery too. I had appendicitis that had progressed to peritonitis, and it was on the verge of rupturing.

To cheer me up, I received a gift: a second Tamagotchi, identical to the old one (which was then passed on to my sister).

But the Tamagotchi wasn't the only gift; I also got a Nintendo DS, so the virtual pet was pushed out of my mind and ended up locked away in a drawer for about twenty years...


End of the first part and start of the second!


It wasn't just a phase, Mom!

Literally twenty years later, I work as a full-time artist, and anything involving pixel art fascinates me. That is how I'm rediscovering Tamagotchis.

I collaborate with Polyducks on the creation of some mock virtual pets, combining pixel art and 3D modeling.

But it's just the beginning.

Like the phoenix rising from its ashes, my old Connection Gen 1 is resurrected from the drawer where it had lain dormant for years (obviously still in working order).

Now that I'm no longer a child, having unlocked the ability to read an instruction manual from start to finish and gained internet access that lets me use all sorts of guides, I can finally take care of my virtual pet like a decent human being.

In no time at all, I said goodbye to Masktchi and Gozarutchi and welcome to Mametchi and Mimitchi, the best Tamagotchis you could hope for!

A close study of the manual reveals that feeding your Tamagotchi until it bursts is a bad idea, and that you must always clean up its droppings within ten minutes, or even better, take it to the bathroom before it defecates on its virtual floor.

The opportunity to care for a Tamagotchi full-time also revealed a series of recurring animations I had never seen before!

An adult Tamagotchi:

At the end of its life cycle, the Connection Gen 1 has two choices: grow old and die alone, or mate and reproduce.

"Just like in real life"

Upon reproducing, the Tamagotchi gives way to its newborn, and the cycle begins again. Generation after generation.


One isn't enough

Barring any major blunders and with just a little care, every Tamagotchi grows into a functioning adult, alternating between Mametchi and Mimitchi every other generation, which ends up being rather boring...

Driven by a hunger for more, I had a brilliant idea: why not create my own virtual pet?

And why stop at just one? Why not give everyone the chance to create their own little monster?

And so, here I am again, knocking on the creaking doors of the evil Dr. Polyducks' laboratory, the only one who can compensate for my inability to code and help me bring my own personal virtual monster to life.

This gives rise to a two-level collaboration.

Eggpet is the natural next step after the jam.

Have you drawn your pet? Great! Why not try bringing it to life with this widget?

Try me!

Not to brag, but both projects turned out to be successes and are still accessible at the following links:


Wake up! Bandai doesn't produce only Tamagotchis!

Tamagotchis are a global virtual pet phenomenon, but they share the spotlight with another product born from the same mind. In fact, sitting on the toy shelf as a counterpoint to the sweetness of Tamagotchis are the edgy and violent Digimon!

I had satisfied the Tamagotchi-raising enthusiast within me, it was finally time to make room for the Digimon fan I had kept dormant for years.

In this case, however, I didn't have any old devices to revive, so, armed with my credit card, I took the plunge and bought the X-B model Digivice.

But why the X-B?

Like Tamagotchis, Digivices have a long history of different models, each with its own monsters and exclusive features.

Among this slew of models, the X-A and X-B sit in the middle: the screen is 1-bit (rather than color, like the Pendulum), but the functions are slightly more advanced than those of the 20th Anniversary model. It's also the most affordable!

Unfortunately, the Digimon featured in it aren't exactly the classic ones from my childhood, but rather versions powered up by the X-Antibody, which also gives them a different design.

Yes, that's fine, but why the X-B and not the X-A? (or the X-C, or the X-D, or...)

Simple... because X-B is the only one where you can get her as a Digimon partner!

Stupid sexy Beelstarmon...


Okay, Digimon can be sexy, but is there more to it?

While the classic mechanisms common to the Tamagotchi (eating, training, and defecating) remain, the Digivice introduces combat and leveling-up mechanics.

Leveling up a Digimon not only grants access to more powerful Digivolutions but also enables you to defeat opposing creatures in battles against the CPU or other players' Digimon via the infrared connection.

Compared to the Tamagotchi, the Digimon is more complex, and achieving a specific evolution requires more attention.

In my experience, I have often relied on this web guide: Digitama Hatchery

At the same time, there are far fewer animations, and the special events are very scarce and always involve battles. I really missed the sense of wonder I used to feel when discovering the Tamagotchis' unique daily and seasonal interactions.


This webpage seems endless, is there a moral to this story?

I kept my Tamagotchi and Digimon going for months, but as summer approached, their batteries ran out, killing my virtual pets.

On the other hand, the trousers I wear in summer aren't designed for carrying valuables in the pockets and the thought of my devices slipping out and getting lost forever terrifies me, so perhaps it's for the best.

As I write this webpage (08/10/2026), I have ordered two new units of both virtual pets: an original Tamagotchi with the "Yummy!" skin and a 20th Anniversary Edition Digimon virtual pet, cementing my reputation as "the eccentric V-Pet guy".

The next step in this experience is to document the entire life cycle of one of the two little digital creatures (or both), but since this is a project I'm working on in my spare time, we'll see how long it takes me.

Getting a Nintendo Switch 2 could easily lead to me locking the creatures away in a drawer again for the next 20 years...


Useful resources

If you enjoyed the read but want more here is a list of interesting web pages regarding virtual pets:

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