Playing fetch is out. Video games are in. Reachers at Emerging Art and Architecture Research Group, or RASTER, and Singapore's Mixed Reality Lab are developing a hamster video game. Make that, a video game for hamsters.

"To play a computer game with your hamster would definitely make us think about where we have come with digital tradition now," said RASTER's Vladimir Todorovi , a collaborator on the project.

Overlooking the obvious question (why?), the game, titled Mice Arena, is total VR version of Pac-Man with the a digital avatar of the owner being chased by a pet predator. The point, and there is a point, is researchers hope to learn about animal behavior.

"There is a history and tendency of playing games with animals but most games use very simple items that aren't as 'smart' as computers," said Todorovi . "For example, people use tree branches when playing with dogs. What we are exploring is a device that will enable clearer relations and maybe bring some completely unexpected results."

There's probably good reason for that, but we digress. Other games are planned, including the ghost/fowl title Chicken Petman. Wired reports that all games are designed to remove the human edge, meaning the pets will kill their owners.

More Here [Wired News]

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