Epic Pet Wars Review

I recently wrote an article about how the mobile phone will change the way we view MMO design. At the time I had barely scratched the surface of the multitude of mini-MMOs on my iphone. Some have been fleeting but others have been quite addictive and I want to talk about why.

Epic Pet Wars is an incredibly simple game. Once you download the free application you can adopt one of many cute pets who come with a base set of statistics. Which pets you have access to depends on what you paid for the game. For free you get a handful of basic designs. For $9.99 you get the whole lot. Some seem to be better than others but, on the whole, the balance is good. After you select a pet they can then do jobs to earn money and experience. Doing so depletes their energy and only time or real money can bring it back! The hard earned game money can be spent in a store to fill your pet’s weapon, armor and two accessory slots. When you feel confident enough there is also an option to challenge other pets to a turn based Final Fantasy style battle and that is basically it. In a single paragraph I have explained the entirety of the MMO.

In every way, shape, and form the game is shallow and repetitive. I figured I would play it a week or so since it was free and then let it go. As it turns out I was dead wrong. It would be fair to say that this week I have played more EPW than LotRO. The game has become such an addiction for me that I’m even considering spending a little money on some freemium content. It leaves me wondering how did this happen? How can a game that is so simple and shallow be so much fun? Is Epic Pet Wars even an MMO? These are important things to know as they will most certainly influence how we perceive MMO design.

In all game design it is important to understand why a title is compelling. With any luck knowing that will generate later success. So I asked what about EPW appeals to me? The list is not overly long but does hit what I consider the important aspects of what I enjoy. I can pick it up for a few minutes and make a little bit of progress. In the game we find a gear progression, a strategy to making money and experience, a leader board and a small social aspect. All of these things encourage achievers like myself to keep playing. EPW also has the advantage of being available anywhere and everywhere. I cannot achieve anything on Lord of the Rings Online via my iPhone. If I could my phone time might be spent there instead. I can’t help but think this is a missed opportunity on Turbine’s part.

Is it fair to bring up LotRO here though? Is Epic Pet Wars even an MMO? In the most basic sense I have to say yes. My pet exists in the same world as other pets, has the opportunity to battle it’s peers and can make friends via the “posse” system. I should note that a posse is just another statistic. Certain jobs require your posse number to be of a certain value. You don’t actually cooperate to finish the goal. It would be neat if there were “team” activities but the game isn’t designed around that.

Even in an incredibly simple package all of the elements that make an MMO fun are present in EPW. They’re available to me at any given moment and I am encouraged to check on that little world throughout the day. The game is compelling, cute and has virtually zero barrier to entry. Will I be talking about it in five years like I do EverQuest? Probably not but I think it has changed my perspective on design a bit. It has also given me a purpose to encourage traditional MMO designers to include some sort of iPhone add on to their games. Even if it as just playing the auction house or earning fluff points I think it would engage the community in new and exciting ways. In the phone game category I’m going to have to give Epic Pet Wars a ten out of ten gnolls.