History Main / PetInterface

* Except for the first two in the ''Mystery Trackers'' series of games, the player character will be accompanied by a miniature pinscher named Elf who will assist in grabbing hard to reach objects.

* The Spirit dream eaters that serve as your party members in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3D''. You can name them, give them treats to boost their stats, pet or nudge them to increase their affinity (And combat effectiveness), and play minigames with them. They also serve as the game's primary source of new abilities and commands.

* In ''VideoGame/PeppersAdventuresInTime'', at several points you will take control of Pepper's mutt Lockjaw. He basically interacts with the world like Pepper does, except doesn't have an inventory. Or [[CaptainObvious opposable thumbs]].

* The "dog after me own heart" in ''TheBardsTale''.

* Nall mostly provides snark in ''[[VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar Lunar: Silver Star Story]]'', but he's also the menu cursor and your BagOfSharing.

* ''Franchise/HarvestMoon'' has featured a dog and a horse in virtually every incarnation. Sometimes you also get a cat (or have to chose between the dog or cat).

* ''MetalGearSolid4'' provides the tiny, cute, adorably flaily Metal Gear Mk. II (and III). You can use it to do reconnaissance, fetch ammo for you, and extend a prod from it to electrocute {{Mooks}}. Find a dog that can do that.

* Brown from ''RuleOfRose''.

* ''VideoGame/GuildWars'', likewise, allows player characters to train pets using the Ranger class' Charm Animal Skill (which any character can gain access to by switching their secondary profession to Ranger). Actually having the pet show up requires Charm Animal to be equipped, and other skills do things like healing, buffing, and reviving it. A character's pet can be named and if charmed below level 20 will level up and gain different, mutually exclusive traits as it levels (for example, pets that took dramatically more damage than they dished out will gain a permanent bonus to hit points at the expense of attack damage). Characters can unload a pet on an NPC "trainer," at which point the pet is LostForever, but opens up the slot for a new pet. Pets will hide in Hammerspace when in towns or when Charm Animal is not equipped.

* The dog from ''VideoGame/FableII'', who [[spoiler:suffers a PlotlineDeath at the hands of the main villain (in a literal case of ShootTheDog). Your dog is then LostForever unless you pick the ending where he is revived.]]
** Which is similar to the Animal system in the ''VideoGame/BlackAndWhite'' games.
** Not quite [[spoiler:LostForever any more. With the Knothole Island DLC, the player may resurrect his dog at a special shrine, though it requires a human sacrifice.]]

** Greatly expanded in the follow-up, ''The Last Guardian'' which is the story of a boy and his giant pet colossus griffin-thing.

* In ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'', Fina has Cupil, a living weapon of sorts which acts as her pet and her only childhood friend.

Sort of a low key ExpositionFairy crossed with ''{{Nintendogs}}''.

* ''HarvestMoon'' has featured a dog and a horse in virtually every incarnation. Sometimes you also get a cat (or have to chose between the dog or cat).

* The adorable Jeanne from ''NoMoreHeroes''. She gets fat in [[NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle the second one]], and if you get her to a low enough weight, Travis gets inspired and gains a new move.

* Agro from ''ShadowOfTheColossus'', to some extent.

* One of the most attractive features of the PC game ''{{Fate}}'' is the fact that your avatar is given a pet sidekick. You can name the animal, decide if you want a cat or a dog, and choose from a handful of different color variations. Although not invincible, the pet will fight for you and takes far less damage. Farther into the game, you can feed your pet different kinds of fish to turn it into a giant spider, a unicorn, or a number of other things, each with their own attributes.

* In the ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'' games, you're given a pet that will point out hint coins for you and unlock a set of bonus puzzles once you've completed its particular minigame. In ''[[ProfessorLaytonAndTheCuriousVillage Curious Village]]'', it was a robot dog you had to assemble; in ''[[ProfessorLaytonAndTheDiabolicalBox Diabolical Box]]'', it was a hamster you had to exercise; in ''[[ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture Unwound Future]]'', it was a parrot you helped make deliveries (this was changed from the Japanese version, where you taught the parrot different words instead). The fish you get in ''[[ProfessorLaytonAndTheLastSpecter Last Specter]]'' still comes with a minigame, but it will find hint coins for you even before you complete it.
* In ''StarshipTitanic'', your interface is called a [[FunWithAcronyms Personal Electronic Thingummy]]. In other words, it's a [[IncrediblyLamePun P.E.T. Interface]].

* Several classes get pets in ''WorldOfWarcraft''. Elementals can be summoned by Shamans (earth, fire) and Mages (water), Priests get a shadowfiend, Death Knights can raise a ghoul from a corpse (even that of a dead player!), and Warlocks can summon a variety of demons, from the lowly Imp to the massive Infernal. But none are as pet-focused as Hunters, who not only can tame almost any Beast-type enemy in the world, they get to name the pet and give it its own minor talent tree. In all of the above cases, the pet gets a small bar of icons above the player's ActionBar, for the player to give commands with.
* ''GuildWars'', likewise, allows player characters to train pets using the Ranger class' Charm Animal Skill (which any character can gain access to by switching their secondary profession to Ranger). Actually having the pet show up requires Charm Animal to be equipped, and other skills do things like healing, buffing, and reviving it. A character's pet can be named and if charmed below level 20 will level up and gain different, mutually exclusive traits as it levels (for example, pets that took dramatically more damage than they dished out will gain a permanent bonus to hit points at the expense of attack damage). Characters can unload a pet on an NPC "trainer," at which point the pet is LostForever, but opens up the slot for a new pet. Pets will hide in Hammerspace when in towns or when Charm Animal is not equipped.
* ''{{Wizard 101}}'' has pets that are raised to compete with other players in races and provide the occasional stat boost or spell. There are over a hundred different pets that can be obtained from various ways ranging from boss drops, quest rewards, to free with the purchase of a gaming card.
* ''StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' has this as one of it's many unique features in that your "pets" are fully fleshed out companions with unique combat roles and reactions to certain situations. They can even be sent on missions or given crafting orders to keep them busy while you're out on, say, Tatooine killing sand people. Just make sure you leave one with you to help in combat, because the game's balanced in a way that makes solo combat without a companion somewhere between diffcult and impossible.

* The ENTIRE ''SpyroTheDragon'' series. Sparx the Dragonfly is your health meter (Gold -> Blue -> Green -> Gone, later updated to include an additional level of health, either a glowing gold or a warning red), and in later games can bust nearby gem cases, collect nearby gems, and even has his own levels.

* In the ''ProfessorLayton'' games, you're given a pet that will point out hint coins for you and unlock a set of bonus puzzles once you've completed its particular minigame. In ''[[ProfessorLaytonAndTheCuriousVillage Curious Village]]'', it was a robot dog you had to assemble; in ''[[ProfessorLaytonAndTheDiabolicalBox Diabolical Box]]'', it was a hamster you had to exercise; in ''[[ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture Unwound Future]]'', it was a parrot you helped make deliveries (this was changed from the Japanese version, where you taught the parrot different words instead). The fish you get in ''[[ProfessorLaytonAndTheLastSpecter Last Specter]]'' still comes with a minigame, but it will find hint coins for you even before you complete it.

* Baby from the PlayStation RPG ''GuardiansCrusade'', which revolves around this trope.
* The transforming dog in ''SecretOfEvermore''.

* Possibly the Guidebot introduced in ''{{Descent}} 2''.

* ''VideoGame/NetHack'' - While not an integrated system, a surprising amount of NetHack's gameplay can be usefully applied to pets -- or rather, tame monsters (which can include humanoids).

*** Tossing your pet a treat reinforces its recent behavior. You can train your pet to steal from shops!

A relatively new interface for video games in which you are given a sidekick, usually a [[NonHumanSidekick pet]], that acts as a guide/virtual pet of sorts in the world. You can play with it, it will alert you of enemies, it will dig up hidden items, sometimes you can ride it, it usually can't die except in PlotlineDeath.

* Skye from ''GrandiaII'' is a bird that acts as a father figure and a bad mode of transport to the main character.

* ''NetHack'' - While not an integrated system, a surprising amount of NetHack's gameplay can be usefully applied to pets -- or rather, tame monsters (which can include humanoids).

Of course, since writers have known for decades that [[DeathByNewberyMedal killing the main character's adorable pet]] is the [[PlayerPunch cheapest and easiest way to get to an audience emotionally]], you might want to read a FAQ and spoil yourself before you get attached to any of these. This can of course lead to SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear if you've leveled up the pet.

* ''HarvestMoon'' has featured a dog and a horse in virtually every incarnation. Sometimes you also got a cat (or had to chose between the dog or cat).

* Dogmeat in the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series, but ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'''s Dogmeat is the best example.