Peridot: Niantic’s new mobile game lets you raise cute little creatures

Niantic's new pet simulator.

Niantic, the company behind the popular Pokémon GO mobile game is creating a brand new virtual pet simulator for iOS and Android devices. Much like the Tamagotchi and Neopets creatures of old, you'll be able to raise these creatures from an egg, participate in activities with them, and can even breed them to unlock new designs. You can even release them into the wild to live among other Dots once they grow up. While full launch is still a bit of a ways off, we have some details for you if you're intrigued by this new AR game.

Peridot Gameplay: Raise and release

Much like Tamagotchi and Neopets from the 1990s and 2000s, the basic idea behind Peridot is that players will raise creatures known as Peridot (Dots for short) from an egg to adulthood. Dots gain XP when you interact with them and participate in activities like foraging for food, playing, and looking for hidden treasures. The more XP they get, the more they'll grow.

Once fully-grown, players have the option to release Dots to live freely among other Peridot and can acquire new eggs to raise. It apparently doesn't take very long for them to mature so you'll be jumping from one Dot to the next relatively quickly. This new approach to the virtual pet sim could make it one of the best iPhone games out there.

Peridot Activities & augmented reality

Niantic is well known for the use of augmented reality (AR), especially in its most popular game, Pokémon GO, where players can take pictures of Pokémon or come upon them in the real world using their phone's camera. But the AR gets even more impressive within Peridot.

The intelligent AR allows the Dots to go on walks with you and can even allows the creatures to conceal themselves behind objects in the real world. Say you're hiking and your Dot decides to run behind a tree trunk. Your Dots can also locate buried treasures within the real world by digging in specific spots that you come upon. Other known activities include petting your Dot, fulfilling requests for specific items, and of course, taking pictures of your cute Peridot as well.

Peridot Can Dots die from neglect?

Unlike some of the original Tamagotchi toys, there are no mortal consequences if you fail to feed or take care of your Dot for multiple days. However, Pokemon GO utilizes a daily login bonus, and it's very likely something like this will be in Peridot as well. So skipping out on a few days might just prevent you from getting small rewards.

Peridot Archetypes & unique personalities

There are a number of different Dots, or Archetypes, within the game, and each one has a unique look. Here are all of the ones we know of so far.

• Kintsugi
• Unicorn
• Cheetah
• Peacock
• Clownfish
• Jester
• Rabbit
• Glitter
• Metallic

Peridot preferences

Your Dots will have different designs, abilities, and proclivities for the food they eat and locations they like to visit. For instance, you might find your first Dot asking for a specific berry over the other kinds of food within the game but then your next Dot might not like that berry at all.

Peridot Points of Interest: Breeding and habitats

Once your Dot has matured, you'll be able to breed it with another Dot to get a brand new creature. The designs for Dots are a mixture of "hand-crafted assets and procedural generation." The idea here is that you'll want to breed your Dots together in order to unlock new kinds of Dots that you haven't seen before.

Similar to how Pokémon GO has players going to specific locations in order to access items at PokéStops or fight at Gyms, Peridot will feature Habitats. This is where players can go to release their grown Dots to live among others and where their Dots can find partners to create eggs with.

You might find mutations within nests at Habitats that change the designs of your Dots. However, you might not be able to achieve a new pattern you're looking for on your first try, which adds to the game's replay value. Fortunately, it doesn't take long to mature a new Dot, so you can run through this process somewhat quickly if you want to try again.

Once released into a Habitat, you can come back and visit your released Dots. You can even call them over to you and play with them like when they were little. You can also see other players' Dots as well as NPC Dots giving you plenty of breeding opportunities.

Peridot Release date

Peridot is slated for a soft launch on iOS and Android devices in select markets sometime this month, but no exact release date has been revealed yet. Anyone interested can pre-register on the Peridot website.

Romanticised pets

With Peridot, players can experience all of the cuteness and joy of having pets without the more realistic responsibilities of cleaning up after them. Since gameplay centers around raising your Dots and then releasing them, there's plenty of replay value as you work towards unlocking every pattern possible within the game.

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