Fallout 4, despite many issues at launch and fan criticisms, had one undeniably incredible component: Dogmeat. In general, the game's companion system had a wonderfully diverse and well-realized cast of characters, each with realistic dialogue and nuanced emotional responses. That depth of character design did not stop for the game's furry friend. Dogmeat does not only travel with the player, but strolls around of its own accord, sniffing out items and bringing them to the player. Essentially, the dog was made to resemble a living, breathing dog as closely as possible. Of course, the easiest way to do that was to base it on an actual canine.
Dogmeat's real life inspiration was a German Shepherd called River. In fact, "inspiration" may be the wrong word, as River was the voice actor and a valued core member of the Fallout 4 development team. Unfortunately, River has since passed away, with her owner speaking on the invaluable role the pup played in the creation of the game. Dogmeat undoubtedly shows the pinnacle of what a pet in a video game can be, with realistic and endearing character traits unlike many other animals in gaming.
Dogmeat was certainly an impressive exercise in canine companion creation. However, he is not the only video game pet based on a real animal. Much of this list was inspired by the painstaking work undertaken by the Twitter account @CanYouPetTheDog. This seminal force in gaming criticism analyzes titles on the most important possible quality: which games have pettable animals? The popularity of this account shows how important animal friendship is in gaming. It also revealed an interesting fact: a lot of credited gaming animals are dogs.
Fallout 4's Dogmeat
It would be remiss to not mention Dogmeat in more depth here. Dogmeat's real-life counterpart, River, died in July 2021. This death was met with an outpouring of love and appreciation from the gaming community. River's owner, Joel Burgess, broke the news to Fallout fans with a heartbreaking Twitter thread detailing the impact she had, not only on Dogmeat, but as an emotional tether; both to the player and development team. The dog was not just a model or a motion capture actor. River stayed with the team throughout the process, so the team could understand the feeling of companionship. Dogmeat's pathing came straight from walks the real-life dog went on, and the team were aiming to make a companion first, and a battle-pet second.
The Last Of Us' Giraffe Is Actually a Dog
Another triple-A canine voice actor is Ollie. This talented pup was the voice behind an animal ten times his height - the giraffe in The Last of Us. In this scene, Joel shows the awestruck Ellie where to pet the giraffe as it munches on some nearby greenery. Although Ellie does seem very impressed in that scene, she might have been even more impressed if she knew who was voicing the towering creature. Sound designers Phillip Kovats and Derek Espino recorded Kovats' dog while he was sleeping and being pet.
Like River above, Ollie has sadly also passed. However, his owner did say it makes him happy to see the giraffe moment "brings joy to so many." In fact, Kovats was generous enough to share Ollie's voice acting prowess with the world in a touching twitter video of the giraffe's audio being recorded. Some sound design in games comes from unexpected places, but a dog playing a giraffe is certainly on the more unusual side. Of course, it is very tragic that these beloved animals passed. However, it is wonderful that video games can preserve the legacy of these critters long after they've gone.
Tofu on onemillionpats.com
This video game protagonist actually had a huge fan base and platform before making the leap to interactive media. Tofu is a shiba inu who took the internet by storm. At the time of writing he has over 12 million total views on YouTube, and is an incredibly popular TikTok star. Tofu's foray into "video games" is a webpage that allows "players" to interact with the dog by petting him with their cursor. While it may not have the same diversity of gameplay as other titles on this list, what it does have is a shiba inu. In many ways, it's similar to many cookie-clicker idle games, but this rewards players with an exceptionally cute gif of a happy dog instead.
The Prison Dog in Ship of Thieves: A Pirate's Life
Ship of Thieves: A Pirate's Life did not only bring the swashbuckling charisma of Captain Jack Sparrow into the game. Before players go off to face the hordes of Davy Jones with Sparrow, they can meet another iconic member of the Pirates Of The Carribean cast: "Prison Dog." This mottled mutt is often called "Dog with the keys," "Poochie," and "Spot" interchangeably throughout the film franchise. As with other important characters in pop culture like James Bond and Doctor Who, Prison Dog has had two different actors portray him on film. Both of these were exceptionally intelligent terrier mixes, the first named Twister, and the latter Chopper.
In the game, it looks like Prison Dog is based on a blend of the two dogs, which is really the best of both worlds. Like with a majority of the cuddly creatures on this list, players can indeed pet the Prison Dog in Sea of Thieves. The loyal, key-wielding hound can also be obtained as a pet from the Pirate Emporium. Of course, this dog is also fully pettable. If players want to take on the latest set of Pirates of The Carribean themed Tall Tales, they can do so with the recognizable (and adorable) companionship of Prison Dog.
The Annoying Dog in Undertale
Continuing with the run of dogs based in reality is Undertale's Annoying Dog. This frustrating ball of fluff appears throughout the title to foil the player's plans. Interestingly, this persistent pomeranian is not based on a real-life dog, but a person: developer Toby Fox. Evidence for this appears in multiple places, including the original Steam Greenlight trailer and the game's files. In the video, the dog says "I'm Toby Fox, creator of Undertale," and the game files refer to the dog as "tobydog."
Cerberus from Hades
Finally, one of the most iconic virtual pets of 2020, Cerberus, is also based on a real life animal. This mythical mutt from Hades is fiercely loyal to its master, much like a real dog. That could be due to Solo, the dog's real life counterpart. Working alongside other animals Higgins, Marzipan, and Regis, Solo provided one of the vocal stylings for Cerberus. Cerberus' unique antics in game reflect this talented cast of critters really well.
Fallout 4 is available on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
Source: Twitter