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The Wit and Whimsy of Furry Space

© Dina Ely

"Furry" games. Not my cup of tea, but they are undeniably one of the most popular--wildly popular--forms of multiplayer games on the 'net. What is a "furry" game? It is, quite simply, a game in which the players are half animal, half human.

Now, they're not half and half in the traditional, centaur-esque sense. They are a genetic mutation, in most cases, of a blend of animal and human DNA. Thus, they may have the stature of humans, and some human features like developed hands and feet, and they may speak with language and expression similar to human beings. However, they are covered with fur, instead of skin (unless said "furry" is, say, an elephant breed, or a lizard, or...). They have hair and facial features befitting their animal race. Behaviorally, they also carry traits of the animal of which they are partly composed, including special "abilities" such as infravision, for those who are part nocturnal creature.

"Furry" games make up a small percentage of the online multiuser text games on the 'net today, but attract a mind-boggling number of players. I'm not entirely sure what it is that attracts people to these games, and I suspect that there are a lot of reasons, too many to explore in this article. I do know that the social atmosphere in some "furry" games is almost second to none, with roleplay and adventuring taking second stage to the chatting. This is, of course, not the rule, but a definite trend. Some "furry" games also attract adult audiences and allow adult content (read: sexually explicit), so there's that sort of appeal, too.

I decided, due to the popularity of these games, to nose around the Mud Connector a bit and see if there was a "furry" game worthy of a review. And lo! and behold, I stumbled upon "Furscape," a clever play on the title of one of my absolute favourite television shows, "Farscape."

Furscape, the homepage of which is located at http://tigress.com/matrix/index.html , is a Science Fiction MUCK, with the primary characters furries. Unlike many "furry" games, roleplay and plotting is encouraged in Furscape. Space flight and discovery, galactic battles, and adrenaline-pumping danger and intrigue are just some of the features of this game's theme.

Furscape tackles the genesis of "furries" with the explanation that scientists experimenting with genetic engineering managed to successfully splice human and animal DNA, creating animals with human intelligence. The resulting furry creatures were used as superior servants and labourers, until their population-and resentment of their menial tasks-grew to such a level that they frequently rebelled against humankind. Such insurrection, coupled with concerns for the safety of humans in space colonisation, led to the shipment of furries into outer space to establish the colony "Luna," which later became a place of refuge for furries escaping Earth.

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