Image of video game characters where one is a robot and the other is a cat

By interacting with nonplayer characters like this robot, the player  learns more about the game’s world.

Courtesy of Annapurna Interactive (all images)

STANDARDS

CCSS: 7.EE.B.4, MP2, MP4, MP7

TEKS: 7.11A, 7.10A

Playing Stray

This video game is inspiring people to help real stray cats

Photo of a cat staring at small robot

In-game movie scenes make for exciting and memorable moments in the story!

Most video game characters are brave humans who set off on daring adventures. But the main character of Stray, which came out last summer, is a different beastliterally! Players control an orange cat that gets separated from its fellow felines. The game follows the cat’s quest through a deserted city to rejoin its family. The city doesn’t have any humans but has plenty of humanlike robots.

From the start, Stray was made as a tribute to stray animals. The main character is even based on a real-life cat named Murtaughan actual stray adopted by the game’s creators. Another cat, Oscar, served as model and actor for the digital stray. Thanks to him, the digital cat’s actions are strikingly realistic.

Photo of an orange tabby cat

Oscar was the model and voice actor for the cat hero in Stray.

Because Stray places you in the paws of a cat, it’s hard not to want to help real-world cats after playing it. That’s why Annapurna Interactive, the publisher of Stray, knew it had to do something special for the game’s release. The company rented out Meow Parlor, a cat café in New York City. Then they invited people to play the game while hanging out with real cats up for adoption.

We wanted folks to be mindful of the fact that there are animals out there looking for homes, and it would be awesome if folks could take them in and give them a loving place to live,” says Jeff Legaspi, Annapurna’s marketing director. The team also helped the Nebraska Humane Society raise almost $8,500 by raffling off copies of the game.

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Watch a video about the history of human and pet relationships.

Since its debut, the game inspired other people to help real cats as well. On Twitch, which lets viewers around the world watch gamers play, players turned their streams of Stray into fund-raisers. They donated the money they raised to local shelters and larger  groups, like the North Shore Animal League of America. According to Legaspi, “Folks playing have some sense of empathy or compassion in terms of connecting with the character of this stray cat.”

Understanding Inequalities
Watch this math video about understanding inequalities
More or Less?
Create a number line that matches a given equation that is in numerical or word form.

Write and solve algebraic inequalities to learn more about Stray and related charity eventsRecord your work and answers on our answer sheet.

Each copy of Stray costs $30. At launch, Stray made more than $1,800,000. How many copies of Stray, c, were sold at launch?

To rent out Meow Parlor, Annapurna bought all of the day’s reservations to spend time with cats. Each time slot is for 5 people and costs $16 per person. Annapurna spent at most $1,280 on the event. How many people, p, could attend based on their budget?

During their fund-raiser, the Nebraska Humane Society sold raffle tickets for $5 each. Annapurna donated $1,000. How many raffle tickets, r, did the Society have to sell to raise at least $5,000?

Streamer Elizabeth McGill held a Twitch charity event where she gave her cat, Zoey, a treat for every $100 donated during the event. McGill also donated $75 of her own money. She raised less than $775 during the stream. What is the maximum number of treats, t, that McGill gave Zoey?

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