This is the kind of super-crucial collaborative research that the gaming industry needs to see more of. A band of scientifically-inclined Redditors are working together to make the ultimate list of video games in which you can pet dogs.

Now, over the years, science has come under fire from all sorts of people, for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes it’s ideologically based, or a clash over principles. Other times, it’s because people have felt that science is simply going too far (think Jurassic Park). Then there are those who think scientists’ priorities are all wrong. This is how we end up with oddities like mice with human ears on their backs.

Despite all the controversy, there are times when scientific research just absolutely knocks it out of the park. When all their extensive and exhaustive work is sure to pay off. Reddit’s List of Video Games Where You Can Pet The Dogs is, we can all agree, one of those times.

Now, sure, this whole thing just reeks of snark, being blatantly labelled under Reddit’s April Fools 2018 banner. Let’s be real, though. There’s no joke here. As all internet users will know, we take our animals pretty darn seriously around here. There are hilarious viral videos of skateboarding dogs and cats playing the piano flying around everywhere. This is real. This is crucial research that’s enhancing the collective knowledge of humankind forever.

It’s all thanks to the pioneering work of one person: TheGasMask4. They got the ball rolling with a preliminary list of games with pettable pups, such as Watch Dogs 2, Undertale, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and the spangly new Far Cry 5. It was less than comprehensive, though, and so they finished off the post with a cry for help.

Man, did the community deliver.

At the point of the post being locked, it had over one thousand replies. For the whole thing being a joke, it sure was taken seriously. Excellent suggestions like World of Warcraft were made (a game which includes a /pet command for just this purpose). Controversies arose (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild allows you to interact with dogs in various ways, but not directly pet them; should it be included?). The boundaries of just what in heckola counts as a ‘dog’ were stretched to the limits (werewolves were considered). All in all, a great, doggotastic time was had by all.

If this is the sort of hard-hitting subject matter that you can 100% support, you’ll definitely appreciate this skateboarding dog playing a video game.