Protogen Furry: The Competition for Primagens

In lore, Primagens are the supreme species that created Protogens. They aim to make Protogens do work that they deem too menial or too dangerous for them.
Protogens are divided into three categories: Common, Uncommon, and Rare. The Uncommon and Rare Protogens have consciousness and rebelled against their creators.
Over time, Primagens let Protogens occupy their own space, with their own sets of rules to live on their own.

In reality,

FurAffinity user Malice-Risu created the imagined closed species “Primagens.”
The public can’t use them to create their own furries, so Malice-Risu offered an alternative: An open species called “Protogens.”
There are distinct rules furries should use to create their Protogens that do not coincide with Primagens’ features.

The rich lore behind Primagens and Protogens gives way to full-blown Robotic Furry history. Today, it’s a popular subset of the Furry Fandom that continues to spark.

Introduction to Protogens

Many in the Furry Kingdom are more familiar with Protogens since they are more accessible.

Online Presence and Popularity

Protogens was initially admired on the online furry community page, FurAffinity. After the Prototuber Invasion, the Protogen furry phenomenon spilled over other virtual communities. The most famous platforms are DeviantArt, Amino, and YouTube.

Prototuber Invasion and Impact

In 2021, YouTuber BetaEtaDelota claimed to have started the Protogen Invasion accidentally. BetaEtaDelota creates content relating to the Furry Fandom, and through one of his videos, he fortuitously spotlighted the Gamers Vs. Furries War Wiki page. The “war” started when furies went to other fandoms to defend what it meant to be a furry. The webpage has had some changes versus how it was shown in BetaEtaDelota’s video titled “I STARTED THE FURRY PROTOGEN INVASION.”

The old webpage defined the Prototuber Invasion as the day the first Protogen (Drwildlife) joined the video-sharing site YouTube. Drwildlife did influence the community, but she doesn’t have a wide reach. The gist was that BetaEtaDelota, with over 300,000 subscribers, recommended Protogens as “the best fursona.” He made them more visible, encouraging others to convert to adopting Protogens characters, whether furries or not.

Functionality and Mechanisms

Protogens are anthropomorphic characters with cyborg properties. Compared to Primagens’s 30:70 organic material-to-machine ratio, Protogens have 40% machine and 60% organic parts.

Operational Mechanics

Operational mechanics are the features that can’t be removed from Protogens. These features are necessary for their survival.

Protogen Visors: This includes the Robotic Furry’s eyes, nose, and mouth, which are made of special nanite technology. It protects the Protogen’s head and accommodates the start of their food consumption. You can buy or make your own Protogen Visor.
Natural Digestive Tract: Unlike Primagens, Protos still have organic, functioning digestive systems that give them energy.

Technical Specifications

Protogens mostly operate based on the environment they’re expected to work in. Technical specifications refer to Protogens’ additional features for mission efficiency, particularly their modular limbs. Their plug-and-play limbs are interchangeable for convenience and adaptability. For instance, they can remove their arms and change them to fins for swimming.

Physical Characteristics

There’s an emphasis on ensuring Primagens’s physical characteristics follow rigid rules. This is to prevent the Furry from appearing Primagen-like and to safeguard it from copyright issues.

Design Elements

The pillar blueprint of Primagens is listed below:

Short, rounded visor
Biological ears
Biomechanical and interchangeable limbs
Has mammalian behaviors
With a working digestive tract and working organs
With large paws and a fluffy coat
Bipedals only

Aesthetic Variations

Protogens can avoid looking the same by changing the following designs:

Horns and Spikes

None
Uni
Short
Long
Ran
Forward

Tails

Standard (default)
Short nub
Tech nub
Long and full
Long and banded
Aquatic

Armaments and Gadgets

Protogens were created to get Primagens out of harm’s way. So, they are made to be soldiers, guards, and other skilled combatants to protect Primagens.

Weaponry Overview

Protogens often have handheld weapons. These weapons only vary depending on their purpose. A Protogen furry’s weaponry often includes wristguns, lasguns, and auto-shields. Rocket launchers and machine guns are also available. Some Protogens have heat fields. However, these are dangerous to use as they can cause the Robotic furry to overheat.

Meanwhile, S-Protogen types have more advanced devices in their weaponry. Some have retractable bolter guns and laser cannons. There are even reports of Protogens who can transform into tanks.

Diversity in Protogen Models

Individuality is highly encouraged in the Furry Community. Similarly, Protogens come in various forms to cater to their Furry’s specifications. The three main models of Protogens are Common, Uncommon, and Rare.

Common: Protogen models are the “normal” Protos. They have the base or core Proto model and thus can’t think independently. Plus, they don’t come with weapons or modifications as they don’t need to need any. They are only made for jobs that don’t need skills, like cleaning or being test subjects. Any Furry can use Common Protogen as this category is open or free to adopt. The downside is that their designs are very limited. They can only have a pair of ears and one tail. They aren’t even allied to have modular limbs or horns.
Uncommon: Protogens are also open species and are free for adoption. But they have a modified core model. Their alteration makes them more aware so they can survive on their own during missions. Uncommon Protos are manufactured with specific features or abilities to help them do their tasks. Their designs show a fixed set of four ears and horns. They come with modular or attachable limbs. Some Uncommon’s may also have small wings.
Rare: models enjoy advanced modifications on the base Protogen model. They are more sentient and have more skills and power compared to the other models. Because of their close resemblance to Primagens, they are a closed species. They’re only available via auction. Rares’ designs are those with six ears, extra limbs, and wings.

Variant Features

Though there are set rules for creating Protogens, furries still create models with adjusted features. They give these creations matching background stories that fit their abilities and tasks. Some of the most known Variant Protogens are the Gamer-hacked Protogen, The Zone of Endless or Z.O.E. Pilot Protogen, and the Liberty MK-1 Combat Protogen. You can get information on where each originated from this Protogen Wiki page.

Based on Koinu’s ZOR’s guide, there are also non-canon variants. These variants directly break the rules of what Protogen’s canon features should be. Technically, these revisions can only be for the Rare Protogens. But furries skirt around the rules to see where can they push the boundaries.

A usual non-canon variant is the Feral or Quadruped Protogens. Primagens should exclusively have “raptor-like” features. So, having a fierce and four-legged Protogen violates the design guidelines. Unusual non-canon variants include more innovative designs. These include Protogens with mouths appearing in the belly or tail areas or made of inanimate material or inorganic matter. Crossbreed Protogens are also not unheard of. There are Zombie Protogens, Mermaid Protogens, Half-snakes Protogens, and Micro (cell-sized) Protogens.

Renowned Protogen Figures

The following helped make the Protogens more visible. Their representation and content help others understand Protogens and the Furry Culture better.

Notable Figures in Media

The web is a powerful channel to connect Protogens all over the world. The most famous Protogen evangelist of course is its creator, Malice-Risu. Malice-Risu’s creations are further brought to life with Protogen lore and guides. These protocols are compiled by enthusiasts like Rune and Cool Koinu. Rune offers in-depth Protogens posts and guides. Cool Koinu makes visual pamphlets to explain Protogen designs.

Obvious YouTubers (or “FurTubers” as others call them) started with Drwildlife. The first Protogen on the platform. BetaEtaDelota, which makes content related to Furrydom, broadened Protogen’s reach. Others are the streamer Raeal The Protogen and the animator Generic Purple Protogen. Creators who present as Protogen in their social media accounts include SUDO. Another is Shinyodd who owns Pixel the Protogen and is a car and vintage games enthusiast.

Influential Protogen Personalities

There are many Protogen lore and substories in the community. The most interesting is the tale of Kavier Dray Oliver. Originally Alex Dray Oliver, Kavier was stuck in Protogen form to save his life. The incident made him go ballistic and he instigated terrorist attacks. The Minister of Defense created a Protogen called “Ashton Dray Woof” to fight Kavier.

Fascinating Tidbits and Trivia

Here are additional interesting facts about Protogens:

Protogens’ visors are not detachable.
The nanites in Protogens’ visors can move around to open the Protogen’s mouth or stick out a tongue.
There are many rules to follow within the Primagen vs. Protogen universe. But not every user follows these regulations. In reality, many use features that are only for Primagens. Some get called out, but others are not.
Lores and imagined Protogen history, whether within the Furry community or outside, are still developing. They can also change over time.