#PLANET ZOO VS ZOO TYCOON SERIES#

вЂњAdults might read it, say, вЂThatвЂ™s too bad,вЂ™ and move on. вЂњA sign telling you about where an orangutan lives is informational, but no kid wants to stand at a zoo and read about the destruction of a habitat,вЂќ Putney says. Two of the orangutans at the Kansas City Zoo. Ultimately, it boils down to a key concept: empathy. In his time working with the Kansas City Zoo, Putney has noticed massive changes in the way we work towards animal conservation. Sean Putney, senior director of zoological operations for the Kansas City Zoo, has been helping to shape the zooвЂ™s approach to animal conservation for over a decade now. It made us want to continue pushing the educational aspects of Zoo TycoonвЂ¦ Maybe we could help make a difference.вЂќ As expansions and sequels to Zoo Tycoon released, the approach to conservation had to evolve to keep up with what these real-world zoos were doing. Soon, we were seeing things like, вЂCome meet this animal,вЂ™ zoo sleepovers, hands-on activities-all sorts of innovative stuff. вЂњBut within just a few years, that all started to change. вЂњWhen we started at these zoos, conservation meant information signs and donation buckets,вЂќ he says.

#PLANET ZOO VS ZOO TYCOON SERIES#

Stone distinctly remembers seeing the way zoos that the team visited changed their approach to conservation as the Zoo Tycoon series moved forward. We had a huge number of players saying how much they enjoyed learning as they were having fun with the game.вЂќ вЂњWe wanted people to understand animal plights, especially when we started getting feedback from players. вЂњConservation was always a core design philosophy,вЂќ he says.

Shawn Stone, a designer at Blue Fang who worked on many of the Zoo Tycoon expansions and sequels, remembers the team starting by visiting nearby zoos and soon expanding to several different zoos around the country in order to learn the different approaches to animal conservation.

Conservation and the preservers of those animals were very much integrated into our design process.вЂќ вЂњWe wanted to focus on the positive impact zoos have in the western world. Howie says that very early on, it became extremely important to portray zoos in a positive light. But everyone loves animals.вЂќ The team pivoted to the idea of a zoo builder, and the concept of вЂњeveryone loves animalsвЂќ drove much of Zoo TycoonвЂ™s philosophy about animal conservation. No one wants to spend more time dealing with airports. Right away, Howie disliked the idea for a simple reason: вЂњTheme parks are fun. What kind of tycoon game would work for us?вЂ™ Originally, the design team settled on Airport Tycoon.вЂќ So we did some consulting work, and soon everyone on the team is talking about RollerCoaster Tycoon,вЂќ he remembers. вЂњOriginally, Blue Fang was supposed to do a game about dragons, but that was way too big for our small team. Hank Howie, who co-founded Blue Fang Games in 1998 and served as company president, laughs about the origins of Zoo Tycoon. To get a better perspective on how the approach to animal conservation has changed, both in gaming and the real world, we spoke with conservation experts at the Kansas City Zoo as well as some of the team who worked on the original Zoo Tycoon series for the now defunct Blue Fang Games. Over the years since, the approach and philosophy of animal conservation has evolved dramatically. Frontier DevelopmentsвЂ™ zoo sim owes an awful lot of its design to the Zoo Tycoon series, the first of which was released in 2001 by Blue Fang Games. Planet Zoo is not the first video game to tackle the difficult subject of animal conservation. Unless youвЂ™re working towards animal conservation, good luck getting anything beyond another peafowl! On top of that, the in-game economy for purchasing animals is based almost entirely on how effectively your zoo works to support conservation efforts. Fail to provide your animals with enrichment, and theyвЂ™ll become lethargic or stressed, and before long protesters show up in droves, tanking your profits. Animal conservation is not only a big part of the game, but essential to finding any success. Planet Zoo is a little different in that regard. Delete the ladder from the pool and see what happens. Turn your little city into a police state. Most management sims give you the freedom to play however you want.

Planet zoo vs zoo tycoon