Planet Zoo has always placed animal welfare and conservation at the heart of the game. Every animal added to your zoo comes with a Zoopedia entry detailing their needs, extinction status, and other interesting facts. Caring for, breeding, and releasing endangered animals back into the wild has always been an important part of Planet Zoo, and now it’s taking centre stage in the Conservation Pack.
We spoke to Planet Zoo art director Marc Cox and game designer Kilian Schmitt to find out more about how Frontier is promoting conservation awareness through this pack and beyond.
“Conservation is a core component of Planet Zoo, with the welfare and prosperity of the animals a key aspect of gameplay,” Marc Cox tells us. “Modern zoos play a key role in the future of wildlife, so it was important for us to find ways to educate players about the plight of these amazing creatures we share the planet with, in a way that allows them to discover information in a gradual, holistic way.”
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Schmitt adds, “Since conservation has always been an aspect of the game simulation, creating a DLC based upon this theme felt like a natural step to take. Our impact as humans on the planet is always at the back of our minds too, so with the Conservation Pack we wanted to take the chance to highlight not just the challenges faced by certain species but by the wider environment.”
These core values are immediately apparent when playing Planet Zoo. Creating suitable habitats, caring for animals properly, and keeping them safe and fed is part of the game’s very essence – so much so that you’re punished with a bad reputation, disruptive protestors, and other dire consequences if
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