Oct 29, 2021
Let's Build a Zoo - TinyPixxels
Hey everyone!
Can you believe there's only ONE WEEK to go? We certainly can't!
I've been doing updates in our discord for a while, and I really do hope you've been enjoying them! They've been SUPER cool to write and looking back on them now, I can't believe how far the game has come! I've got to watch new buildings, conservation efforts, farms and evil plots spring to life, and it really has been magical!
I don't want to spoil anything else now, we're all so close to you discovering it for yourselves, but I figured I'd share some of my favourite features I've talked about!
Nurseries and Breeding Variants
For a little while, breeding variants in the game was a bit nebulous. You'd put two rabbits in a pen, and eventually get a brown rabbit. GREAT! Except, well, what did that even mean?
The breeding system has become one of my fast favourites, with screens in the nursery to show each breeding pair and all their possible outcomes, as well as an ultrasound upgrade to help you save time on your way to the coat colour of your dreams. This whole system became a deep rabbit hole I fell into for a long, long time, collecting up at least two of every horse in the game!
Quests and Critical choices
I'm all for a nice lengthy sandbox game, but one of my favourite things in Let's Build a Zoo is definitely the silly NPCs and their quests and choices. From Scamimals (which are incredible, and you should absolutely collect as many as possible) to collecting animals to help out a _very familiar_ video game, they're all so full of personality, regardless of your morality!
Honestly, these have changed a lot throughout development, but I'm really excited by how they encourage you to keep making your zoo bigger and better but hopefully will give you some silliness and some real dilemmas to think about throughout the game!
Lots and LOTS of visual flair
I think the original post I made here still stands in a lot of ways:
There are so, so many things I could write for this one, and I feel like I need to keep most of them a secret, as they never fail to delight me every time I see them! When we published the demo to Steam, some of the icons over visitors heads were new, as well as lots of pixel art that you've seen. Since then there have been SO MANY new additions, so many updates and so many cool extra bits of visual flair to show, teach and help make Let's Build a Zoo bright and clear all the way through your playthroughs. It's been an interesting challenge for the artists working with so many systems and making them all accessible and understandable to players, and I think they've done an AMAZING job!
My favourites though, obviously, are the animals interacting with the enrichment. 10/10 each and every time <3
Pollution and Utilities
A lot of work has been put into the ability to steal/create your own energy, depending on your zoo type and how your morality has been doing. It's entirely possible (and encouraged) to become self-sufficient, and I love all the pieces, from wind turbines to our horrible, terrible sewage machines!! These are all ways to constantly improve and balance your zoo, and are something I'm constantly coming back to and tweaking in my own zoos!
Wildlife Reintroduction
There are few things better for me in-game than feeling like I'm making a difference. I've got a zoo background, so the ability to reintroduce animals into the wild made me so so excited, and the day this building arrived I was beside myself with happiness!
Data is pulled from real-life population numbers from the IUCN, which means you can get an accurate idea of which animals are thriving, and which species may need a bit more help! You can find this here: https://www.iucnredlist.org/. Numbers will fluctuate, and you can help support populations by breeding and cloning endangered or extinct animals then releasing them back to their homes!
aaaand I think that's enough of my favourites. Again, thank you so much to everyone who has supported, wishlisted, chatted, asked questions and all the rest.
I'll see you on the 5th! xoxo
Can you believe there's only ONE WEEK to go? We certainly can't!
I've been doing updates in our discord for a while, and I really do hope you've been enjoying them! They've been SUPER cool to write and looking back on them now, I can't believe how far the game has come! I've got to watch new buildings, conservation efforts, farms and evil plots spring to life, and it really has been magical!
I don't want to spoil anything else now, we're all so close to you discovering it for yourselves, but I figured I'd share some of my favourite features I've talked about!
Nurseries and Breeding Variants
For a little while, breeding variants in the game was a bit nebulous. You'd put two rabbits in a pen, and eventually get a brown rabbit. GREAT! Except, well, what did that even mean?
The breeding system has become one of my fast favourites, with screens in the nursery to show each breeding pair and all their possible outcomes, as well as an ultrasound upgrade to help you save time on your way to the coat colour of your dreams. This whole system became a deep rabbit hole I fell into for a long, long time, collecting up at least two of every horse in the game!
Quests and Critical choices
I'm all for a nice lengthy sandbox game, but one of my favourite things in Let's Build a Zoo is definitely the silly NPCs and their quests and choices. From Scamimals (which are incredible, and you should absolutely collect as many as possible) to collecting animals to help out a _very familiar_ video game, they're all so full of personality, regardless of your morality!
Honestly, these have changed a lot throughout development, but I'm really excited by how they encourage you to keep making your zoo bigger and better but hopefully will give you some silliness and some real dilemmas to think about throughout the game!
Lots and LOTS of visual flair
I think the original post I made here still stands in a lot of ways:
There are so, so many things I could write for this one, and I feel like I need to keep most of them a secret, as they never fail to delight me every time I see them! When we published the demo to Steam, some of the icons over visitors heads were new, as well as lots of pixel art that you've seen. Since then there have been SO MANY new additions, so many updates and so many cool extra bits of visual flair to show, teach and help make Let's Build a Zoo bright and clear all the way through your playthroughs. It's been an interesting challenge for the artists working with so many systems and making them all accessible and understandable to players, and I think they've done an AMAZING job!
My favourites though, obviously, are the animals interacting with the enrichment. 10/10 each and every time <3
Pollution and Utilities
A lot of work has been put into the ability to steal/create your own energy, depending on your zoo type and how your morality has been doing. It's entirely possible (and encouraged) to become self-sufficient, and I love all the pieces, from wind turbines to our horrible, terrible sewage machines!! These are all ways to constantly improve and balance your zoo, and are something I'm constantly coming back to and tweaking in my own zoos!
Wildlife Reintroduction
There are few things better for me in-game than feeling like I'm making a difference. I've got a zoo background, so the ability to reintroduce animals into the wild made me so so excited, and the day this building arrived I was beside myself with happiness!
Data is pulled from real-life population numbers from the IUCN, which means you can get an accurate idea of which animals are thriving, and which species may need a bit more help! You can find this here: https://www.iucnredlist.org/. Numbers will fluctuate, and you can help support populations by breeding and cloning endangered or extinct animals then releasing them back to their homes!
aaaand I think that's enough of my favourites. Again, thank you so much to everyone who has supported, wishlisted, chatted, asked questions and all the rest.
I'll see you on the 5th! xoxo
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