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Zoo Tycoon is a business simulation developed by Blue Fang Games and released by Microsoft Game Studios. It is a tycoon game in which the player must run a zoo, and try to make a profit. Although first released for Windows and Mac in 2001, it was ported to the Nintendo DS in 2005. It was followed by two expansion packs, Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs and Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania, which were released in 2002, as well as a sequel, Zoo Tycoon 2, released in 2004.
GameplayThe goal of Zoo Tycoon is to create a thriving zoo by building exhibits to accommodate animals and keeping the guests happy. Exhibit building is one of the primary goals of Zoo Tycoon. To keep the guests and animals happy, exhibits should be suitable to the animal; for example, a lion is best suited to a savanna environment. Choices in terrain, foliage, rocks, shelters, fences, toys and the presence of zookeepers all contribute to the suitability of an exhibit and the happiness of the animal. Guest happiness is dependent on animal choice, animal happiness, buildings, and scenery. Buildings may include bathrooms, restaurants and food stands, shops, or entertainment buildings such as movie theaters. Scenery involves aesthetics that raise guest happiness slightly, such as topiary art, lightposts, or benches. Keeping both animal and guest happiness allows the player to gain monetary awards and steady income. To help manage the expanding zoo, you can employ janitors, zookeepers and tour guides.There are three modes in Zoo Tycoon: Tutorial, Scenario, and Freeform. Tutorial teaches the player how to build exhibits and keep guests happy. Scenario mode has the player complete a series of objectives, sometimes within a specific timeframe. These objectives may include achieving a certain guest and animal happiness, achieving a certain exhibit suitability, displaying a certain number of animals, or breeding a certain animal. Freeform allows the player to choose the amount of money and the map that they start with. They are presented with an open lot with a limited selection of animals, buildings, and scenery. As the game progresses, more animals and items become playable. Additional animals and items may be researched, where money is invested to make them playable.Zoo Tycoon 2 changed things a bit. Tutorial and Scenario were combined into one mode, known as Campaign Mode. Freeform was split into two modes, called Freeform and Challenge. Freeform was basically the same as the original, but you have infinite money.Challenge was a bit different. First of all, you have limited money. The limit is very high however, so if you want to hold down the left click for half an hour, you can get up to 100 million dollars starting money. Every now and then (approximately each in-game month) you will be presented with a challenge. You can accept the challenge or deny it. If you deny, you will get no negative effect, but won't be able to get the positive reward for winning, either. Also, the adoption menu is a bit different. You will now get a selection of the animals available at your zoo level. This selection gets larger as your fame gets higher. However, if you don't like the selection you have (which has a limited number of each of these animals) then you have to decline them, and wait for the next one to become available. This results in a more realistic (if more aggravating and obnoxious) method of purchasing animals.Third-party creationsThe success of Zoo Tycoon also led to the creation of new features by fans, both fact and fiction. Mods were created to fix problems with the game and unlock new features. Many of these mods were made possible by an official program created by Blue Fang named Animal Project Editor (APE), which allows the player to easily create one's own animals, with either simply re-naming a premade animal or creating frames for another animal. Unfortunately, fansites for Zoo Tycoon are dying off quickly, and the ones left are almost entirely devoted to the sequel.Expansion packs and sequelsZoo Tycoon was created in the wake of the success of the 1999 Hasbro Interactive game RollerCoaster Tycoon, which sold well for many years. Zoo Tycoon did well enough for Microsoft and Blue Fang Games to release two expansion packs: Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs, which added prehistoric-themed items and animals, and Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania, which allowed aquatic-themed items and animals. Eventually, Microsoft bundled the expansion packs with Zoo Tycoon to create Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection which had the functionality of both expansion packs and bonus content.Zoo Tycoon 2 was released on November 2004. Although released with fewer animals than Zoo Tycoon, more animals were introduced in its expansion packs: Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals (Which contained the DLC "Dino Danger"), Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania, Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species, and Zoo Tycoon 2: African Adventure. The later two were bundled in the Zoo Tycoon 2: Zookeeper Collection. All of them were bundled in Zoo Tycoon 2 Ultimate Collection.This game provides examples of:
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0 reviews alternative title(s): Zoo Tycoon
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