The team learned how zoos work in order to figure out where they were allowed to take creative liberties, citing that during the development for the Marine Mania expansion, the team gave dolphins the ability to do tricks that weren't completely realistic because they thought it was more fun. Additional animals and items may be researched, where money is invested to make them playable.īlue Fang Games originally considered making a simulation game where the player would manage an airport, before the idea was dismissed by CEO Hank Howie, citing that compared to places like theme parks, airports are not 'fun.' The team then pivoted to a zoo building game, and quickly began research on animal care and behavior, sending artists, animators and developers to zoos in and around the Boston area, as well as flying a team out to the San Francisco Zoo. As the game progresses, more animals and items become playable. They are presented with an open lot and a limited selection of animals, buildings, and scenery available for purchase. Freeform allows the player to choose the amount of money and the map with which they start. 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. Scenario mode has the player complete a series of objectives under restrictions. Tutorial teaches the player how to build exhibits and keep guests happy. There are three modes in Zoo Tycoon: Tutorial, Scenario, and Freeform. If the animals escape from their enclosures, they can attack and possibly kill guests and employees. To help manage the expanding zoo, players can employ maintenance workers, zookeepers and tour guides.

Keeping both animal and guest happiness high allows the player to gain monetary awards and maintain a steady income. Scenery involves aesthetics that raise guest happiness slightly, such as topiary art, light posts, and benches. Buildings include bathrooms, restaurants and food stands, shops, reptile houses, aviaries, and entertainment buildings such as movie theaters. Guest happiness is dependent on animal choice, animal happiness, buildings, and scenery. 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. To keep the guests and animals happy, exhibits should be suitable to the animal for example, a lion is best suited to a savannah environment. Exhibit-building is one of the primary goals of Zoo Tycoon. The goal of Zoo Tycoon is to create a thriving zoo by building exhibits to accommodate animals and keeping the guests and animals happy.

Zoo tycoon 3 dinosaurs