Building a New Zoo in Facebook Game Zoo Kingdom

There have been a number of tycoon and animal husbandry apps in circulation in recent months. Blue Fang Games combines both elements in its first game, Zoo Kingdom, which recently found its way on our list of fastest-growing new Facebook games with almost 700,000 monthly active users. Zoo Kingdom is probably most similar to CrowdStar’s popular tycoon style game, Zoo Paradise. The Blue Fang title balances the management of an entire animal park between quality, attractions, vendors, and animals, which create a primary means of income, and simultaneously incorporates animal husbandry, as the animals grow from babies to adults and are eventually released. And, since none of the above is particularly original, Kingdom adds a few special nuances of its own. Players start out with a basic zoo layout of a reasonable size, but can only create the most basic of zoo attractions, petting zoos filled with farm animals. As more animals are placed, more customers will begin paying admission. As with other tycoon games, vendors and other such buildings can also be built to provide supplemental income. The non-player customers can sometimes be a bit stingy with their money, and don’t like to make a whole lot of purchases. That said, quantity of consumers can often overcome quality. This is where park quality comes into play. Though the game is pretty bad at giving its players feedback on what's working, it appears that the more animals, vendors, and even the décor a player has affects a star rating. Dubbed Zoo Fame, these stars represent the popularity of your park, and in turn, the number of visitors it receives. Sadly, there is no real way to know just how much something you build will affect that rating, as the only tool tip provided when one buys anything is how long until you have to care for it. The "how long" does matter, though. As in Zoo Paradise, animals must be fed or petted, with young ones growing over time. There are also plant to water, bathrooms and vendors to clean, and so on (in the case of animals, they can also be released, before they die, for added income). Each time this is done, players earn respectable amounts of experience towards new levels. Zoo Kingdom really stands out on this point, with a leveling system that feels infinitely more rewarding than most similar games. The reason is that players don’t arbitrarily unlock new exhibits and animals. On the contrary, with each level gained, more and more exotic creatures and locales are unlocked, with farm animals at the bottom and artic tundras at the top. Another nice feature is a section called “Fun Facts,” where users can actually learn interesting information about the animals in their park. The first fact is free, the second costs a small amount of in-game currency (coins), and the third virtual currency (certificates). The game also does a good job of creating minor goals for players through a sort of quest system, and major ones through the classic achievements method. It’s worth noting that the game’s visual style (and audio as well) is very different from a lot of similar games. Though the animals and vendors feel a bit underwhelming, the NPCs that wander about the terrain actually feel like real tourists. There are people with strollers, dads carrying girls on their shoulders, kids, suits, moms, and so on. They even have a handful of animations that make them look like they’re actually observing the attraction. Oh, and unlike Zoo Paradise, they use paths rather than wander aimlessly. Unfortunately, the social elements of Zoo Kingdom don’t feel all that different from the rest of its genre. Limited to standardized achievements, sharing, gifting, and visiting each other’s parks, there's nothing new. And new players who are unfamiliar with these basic features will also suffer, since there is little tool-tip feedback and the tutorial is about five seconds long. There is a wiki page, but users shouldn't have to go traipsing through that to answer general questions. Despite its weaknesses, Zoo Kingdom is still a very strong game overall. True, it uses mechanics from previous titles, but it also puts them together into a very different feeling experience. Be it the visuals, style, sound, or the handful of new, if minor, features, it’s a game that makes the genre feel a little bit fresher. With its continued growth the past 30 days, and even more rapid gains the past week, Blue Fang Games is off to an excellent start with its first Facebook game.

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Building a New Zoo in Facebook Game Zoo Kingdom

Christopher Mack

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Christopher Mack