Stage 3 - Part 6 - "A Wildlife Docu-Game Would be KICK-ASS!!"

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Sup!

So I was watching Frozen Planet a couple of weeks ago; for those of you outside the UK, it's a documentary narrated by our national treasure, David Attenborough, set in both poles and filmed throughout all 4 seasons. The penguins were hitting the sea for the first time, and by the hundreds, oblivious to the dangers that lurked beneath the surface. Next thing I know, the living room is filled with screams, wails and cries as one unfortunate penguin leaves the water with a seal, mouth agape and clearly really fucking hungry, sniffing at it's tail.

Although the rest of my family managed to remain quiet, I was pretty distraught by the life of this penguin literally hanging in the balance of the ever closing space between it's ass the seal's teeth. The sad and brutal result of the chase left me feeling exhausted, and realising I had invested far more emotion than I think even the producers had intended me to.

The fact of the matter was, I was on the edge of my seat and I loved it. It also left me thinking, if I was that penguin, I would not have taken the same fateful path they did; in the same vein if I was the seal, I'd have put more effort in to catch it sooner.


In the same episode but not at the same time, a different group of penguins were setting up their individual nests by collecting stones and rocks from various places and returning them to the nest. One penguin had a criminal business plan behind building its nest. Instead of travelling minutes away from base to find the right kind of rock, it would wait till a nearby penguin made their own journey and STEAL from their nest. Brilliant.

I think you are now with me on some parts of why I believe Wildlife games would kick so much ass. But wait, there's more.

The game would look AMAZING. Without question, if you are aware of the way games can look nowadays, you will know that the technology is more than capable of creating multiple "worlds" with very different colour schemes, vibrant landscapes from spanning arid deserts to thick jungles and dynamic weather systems to boot. A truly magnificent experience could be realised, with the whole thing starting from bug life, and run right the way up to being the king of the jungle, with "Winter/Ice" themed DLCs, seeing as they're all the rage nowadays. Naughty Dog have displayed superb muscle in the visual department with their recent installment of Uncharted 3 on the scene, and while I do not suggest that the developer take on the task of making such a game, they would certainly be a company to take inspiration from.

Subtract Nathan and Sully, add gorillas and... that kinda stuff!

Just realised nothing is stopping me from getting this.

 A wildlife game could very well still play the part of educating the player. There is a great deal to take from them. Very much like... The Sims (best example I can use without being too abstract). The game is based around how you play, but as a player, certain aspects of life just cannot be if other prerequisites are not already met. In the same way, a docu-game would limit the player to what nature can allow, but still make it pretty entertaining. I for one never got to play Deadly Creatures, but REALLY wanted to for this reason alone. I got to be a spider and take on lizards and snakes and shit! But you cannot add upgrades like springs on your hind legs for further jumping or titanium silk for stronger webs.

Further to the above point, you could argue that mother nature is far too complicated a beast for such a concept to be conceived, but the same could have been said for Spore, GTA, and nearly every RPG made. Get the right minds behind it and you could have an awesome time, while learning about zebra. That's right, at the same time.

What is big right now? Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 are big players on the gaming scene at the moment and it is not because of their well thought out and exhaustive single player campaigns. No no, it is because you can get to go online kill motherfuckers. Not just any motherfuckers, but other people playing online. You get to team up with other people from around the world and build STRATEGIES around killing some motherfuckers. Yes. The magic lies in a motion that is far more poignant in Battlefield 3, but nonetheless is just as exciting in both games. The knife. It is the idea that you have managed to get close enough to the opposition without them spotting you, that you can put your "hands" on them and kill them.

Now don't get me wrong, a kill is a kill, but if the buzz comes out of doing it this way, please put yourself online in a group of lions or cheetahs and you have a co-op strategy to capture at least 1 animal in the field. You creep up as close as possible without being spotted. Being as quiet as possible. As stealthy as possible. Keeping tabs on where the other players are, and then strike and a chase ensues. I don't know about you, but to me that sounds fucking awesome! Especially when you are right on the heels of your prey and you know the difference between success and failure in how organised you and your fellow big cats are! I love it. I would buy that game. There are plenty of other scenarios that would be amazing to experience, but you get the idea of why a wildlife game should be and WOULD be kick ass. If you disagree, I got some stuff for you to go and buy...

If you have anything you wish to share with me or indeed the readers, feel free to comment or e-mail me at twentyfiveand0@hotmail.co.uk - Don't forget to check outthe What Have I Been Playing pages found on the right! OR Check out my channel at www.youtube.com/ike1luv