The marketing bods at London Zoo have released a Desktop Gorilla game to promote the launch of their Gorilla Kingdom enclosure at the zoo and it’s worse than Tamagotchi. The darn thing keeps moping around on the desktop and task bar, making me feel guilty about not playing/feeding or poop cleaning when I’m supposed to be working. And now I can’t delete it because it will feel like murder. Sheesh, the things I do for you people.
Developers have worked closely with keepers at ZSL London Zoo to recreate the behaviours and feeding pattern of real gorillas. Virtual keepers who download an interactive ape will have three weeks to rear a tiny baby gorilla through to its teenage years and on to become a strong and healthy silverback Players must feed them, keep them entertained, put them to sleep and clean up their poo to gain the highest score. The more closely virtual keepers stick to the routine recommended by the real zoo keepers, the less grumpy their gorilla will be! The three highest scorers at the end of three months will win the chance to meet real gorillas and their keepers. The virtual gorillas come with a serious message too; a series of cheat codes are hidden around the ZSL website so players are directed to read about animal conservation work going on in Britain and overseas.
