Where to get it

2007 · Minnesota Zoo · Biological simulation · Educational

WolfQuest

Live the life of a wild wolf! WolfQuest is a wildlife simulation game about wolf ecology. Playing as a two-year-old gray wolf in Yellowstone National Park, you'll learn how to live on your own, finding food, meeting other wolves, and searching for a mate. Ultimately, your goal is to find a home and raise your own family.

Released: 31 October 2007
Platforms: Android Windows macOS
Genres: Biological simulation Educational Indie Role-playing Simulation
Developers: Minnesota Zoo
Publishers: —
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Third person
Themes: Action Non-fiction Educational Open world
Country: United States
Languages: English
Time to beat: 5hmain story6hcompletionist

About

WolfQuest is a 3D wildlife simulation video game originally developed by the Minnesota Zoo and game developer company Eduweb, and developed solely by Eduweb since 2013. The game's main purpose is to help players understand wolves and the roles they play in nature by living the life of a gray wolf in Yellowstone National Park.

In September 2006, the National Science Foundation awarded the Minnesota Zoo and Eduweb a US$508,253 informal education grant to develop WolfQuest. The game was funded by numerous other foundations and donors (including Best Buy) and then distributed as a free download for Mac and Windows computers. In November 2015, Eduweb released WolfQuest 2.7, an improved and expanded version of the game for purchase. In 2017, Eduweb began development of a new version, WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition, a complete remake and expansion of the game.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The game has two modes: singleplayer, where the player must find an NPC mate, or multiplayer, where anyone can join (8 players per game) and raise pups together.

WolfQuest was initially developed episodically, and the following episodes form the main single-player game arc:

Development

WolfQuest is largely based on the history of wolves in Yellowstone, specifically the re-introduction of gray wolves in 1996 after being extirpated since 1926. Now totaling about 100 wolves in the park today, in 1996 there were 41 wolves released in the Lamar Valley, a playable location in-game. With the Anniversary Edition DLC, players can choose to play as one of the five original wolves who repopulated Yellowstone during the re-introduction: 7F (Leopold pack founder), 42F aka Cinderella (Druid pack leader), 21M (Druid pack leader), 9F (Rose Creek pack founder), or 10M (Rose Creek pack founder); or as one of five wolves who became "famous" among wolf-watchers: The White Lady, 832F aka '06, 755M, 926F aka Spitfire, or 302M aka Casanova. WolfQuest takes place in real-world locations and depicts the geology, common vegetation, and animals that you would see there. Each WolfQuest map recreates a different area of the Northern Range and the gameplay follows the seasons and prey migration patterns.

The game's producer, Dave Schaller of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the rest of his team members from Eduweb, travel to Yellowstone every other year to access the terrain and make sure their virtual Yellowstone National Park is as close as possible to the real one. Schaller states that some of the top wolf biologists in the country were consulted during game development.

Reception

Reviewers have praised WolfQuest for being a fun and educational way to teach a younger audience about biology and ecology. Randy Salas from the Star Tribune wrote that "authenticity abounds in WolfQuest," and that "the game seems ideally suited for its target age range." Following updates and new releases, reviewers agree that WolfQuest continues to offer new experiences that emulate encounters in the wild. Christy Matte from Common Sense Media says that "WolfQuest is a compelling simulation that's bound to draw kids into what it is like to be a wolf."

WolfQuest is the first computer game to be paid for by the National Science Foundation. Although not highly involved in the development of the game, the zoo's director at the time, Lee Ehmke, stated that the half million-dollar grant is the largest the Science Foundation has ever awarded the zoo.