Fake Zoo by v3games

[raw]
made by v3games for LD29 (JAM)
FAKE ZOO!
Where the visitors don't know the animals are fake, and it's your job to keep it that way!

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How to play:

You run a fake zoo. From your underground control room, keep the zoo patrons fooled by keeping all the animals behaving like their fleshy, expensive counterparts. Don't lay it on too thick, or your patrons might catch on!

There's a sucker born every minute. Can you fool them all?

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Controls:

Completely ridiculous. Experiment to find the best and most realistic strategies. Throw it at the wall and see what sticks. Mouse only.

The team:

Greg Foxworthy (Programming, Giraffe Vocals)
Nate Logan (Illustration, Programming)
Tyler Mitchell (Programming, Ragdoll Abuse)
Kyle Sebestyen (Music, Programming, Colorist, Narrator)
Blake Chastain (Story Text)
Liam Foxworthy (CHEEP, CHEEP, CHEEP)

We laughed all weekend putting this game together, and we hope you get a big kick out of it too.

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Story:

The zoo industry is hit by hard times, what with the youth being into so many video games and all. So the zookeeper had to cut the budget. He started with the ape, dolphin, giraffe, and penguin food.
Sadly, the Budget Zoo food had gone bad, and they all died. Luckily, the zoo keeper's sister was into animatronics...nyaaa, and the zoo had to stay open. Welcome to Fake Zoo! Where the visitors don't know the animals are fake, and it's your job to keep it that way!

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall(Jam) 3.48 191
Audio(Jam) 3.49 178
Fun(Jam) 3.23 238
Graphics(Jam) 3.55 305
Humor(Jam) 4.21 10
Innovation(Jam) 4.15 12
Mood(Jam) 3.14 321
Theme(Jam) 3.06 416

Feedback

XrXr
29. Apr 2014 · 15:59 UTC
I like the voice effecting, and the *chi*s in the background. Cool concept. The art is nice too!
mrexcessive
29. Apr 2014 · 16:00 UTC
Hi. You have made a really weird game... Congrats!
zedutchgandalf
29. Apr 2014 · 16:05 UTC
I really like the concept. And it's one of the most original things I've seen on here :)
But it does feel a lot like just randomly clicking on stuff and hoping they get happy...
It would have been better if the buttons actually said what they control (the only one that does this effectively is the sound one).
Also, I couldn't find how to control the shifting gear(?) thing. Clicking didn't work, nor did any key I tried...
UltimateWalrus
29. Apr 2014 · 16:06 UTC
Haha, this is pretty silly. Five stars for humor. It was difficult to make a connection between the controls and whether or not I was winning/losing, but I suppose that's kind of the point.
Yword
29. Apr 2014 · 16:08 UTC
Interesting! The art is not bad, but it need some explanation about the functions of the buttons and levers.
Zupoman
29. Apr 2014 · 16:08 UTC
Great graphics and audio, and very original. I don't see the theme in here, though.
PaperBlurt
29. Apr 2014 · 16:14 UTC
This truly is innovative!
Impressed beyond impressivness
Shigor
29. Apr 2014 · 18:10 UTC
I have no idea what I'm doing with controls, but that was a really good idea :D
Nnnnneeeedddd
29. Apr 2014 · 18:10 UTC
Pretty funny. Didn't mach with the theme very well
Stuffie
29. Apr 2014 · 18:10 UTC
Lol, I have no idea what I just played but it was hilarious !
sink_t
29. Apr 2014 · 18:12 UTC
An original game with potential, but again, the realisation failed. More precisely, the controls are extremely poor and pretty much random in their functioning. Of particular note is the constantly flicking volume meter, which is not only very annoying but mostly useless.
dusho
29. Apr 2014 · 18:12 UTC
that is some idea :)
mimic
29. Apr 2014 · 18:13 UTC
Pretty silly game you got here. Nice art and sounds. Wish I knew what the heck I was doing tough! Hahaah
Fib
29. Apr 2014 · 18:15 UTC
This game is very original... and hilarious! I don't understand the controls, but it's hilarious to experiment and see how the animals react. The art and sound are fantastic. Great job!
MrShortee
29. Apr 2014 · 18:16 UTC
Weird, funny and well made. cheep cheep cheep.. :D
Shivur
29. Apr 2014 · 18:17 UTC
Cheep Cheep ! (Love it)
GertJohnny
30. Apr 2014 · 21:02 UTC
Great concept and use of the theme. Randomly mashing the controls was fun at first but got boring quickly.
SuperMsp10
01. May 2014 · 01:39 UTC
funniest concept!
drnick
01. May 2014 · 02:02 UTC
Interesting game. It's a great accomplishment to have controls that are so random :P Unfinished though. Needs more polishing.
Marcus_siactro
01. May 2014 · 12:19 UTC
Really nice game. I laughed a lot and found the idea to be very creative. Good Work. Also: My giraffe was flying and all the people got upset while I was laughing like crazy ;)
lukepilgrim
01. May 2014 · 15:51 UTC
haha, the people are happy but Im not sure if a realistic giraffe moves like that... xD had a lot of fun!
DrStahlbart
01. May 2014 · 21:40 UTC
Haha, I've never seen such a game before, that's why it's so damn funny. I love to play with your ragdoll mechanics, but I think the red button could be a little bit crazier. :)
mrbungle
01. May 2014 · 22:58 UTC
Hilarious! Cool idea and like the graphical style. Fakeness like this is a unique take on the theme for sure.
javifugitivo
01. May 2014 · 23:03 UTC
I dont have idea to control it! But the doplphics looks nice every time! Lol Nice idea
Fritzendugan
02. May 2014 · 09:30 UTC
No real strategy, no correlation between buttons and actions, totally nonsensical controls.......

....and yet, a smile to my face, laughter, and genuine fun. Congratulations, you managed to make the weirdest game I've played so far and yet probably one of the most fun. I genuinely feel like some idiot mashing controls for a mechanical zoo fooling other idiots into giving me their cash.

So, yeah, not exactly your typical game by any means, but I guess that's kind of the point, right? I had fun. Cool game, guys.
Shadow Dreamer
02. May 2014 · 16:38 UTC
This was a weird, yet oddly entertaining game :/
I kinda liked it, hahha! Good job ;)
Jamcount
03. May 2014 · 13:39 UTC
Like it, but wouldn't be able to sit and play it for hours
Christina Antoinette Neofotistou
03. May 2014 · 13:59 UTC
haha so innovative! I felt immersed and invested from the first moment!
crocantidepollo
03. May 2014 · 17:19 UTC
This is completely insane and I love it! I made that giraffe fly for a bit. Maybe that was what tipped off the visitors because they all left :P
alvarop
04. May 2014 · 19:15 UTC
Great idea, really funny game.
hbocao
04. May 2014 · 21:49 UTC
Well.. mission accomplished guys: I LOLed. Multiple times. Awesome job with the sounds and the graphics are very pretty. Fun and weird entry.
joe40001
05. May 2014 · 10:08 UTC
I think I might have "won" this game because I found a way to never lose anybody at the dolphin. He's got 11 people who haven't moved and I'm raking in the cash. My pro-fake-dolphin-strat: (spoilers to those who want to discover their own strat?)

Never click Red button or sound thing.
Yellow dial set at like 11PM (This might be the default)
Lever all the way up (This might be the default)
6 Green Buttons: This is the important one... I'll get back to it
And Red shift thing in 4th(bottom)

All you have to do to keep your guests infinitely entertained is alternate between green button top left and green button mid-left. Just do like 10 taps on one and then switch to the other and repeat forever. This alternates the dolphin spinning and then just moving forward, the spinning combats boredom but the moving forward combats suspicion it's fake. So just leave everything the same, the flying giraffe is a lost cause, and just entertain the heck out of those 11 or so people and get rich beyond your wildest (see what I did there?) dreams!

Creative idea for a game, I liked it.
Katamori
05. May 2014 · 11:46 UTC
What the...?!
🎤 v3games
05. May 2014 · 16:57 UTC
@joe40001 We looked at the code and that will indeed keep you alive indefinitely, so you have earned the Fake Dolphin Master Strategist Trophy. Thanks for playing you magnificent dolphin master.
conormn
09. May 2014 · 05:04 UTC
Holy Moly. I LOVE everything about this. Please keep going with it, please :)
jujule
14. May 2014 · 19:26 UTC
I really like it. I sucked at playing the dolphin but the girafe was great fun. The graphics are good too. It is a very tongue in cheek yet very consistent experience.
Fantastic job.
I'm sur you can add some more animals ( monkeys, sloths, spiders, snakes, birds, elephants ( the trunk!!! )).
misterwalter
19. May 2014 · 05:38 UTC
I spun the dolphin until children cried. It was the only way I knew to make money. Now the crowds have vanished, and I am alone with my fake animals.
joe40001
24. May 2014 · 12:48 UTC
@v3games
It took me a bit to realize you awarded me this trophy, but now that I know it, I feel extremely grateful, is it sad or amazing that this is one of the biggest accomplishments of my life?

I'll go with amazing. Anyway thanks for the trophy and take comfort, I'm very stubborn about "solving" games so it's not like your game is flawed or anything, I played so many games this LD29 (I'm releasing a video soon about my effort of playing/beating 350 LD29 games) but this was one of the more memorable ones I played, clever and inventive and good humor.

Thanks very much for the trophy. :D