Adding a Dark Reality to the Game

[FlameWizard492]

PLEASE NOTE: I do not want to paint a negative view of zoos. They have the potential to do a lot of good but also harm. I really do love them and the good work that good zoos do.

This is kind of a tender topic, and I was unsure about bringing it up.

Should we add zoochosis to the game?

For context, zoochosis is a type of psychosis that arises in animals, especially smarter animals, in captivity, and it’s caused by sensory deprivation, small spaces, lack of enrichment, and other factors. It manifests when animals perform specific repetitive behaviors that serve no purpose. Examples include:

• Pacing or swimming in circles (especially among big cats and bears)
• Swaying back and forth (especially elephants)
• Overly grooming
• Self-H@rm (didn’t know if I could post that without getting flagged or something)

If this were to be added to the game, it would occur in specific animals like primates, cats, bears, elephants, and other animals that need constant stimulation or a large amount of space. Animals would start showing symptoms if their space and enrichment requirements are not met and remain so for long periods of time. You would get alerted if animals start showing symptoms. You would also be able to toggle zoochosis on and off in settings.

Anyway, what do you all think about this proposal? Feel free to add your thoughts.

 

[CharlieXGaming]

I think this would add a lot of realism to the game and it would do something I think players need more of, which is to care more for the animals. Some people will turn off welfare and space requirements (I may be one of those people) but if you were to actually see animals in a really small enclosure and they look and act sad and depressed, it would encourage players to care for them more. I don't think they would add this though because the games whole moto is conservation and preserving species and this kinda shows the opposite of that.

 

[vegastellaris]

We call these 'stereotypic behaviours' in the livestock world. I don't think I would go so far to include some of the more extreme types, but I would be interested in seeing small behaviour changes and animations based on welfare - pacing would probably be the easiest one to add, since it wouldn't require any new animations, just a specific set of 'directions' on where to walk, and then maybe overgrooming, since most animals already have grooming animations and it would be relatively simple to just up the tuning for a higher frequency when welfare goes down. I also think it would be cool if said pacing destroyed certain types of plants in your habitats, but that is almost certainly a very unpopular opinion! xD

That said, I don't think adding anything more serious that those two would really fit the 'tone' of the game, nor do I think that they'd be willing to make custom animations for many of these.


ETA: Stereotypical behaviours causing destruction of habitat barriers, scenery items, and plants COULD add a fun new game mechanic and use for your mechanic and caretaker staff (to repair broken items/replant vegetation that's been torn up), if it were to be added.