Do any of you come up with backstories for your zoos that explain how they came to be? If so, feel free to share!
Zoo Backstories
- Thread starter FlameWizard492
- Start date
You should see my posts in the What Did You do in Planet Zoo thread and also the World Zoo Organization thread (in the Creations category)
That's usually my starting point
Too many to mention, and I'm keeping my current one a secret because I might actually post/youtube about it soon.
For me it's like writing a story: time, location and motivation. Set the scene. Figure out the narrative a little. Then let it unfold and maybe evolve as it goes along, but I can't imagine starting a zoo without some kind of a plan.
my NA zoo using new world theme, I had an idea of naming habitats after the national parks and the exhibit hall is also named after national parks. I can get a backstory made.
My SA zoo using SA theme, I made it to look like you are inside a functioning Mayan temple that either has been restored or never deteriorated.
My Indian zoo using Indian theme, I made to look like a grand palace in India that got reconverted into a zoo.
Il come up with some clever backstories.
Thank you for making this topic now it’s got me thinking for the day.
My SA zoo using SA theme, I made it to look like you are inside a functioning Mayan temple that either has been restored or never deteriorated.
My Indian zoo using Indian theme, I made to look like a grand palace in India that got reconverted into a zoo.
Il come up with some clever backstories.
Thank you for making this topic now it’s got me thinking for the day.
I made a backstory for my new zoo Eastborro Zoo!
Set in the fictional town of Eastborro, Maryland, A small town outside of Baltimore, Eastborro Zoo started as a small farm with a collection of exotic animals in 1994. The property was then bought by the town in 2009 in order to build an apartment complex, but when the builders found the animals they saw a bigger picture. The town sold the land back to property owner Oswald McLatter and funded him to built a state-of-the-art zoo.
Oswald McLatter is an acronym for Smal Clawd Otter
Now the question is: What should I put in it first?
Set in the fictional town of Eastborro, Maryland, A small town outside of Baltimore, Eastborro Zoo started as a small farm with a collection of exotic animals in 1994. The property was then bought by the town in 2009 in order to build an apartment complex, but when the builders found the animals they saw a bigger picture. The town sold the land back to property owner Oswald McLatter and funded him to built a state-of-the-art zoo.
Oswald McLatter is an acronym for Smal Clawd Otter
Now the question is: What should I put in it first?
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More of a concept then a backstory most of the time, though I did have zoos with backstories. I however at least need concepts to actually start building or I fail even quicker.
I did have a zoo with a backstory back in the day that started as an animal collection of a king.
I did have a zoo with a backstory back in the day that started as an animal collection of a king.
Possibly because I am autistic I can’t just build a random fun zoo, it has to be within a very strict and specific framework and in that sense I always start with a clear backstory in my head.
I try to make zoos that are in imaginary, but plausible places, usually in real countries. I spend hours researching place names to find something that sounds realistic but isn’t already existing. Or is the name of many places so sounds plausible.
The animals should very clearly reflect what would be in a zoo of that nature/size/budget and that location.
This is especially true for zoos in places like New Zealand and Australia that have strict biosecurity regulations which limit the animals their zoos can have.
The architecture and plants should also reflect this and even the staff names are realistic to the location.
I think about when the zoo was founded because a zoo that was established in the 1920s will have buildings that reflect its history, even if things have been repurposed or demolished, in a way that a newly built zoo won’t.
Sometimes I get paralysed by the need to be realistic. In ZT2, even with mods and amazing building sets like Sophie’s, you had a pretty limited selection of things to build with.
But I find that Planet Zoo can sometimes be overwhelming because I want things to look just right and be fully consistent with the backstory and so much is possible once you get to grips with building.
I try to make zoos that are in imaginary, but plausible places, usually in real countries. I spend hours researching place names to find something that sounds realistic but isn’t already existing. Or is the name of many places so sounds plausible.
The animals should very clearly reflect what would be in a zoo of that nature/size/budget and that location.
This is especially true for zoos in places like New Zealand and Australia that have strict biosecurity regulations which limit the animals their zoos can have.
The architecture and plants should also reflect this and even the staff names are realistic to the location.
I think about when the zoo was founded because a zoo that was established in the 1920s will have buildings that reflect its history, even if things have been repurposed or demolished, in a way that a newly built zoo won’t.
Sometimes I get paralysed by the need to be realistic. In ZT2, even with mods and amazing building sets like Sophie’s, you had a pretty limited selection of things to build with.
But I find that Planet Zoo can sometimes be overwhelming because I want things to look just right and be fully consistent with the backstory and so much is possible once you get to grips with building.
This may seem like a strange choice, but hear me out...
How about an Asian Small-Clawed Otter?
Hehehe.
Do you have any that you are more willing to share? Any particular favorites?That's usually my starting point
Too many to mention, and I'm keeping my current one a secret because I might actually post/youtube about it soon.
For me it's like writing a story: time, location and motivation. Set the scene. Figure out the narrative a little. Then let it unfold and maybe evolve as it goes along, but I can't imagine starting a zoo without some kind of a plan.
Or if you talk about them on your Youtube channel, you could just post a link to it?
I tend not to do whole "backstories" as such but I do come up with "lore" for specific things. Sometimes I'll throw in, say, white tigers and make them the 'mascot' of the zoo. Or more commonly most of my habitats will be pretty simplistic and low-budget, but I'll put in higher-budget more modern, complex habitats for key species, with the lore being that the zoo went all-out for these new additions (great apes, giant pandas, that sort of thing).
yes, I did.
My recent creation Jun-Go zoo, a mid-sized tropics themed zoo, has a simple but neat story to it.
the Jun-Go Zoo use to be any old roadside zoo in Florida with capybara, otters, gators, flamingo, and a few others. it wasn't bad just not anything to write home about and when getting close to bankruptcy a rather wealthy zoologist purchased it and revamped it, keeping a small size but a bigger, better variety of wildlife. It's simple and fun and it will change every ten minutes at most.
My recent creation Jun-Go zoo, a mid-sized tropics themed zoo, has a simple but neat story to it.
the Jun-Go Zoo use to be any old roadside zoo in Florida with capybara, otters, gators, flamingo, and a few others. it wasn't bad just not anything to write home about and when getting close to bankruptcy a rather wealthy zoologist purchased it and revamped it, keeping a small size but a bigger, better variety of wildlife. It's simple and fun and it will change every ten minutes at most.
I already just put in a mixed AU habitat and Foxes lol. I should probably put those in tho.