WolfQuest Details Announced

It seems the Minnesota Zoo has been hard at work developing WolfQuest, a free "3D multiplayer role-playing game" where players can create wolves and form packs to explore the wilderness. Quite a bizarre concept, but since I usually make the three-hour trek to the Minnesota Zoo each year, I thought it was worth mentioning.
The WolfQuest game will be released in two phases. Both versions will be available for free download here on this Web site.

WolfQuest: Amethyst Mountain
Release date: December 2007

The single-player game will offer about three hours of gameplay. Key features:

  • Create your wolf avatar, selecting male or female, choosing from a range of realistic wolf coats (and customizing the coat with color tints), and configuring its
    abilities (strength, speed, and stamina).

  • Explore four square kilometers of alpine wilderness on the slopes of Amethyst Mountain in Yellowstone National Park, running across open meadows, through dense
    fir forests, and along sheer cliffs.

  • Hunt elk. Follow scent trails to locate elk herds, then sneak up on the herd, find the weakest one, and begin your attack. Pursue your prey and sap its strength
    while dodging its counterattacks, to make the kill.

  • Fight grizzly bears for control of elk carcasses.

  • Harrass coyotes who try to eat elk carcasses, or just for the fun of it.

  • Chase and eat snowshoe hares.

  • Follow scent trails to find stranger wolves. Communicate with them through wolf vocalizations and behaviors.

  • Challenge other wolves for territory.

  • Find a mate and establish a bond.

  • Earn Experience Points to unlock greater challenges and give you bragging rights with other players.

  • Earn enough experience points and, with your mate, try to take down a bull elk without suffering a killing blow from its hooves.

The multi-player game will offer many hours of gameplay. Key features:

  • All of the above (except find a mate)—with your friends!

  • Form a pack with 2-4 players in private multiplayer sessions.

  • Text chat with your packmates as you play.

  • Challenge other players for dominance.

  • Explore the slopes of Amethyst Mountain together, hunting elk, harassing coyotes, and defending your territory from non-player wolves.

WolfQuest: Survival of the Pack
Release date: June 2008

The single-player game will offer about 6-8 hours of gameplay. Key features:

  • The complete Amethyst Ridge game, which now becomes the Fall level in a four-season single-player campaign.

  • Explore new areas of Yellowstone National Park, including the Lamar Valley in wintertime and denning grounds during springtime.

  • Establish a territory for your family pack through raised-leg urination marking, then defend it from other wolf packs through social challenges.

  • Find a safe den site and produce a litter of pups.

  • Keep your pups healthy and well-fed until they can hunt for themselves.

  • Venture away from your territory on risky missions to kill sheep on nearby ranchland.

  • Once your pups are old enough, hunt as a pack!

The multi-player game will offer many hours of gameplay. Key features:

  • Explore, hunt, and defend territories on the slopes of Amatheyst Mountain, in the Lamar Valley, and in other new areas from the single-player campaign.

  • Tackle special missions like "Capture the carcass" as pack.

System Requirements:
Computer running Mac OS 10.3+, Windows XP or Windows Vista. Detailed requirements to be determined.