https://youtu.be/l5yomdmN-dk
We’ve just returned from a week in Yellowstone National Park, doing research for WolfQuest 3 and Tower Fall. Exploring the park through this lens — studying the topography, geology, and vegetation in particular — made it a particularly rewarding visit. We hiked into each area depicted in the game maps, took over a thousand reference photos of plants, trees, and landscapes, We saw wolves, elk, moose, coyotes, and ravens as well animals not yet in the game: mule deer, bison, pronghorns, bighorn sheep, and several black bears with their cubs. The elk were especially active, this being the rut, and we heard plenty of bugling and even witnessed two bulls sparring.
We also met with several YNP biologists, particularly Dr. Dan Stahler, who gave us some exciting ideas for new game elements. (Did you know that grizzlies hate sharing so much that they’ll sleep spread-eagled on carcasses to protect them?) We even met Dr. Doug Smith, project leader of the Wolf Restoration Project that brought wolves back to Yellowstone in the 1990s! They were pleased to hear that WolfQuest is still going strong.
Along with this research, we also shot some video footage to bring players along on our adventure. Here’s the first one (quickly edited during the long drive home), and we’ll share more in the coming months as we apply what we learned to the game.