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WolfQuest: Learning About Wolf Ecology Just Got More Fun
09/16/2011
By: bluebarker
http://wolfquest.org/ – Learning about ecosystems boring? I bet it is, so Minnesota Zoos and eduWebs have teamed up to give us WolfQuest. A truly 3D, CG simulated immersive environment. Allowing up to single play through two action packed episodes or group play which allows you to form a pack with up to five of your friends. You’ve never heard kids howling in class to get in all of the excitement. WolfQuest takes place primarily in YellowStone National Park where you, the player become a real-life Wolf (virtually-speaking of course, but a little imagination never hurt nobody).
Being a wolf is not all fun and games, raves and yiffs; but struggling to survive is a whole different ball game. Jack London’s “Call of the Wild” never heard of rough until you’ve played this. Struggling to provide, pack wars, caribou hunting, Alpha Trials and the thrill of the hunt was never this exciting, beats having to freeze in Eight Below freezing.
Start off making a wolf, how cool is that. Customized features include: name, fur texture, fur color, Wolf Stat Sliders, and gender. And just like that you have a wolf to play as in the world. ***Your name is unchangeable past this screen, you have been warned or you will have to make a new wolf for a new name*** The game play is very straight forward with some extra features as well. As a wolf you have access to Scent Mode that enables you to find the nearest bears, elks or other wolves. You can walk or run You accept quests that get displayed in the screen. Before you can find a mate and work your way up the wolf social hierarchy you must first do one of the beginner quests which entails you to go to different areas of the pack’s territory and make foreign wolves leave your pack’s territory. By following scents and tracking markers you make it to your first enemy wolf who wants to come in and take over. You need to make him leave and you enter Battle Mode which is turn-based depending on what commands you give your wolf. Your wolf’s features changes according to the actions giving (which are all scientifically accurate, for the most part). Either by making it give in or by defeating in cold blood you become victorious and are inclined to find a late. you find your pack and sniff out the most eligible mate. Its all rather fun and very insightful learning about the balance of nature within your territory. True you can go read wiki articles, or you can play and interact it all out, the choice is yours.
Education Standpoint:8/10 – With the majority of all the player’s actions in accordance to the wolf’s onscreen it is very true to nature. Being backed by eduWebs, its no wonder this game is one of the better Ecology Educative games I have seen recently. This was very rough in the beginning since its start in 2005, but I believe it has gone through some major changes to ensure playability and focus on both the interactivity and the learning aspects it strove to accomplish.
Art Ascetics:6/10 – Being rather generous one may think this is a game made for Windows 98 and that era of games. Although the engine is working and not crazy lagging, although rendering takes some time, its a small wonder as to how rendering takes so long with the same trees copy and duplicated across a semi-stale environment. The environment isn’t anything to win awards over, but the wolf interactions are probably the best part and what you are really playing for, that and the learning aspects.
Game Design:8/10 – Following the five major Elements of Game Design: Space, Components, Mechanics, Goals and Rules, WolfQuest stays true to all its values. Having a nice balance between Design and Play, making sure its not too easy, but challenging enough to have the most seasoned of gamers working a sweat; fighting other wolves, hunting and mating is all true to life. Now the element that might get people a bit frustrated is the limited amount of options, now in all fairness these are realistic wolves; not elemental, not mutant nor heroic.
WolfQuest: Learning About Wolf Ecology Just Got More Fun by VG (bluebarker) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.Based on a work at www.wolfquest.org.
Story 16 – You Can Never Go Home by Foozzzball as read by Sorin
Author:
Howdy folks!
This week we’re happy to introduce a new reader, Sorin, and a new writer to the podcast, Foozzzball. Foozzzball’s work has appeared in numerous publications, most recently Heat, and we’re excited to have one of his stories! Enjoy the reading, and do join us for our first ‘remote’ episode next week. …
…read more at www.baddogbookclub.com
Find the full article here: The Bad Dog Book Club
The contents of this Podcast may have adult language and adult themes. The content is not produced by Furry News Network, but is posted for your convenience.
Cuddly Like A Fox: Meet Gizmo, A Pet Fox, And His Keeper
Author: Woot Blog
“It’s the last day of Pet Week on the Woot blog, and to me, no wild animal seems like a more appealing pet than a fox. They’re cute, smart, playful, closely related enough to dogs to seem petlike, but not as scary as wolves. Indeed, as a decades=long Russian breeding experiment shows, when selectively bred for tameness, foxes become more doglike, both temperamentally and physically. Naturally, I was fascinated by the blog The Pet Fox, and its wealth of posts about fox care, fox behavior, and the editor’s own pet fox, Gizmo (pictured throughout this blog). I just had to ask the editor, who goes by the online handle Ragtatter, about what it’s like to share a home with these one of these lithe, resourceful, tufty-tailed quadrapeds…”
Find the full article here: WOOT Blog
Has anyone made glasses for a fursuit head?
I've had a partial suit made, but it's up to me to fashion cosmetic glasses for it (my fursona wears glasses like these. Now, I'm no welder, and I don't even have tools to solder. Can anyone suggest a material that would be good to fashion them out of? I have access to lots of craft stores, but don't even know where to begin.
I had thought of using a coat-hanger, but I think the metal would be too thick to bend properly, and I also can't think of a way to weld the pieces together without the proper tools.
Would appreciate any advice, or any examples of what others have done.
submitted by Jaycatt[link] [12 comments]
Exclusive Clip: My Little Pony Back for Season Two
Author: Ash M. Cairo
After a long summer that was sadly missing in horseplay and cutie marks, My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic is back for its second season.
(Spoiler alert: Minor plot points follow in the text and video.)
In the exclusive clip above, it appears there is trouble in Equestria. The spirit of Chaos, Discord, has escaped imprisonment in stone and has come to torment Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the pony gang.
A Furry “rare” book again?
Author: Fred
Four months ago, Amazon.com was selling the out-of-print first edition of “Best in Show: Fifteen Years of Outstanding Furry Fiction” for $ 348.33. Now it’s $ 477.82 (+ $ 3.49 shipping). Is anyone really paying these prices? (Retitled second edition Furry! is still in print for $ 11.11)
Creative Commons: Full post may be available under a free license.
Is that cow really a tank? Kill it!
Author: Fred
A new British “invisibility cloak” infra-red system, Adaptiv, makes it possible to disguise military vehicles as large animals such as cows, even while moving. This has the potential during warfare to get a lot of animals killed, just to play safe.
Glowing Kittens Fight Feline AIDS
Scientists have genetically modified cats by infecting their eggs with a virus containing a foreign gene—the first time this method has worked in a carnivore. Experts say the advance could make the cat a valuable new genetic model—and potentially protect it from an HIV-like virus.
Find the full article here: furryne.ws | Published News
Elk rescued from tree
Author: RingtailedFox
Yes, you read that right. An intoxicated elk found himself up a tree with no way down… a situation only cats are supposed to find themselves in. [Newser.com]
According to Sweden’s edition of The Local, the elk was grazing on fermenting apples that had fallen off the tree, and became a bit drunk; a common phenomenon. What happened next is anything but: the elk decided to eat the apples located higher up in the tree, and began to climb it. The majestic, antlered creature became entangled within the tree’s limbs, and required assistance from rescuers to get back onto terra firma.
Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought
Creative Commons: Full post may be available under a free license.
Head Down the Mysterly River
Bill Willingham is best known as the creator of the Fables comic book series — which has, of course, taken more than a few furry turns itself. Now he’s trying his hand at a different sort of creation: A hardcover graphic novel for young readers called Down the Mysterly River, illustrated by Mark Buckingham. Here, we’ll let Amazon explain: “Max ‘the Wolf’ is a top-notch Boy Scout, an expert at orienteering and a master of being prepared. So it is a little odd that he suddenly finds himself, with no recollection of his immediate past, lost in an unfamiliar wood. Even odder still, he encounters a badger named Banderbrock, a black bear named Walden, and McTavish the Monster (who might also be an old barn cat)—all of whom talk—and who are as clueless as Max. Before long, Max and his friends are on the run from a relentless group of hunters and their deadly hounds. Armed with powerful blue swords and known as the Blue Cutters, these hunters capture and change the very essence of their prey. For what purpose, Max can’t guess. But unless he can solve the mystery of the strange forested world he’s landed in, Max may find himself and his friends changed beyond recognition, lost in a lost world… ” It’s available now from Starscape.
image c. 2011 Starscape
2012 Ursa Major Awards venue announced
Author: Fred
The 2012 Ursa Major Awards, for the best in anthropomorphic literature and art of 2011, will be presented in a ceremony at Califur 8, at the Irvine Marriott Hotel in Irvine, California on 1–3 June 2012.
The 2011 Awards were presented at Morphicon 2011 in Columbus, Ohio on 13 May 2011. The Awards have been presented at Califur once before, in 2007.
Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought
Creative Commons: Full post may be available under a free license.
Furcast Episode 52: Murders Per Gangster
Author: E-Mail Hidden (..::XANA::.. Creations)
Test drive the new black striped SUV, with over 30MPG (murders per gangster) today! Just sign and drive.
Download MP3 (Right-click, Save)
News:
Interviewee:
- Bucktown Tiger – “Lyricist, keyboardist, and comedian who specializes in furry-themed hip-hop songs, voiceovers, and freestyles, as lead shopwrecker of Paw Recognize Paw Studios.”
Topic of the Week:
- Furry Musicians
Emails:
- Anonymous – “My ex girlfriend and local furs. HELP X_X”
- Dr. Nixon – “Friends, What a confusing way of life.”
Shout-outs:
- Frozen – “Shout out and following up on a chat”
Good Night Sweet Prince.
R.I.P our Friend Dimitri, may you always Party Hard.
http://content.xanacreations.com/furcast/ep/fc-52.mp3
Find the full article here: FurCast
The contents of this Podcast may have adult language and adult themes. The content is not produced by Furry News Network, but is posted for your convenience.
Furries: are we trending?
Author: Equivamp
Hot Topic, a teen-oriented franchise, is well known for buying its stock based on the current fashion trends of its target audience.
Lately, however, the products have become more and more “furry”. From animal “spirit hoods” to coats with tails attached, even going so far as to selling a wolf costume in time for Halloween, it’s certainly becoming something of interest to furries, even if Hot Topic is unaware of it.
Perhaps this is an essential time for furries that wish to become more public; after all, if there are already young pseudo-fursuiters traversing the streets, perhaps they will find enjoyment, welcomed into a community that has been costuming long before they thought it would be fun to wear a tail.
Creative Commons: Full post may be available under a free license.
If this does not fit here, there is no subreddit where it does. (OK, I'm certain I'll be proven wrong in the comments but regardless...)
Is anybody going to FurFright 2011?
I'll be going to FurFright this year, and it will be my second fur con. (Anthrocon 2011 was my first :D ) I met a lot of great people at AC11, but most were just random, friendly people that were fun to be around for a few hours. There were a few furs I had talked to online and had WANTED to meet up with, but we didn't plan properly, so it didn't happen. (Anthrocon is HUGE, so it would be hard to find a person anyway.)
I'll be going with (and rooming with) two of my closest fur-friends, so I won't be alone or anything. I was just curious if there were any awesome furs that would be willing to meet up there...maybe we can make some new friends! It would be awesome if somebody here has gone to FF before, too, and could help me and my friends around, show us fun things to do and see at the con, etc. OR, if you've been to FF before, but wont be going or don't want to meet up, it would be awesome to talk to you so i could learn some more about the con!
I know it will be much different than AC, and especially much smaller, but I'm still looking forward to an awesome time, and meeting new people :)
TL;DR : I'm going to FF this year and would like to possibly meet up and/or make friends with another friendly fur there!
And just for some info about me, I'm still a teenager(and so are my friends), I'm a girl, and no. I do NOT like yiff. Call me Fusion or Fuse. Its my fursona's name.
submitted by theblueroanfilly[link] [26 comments]
Fur suit advances and techniques vs mascots
[link]
they note that mascot in suit is a really nasty job.
Now the same environment is that of fursuiting.
I had thought that most fursuiters know about the heat problem and
have worked hard to overcome it.
Opinions of Therians
Forgive me for making this post on a throw-away account, but I'm very curious of the furry community's opinion/views of those that view themselves as 'Therian'. I've never had leanings or connections to the furry community myself, but have recognized myself as Therian for 4 years, now, with experiences back to the age of 14 (7 years ago). The few interactions with this community have been rather uninformative, and the opinions of the internet in general cannot be trusted, so, upon discovering this subreddit, I hope to find some truth to the possible connections between these two phenomenons. Thank you for your time, as I am sure this may lead to a quite interesting discussion
submitted by bishopslanding[link] [80 comments]