How to Make Your Own Zoo Farm Game

Identify the format of the game. For example, if you have programming skills, you could attempt to design a computer-based zoo farm game, similar to MyZoo or Farm Town. If you plan on playing this game with friends or family in a stationary setting, you could design a board game like The Family Farm or Zoomania Zoofari. You could also design other types of non-prop-based games, such as simple scavenger hunts or trivia- or information-based games.

Choose an objective for the game. For example, your goal might be to teach or learn as much as you can about different zoo and farm animals over the course of the game. Similarly, your goal might be to accrue points or travel around a map or route.

Decide whether your game will be competitive or not. A competitive zoo farm game would pit you against an opponent, either a virtual opponent or a real-life opponent, as you both attempt to achieve the objective of the game before or better than the other.

Conceptualize the way in which a game player will move from the start of the game towards the objective of the game. Use brainstorming activities such as concept charts and freewrites, using other games with similar objectives as models. For example, if you have decided to create a zoo farm board game whose objective is to race around a map of a farm's petting zoo against three other competitors, you might have players roll dice or draw cards to determine how they move around the board.

Design a system of risks and rewards for your game. These will keep the game interesting and challenging. For example, for a computer-based game in which you attempt to accrue points based upon how many virtual zoo animals you keep alive over the course of a year, you could introduce risks such as virtual diseases or other ailments that can harm the animals. Similarly, you could introduce rewards such as an excess of food or an especially productive breeding season.

Build a prototype for your game. Focus on the mechanics of the game itself, rather than the added accoutrements like fancy designs or graphics. For example, if you're designing a computer-based game, limit yourself to the coding related to gameplay, rather than the coding related to graphics. If you're designing a scavenger hunt-like game, focus on the types of items to be located and pointed out at a zoo or farm, rather than the layout of the scavenger hunt card.

Test the mechanics of the game with the appropriate number of players. Testing the mechanics requires you to play through the game, taking note of any pauses or glitches that affect the game play. Take special note of any ways in which the game can be too easy or too hard, as well as ways in which the game can become redundant or boring.

Tweak the elements of the game that affect game play negatively. For example, if a card-based zoo game in which players match different zoo animals becomes impossible to lose at a certain point because there are a limited number of animal cards to match, add more card types.

Test and tweak the mechanics until the game play is fixed, enjoyable and challenging.

Add elements to the game to make the aesthetics appealing to players. For example, if you're building a computer-based game, design appealing graphics for the different zoo and farm animals. If you're designing a trivia-based game, develop standardized and easy-to-read score cards or question cards. If you're designing a board game, design a nicely laid out, painted and polished game board and game pieces.