Educational Software
Evaluation
Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa
Vinnette Gibson
PSE 6608
Does it Teach Intended Concepts?
Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa teaches
the importance of a balanced
ecosystem and preservation of an
environment.
Concepts Concise and Clear
• The game sends the player on quests suggested as
"goals."
• The player is given goals of what could be favorable for
their ecosystem. For example, a text box may appear
advising the player that more shrubbery is needed for
the zebras to eat. This would be a quest to obtain and
plant more bushes.
• However, these quests are not required in a specific
order. One may choose to refill the waterhole before
planting more bushes but should keep in mind the longer
he/she puts off the goals, the faster the ecosystem may
deteriorate.
System Requirements
• PC: Windows 98SE/2000/Me/XP, 600 MHz or
faster cpu, 40 MB hard drive space, 256 MB
RAM, DirectX 7 or later, Direct 3D compatible
display with 32MB VRAM, CD-ROM,
DirectSound compatible sound card .
Mac: MacOS 10.2.8 thru 10.4.4, powerMac G4
600 MHz or faster cpu, 40 MB hard drive space,
256 MB RAM, nVidia geForce or ATI Radeon
compatible 3D display with 32MB VRAM, CDROM, OpenAL compatible audio device .
Program Loads Without Difficulty
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No difficulty in loading the program
No need to consult a manual
Clear instructions to set up the game
Game automatically runs from the CD and
appears on the screen
• Game guides the players through the
process
Technical Aspects
• The program loads quickly
• Technical help is readily
available:
– There is a large section
of FAQ’s which address
any problem a student or
teacher would encounter
and the solution to fix it
• Clear instructions are
provided to play the games
Clear Instruction on Learning
• Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa is a game in which
players learn the importance of a balanced ecosystem.
• Set in Africa, the player must maintain many diverse
habitats including grasslands, waterholes, and desert
plains. To accomplish this, the player must learn to
balance food, water, and animal population size.
• The player is not represented in the game as a character
that interacts with the animals, but instead views the
game as an outside observer. The player can adjust
his/her vantage point with the keyboard arrows and
mouse.
Clear Instruction on Learning
• By using the right and left arrows and up
(forwards) and down (backwards) arrows,
the player can travel over Africa to monitor
his/her developing ecosystem.
• By using the mouse to click additional up
and down arrows on the screen, the player
can adjust his/ her height over Africa
ranging from ground level to an
overlooking aerial view.
Students Operate the Software
Without Problems
Instructions pop up automatically, through a
step by step tutorial of the game.
Interaction
• This is a game in which students must keep the
ecosystem balanced and preserve the life of
animals.
• the game instills the understanding of what
factors are essential for a thriving population and
how alterations can be devastating.
• If the waterhole dries up, the flamingos will lose
their homes and all animals will dehydrate; if
there is not enough vegetation, animals will
starve.
Systematic Instructional Approach
Lessons are systematic
Students must follow step by
step instructions to
understand the games
Color, Sound, Graphics
Color graphics and sound represent the
real life situation in the African
ecosystem.
They help students to understand the
concept of what a real ecosystem is like.
Age Group
Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa is most appropriate for
ages 6-12 depending on the difficulty level chosen.
The difficulty levels are easy, medium and hard.
Creativity and High Thinking Skills
• The game is about raising and nurturing
the animals to help build a thriving
ecosystem, all of which requires
dedication and problem solving.
• Players must take care of animals, keep
them alive - and not shoot them
Price
• Available @ http://www.amazon.com/
• The program is offered for one month as a
free trial and then it costs $9.99 to buy the
software
• Reduced from 19.95, the price of average
software programs
Negatives?
None Detected
PC or MAC?
Both
Recommendations
Children will enjoy playing this game.
It teaches important skills about the ecosystem.
I recommend it as a good choice for educational
software
Bibliography
Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa is a game in which
players learn the importance of a balanced
ecosystem. Retrieved June 13, 2008 website:
http://www.pocketwatchgames.com/wildlifetycoon/index_wildlifetycoon.php