Poll: Would you be interested in playing as an animal in a game?

[Joey Banana]

And i'm not talking about Sonic or Donkey Kong.

No, a real animal. Everybody likes tigers, right? So you'd be a tiger, doing tiger things. You'd have an open world without any traditional objectives or missions. The only thing you'd have to care about would be survival. Hunting & fighting would be most of the gameplay obviously, but let's add a group of human hunters trying to kill you aswell to create some extra tension. Maybe even like DayZ with other gamers playing tigers, lions and predators.

It doesn't even have to be tigers. Eagles, sharks, elephants, take your pick.

Now, i'm fairly new here, so i'm sorry if this question has been asked before.

It's just that i've recently thought about how many animals i've fought agianst and how many i've actually played as in my life as a gamer. Real animals, not talking, sentient beings that look like animals.

Or alernatively, you could name a game that fits my description.

 

[Elfgore]

There is that one game on steam where you play as a female badger trying to get you and your babies to safety. It's pretty short though and not really open-world. The name escapes me at the time.

OT: I'd love to play a game like this. The animal diversity per game would have to be quite large though, as I could see myself getting bored rather quickly. The gameplay would have to be really good as well, since that all it has to rely on.

 

[shrekfan246]

Tokyo Jungle flirts with the idea, especially from a survival aspect, though I don't believe there are any humans in the world in that game. You start out as a Pomeranian and proceed from there, also getting to play as deer and other such things. And there are Velociraptors, because why not?

Otherwise, though it's a far more fantastical style of game, as with many of these threads which pop up proposing some non-standard idea for a video game, the game which primarily comes to mind is Okami. Admittedly you're a god, but you're a wolf-god, and not an anthropomorphic one. In the same vein, Ecco the Dolphin was a tough-as-nails sci-fi... action game I suppose? ... where you controlled a dolphin and swam through the ocean and had to fight aliens.

Other options seem to be pretty limited, though, when you rule out things like Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot and Banjo-Kazooie. There used to be quite a few games where you played as an animal, but... well, very few "realistic" ones.

EDIT: Oh yeah, the game Elfgore is talking about it Shelter. I believe Shelter 2 is already in the process of being developed, too. You're a badger, and you're trying to protect your young'uns while bringing them... er... somewhere. I don't know, I haven't played it, just seen a bit of gameplay.

 

[Mocmocman]

My sister had this game that you played as a wolf in Yellowstone, and go around and do wolf things. Hunted things and had puppies and whatnot.

 

[Aarun]

Pretty sure A Dog's Life for Playstation 2 sort of fits that bill, I remember liking that when I was younger, although to be honest it probably doesn't hold up these days, looking back.

 

[Voulan]

Tokyo Jungle flirts with the idea, especially from a survival aspect, though I don't believe there are any humans in the world in that game. You start out as a Pomeranian and proceed from there, also getting to play as deer and other such things.

Tokyo Jungle was also the game that sprung to my mind. A post-apocalyptic world where humans are extinct, so animals are the only characters to play as running around a ruined Tokyo. It makes survival more arcade-like though, but I think it's better than the OP's suggestion - if it's too realistic then there's not much gameplay involved. But perhaps I just enjoy my story-based gameplay. I might be too much into my fantasy games, but I like to have more to a story than just pure "you are a fox, survive the wilderness". If the game involved avoiding human hunters and predators though then it might make a great stealth horror game.

What I'm basically saying is I'd absolutely love to have more animal games, as long as they're not too boring. Most animal documentaries make out that animals are constantly struggling with their environment - they're constantly in danger and always hungry and looking for food. The actual reality is completely the opposite. Documentaries are designed to be action-packed and interesting, and often fake narration to create drama. You know how lions are often showing hunting, and that's the highlight of the show? They actually spend far more of their day (I'm talking around 18 hours) lounging around, sleeping and chilling out. The notion of the terrible outdoors is an old, outdated depiction of what actually happens.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I'm a bit of a nut when it comes to owls so I think a game where you play as an owl would be pretty cool. Hunting at night, swooping down in the dark to pick off small prey. Turning your head around to see behind you. You know, cool owl things.

 

[BarkBarker]

I roleplayed so much in Okami when you lose your powers due to a curse, the fact they give you a bark option made it all the more fun. I think the idea has lots of potential for fun gameplay elements, as well as really give an insight into the life of animals to those less familiar.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

I'd love to play as an assortment of animals in either a zombie apocalypse or fantasy setting, one where I can either smash through things or solve puzzles using my animalstic traits and abilities, I'd love to see more games like those

 

[Eve Charm]

ya gonna say the same thing, tokyo jungle was pretty cool. I wish it got an actual vita port >.>

also what about goat simulator

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Certainly. I loved E.V.O., Space Station: Silicon Valley and playing as Wolf Link in Twilight Princess. I was also a fan of Animorphs and I would have gladly played a game of that if it was anywhere close to how I pictured the books.

Wolves and other quadrupedal canines and felines would probably be the most adaptable to a standard control scheme, and those are probably the most common favourite animals too.

 

[Ivailo Todorov]

My sister had this game that you played as a wolf in Yellowstone, and go around and do wolf things. Hunted things and had puppies and whatnot.

If you are wondering the game is called WolfQuest

OT:When I read the title Tokyo Jungle immedietly sprang to mind.It's basically a post-apocalyptic animal survival game where the humans have died out and animals are roaming Tokyo surviving,mating and other such animal things.Such a shame that its a PS3 exclusive.

 

[likalaruku]

Yeah. LOTRO has a Monster Play mode; you get a taste of it early in the game when you get a quest to play as a chicken with 1hp for as long as you can stay alive. I would like to see this in more games.

Spoiler

Spoiler

There's also Mabinogi, where you can play AS your mount without your character. Mounts level & attack, but have a limited summon time, but you can have a ton of mounts.

Spoiler

 

[TristanBelmont]

Well, after the recent release of Goat Simulator, the greatest game ever made, I think we all know the answer to this one....

 

[Avaholic03]

Ecco the Dolphin was pretty decent. Not exactly as realistic as you seem to be looking for, but worth a look if you're simply trying to find games with animal protagonists.

 

[pearcinator]

Space Station Silicon Valley! One of my fave N64 games

You play as a robot chip and you 'jump' into robot animals who all have unique moves and abilities that you need to use to get through each stage.

Made by DMA Design, the developers who are now known by another name...Rockstar North.

 

[likalaruku]

Well, after the recent release of Goat Simulator, the greatest game ever made, I think we all know the answer to this one....

Oh right, I forgot about that one. Pure comic gold. I hear there's a Giraffe Simulator by the same developer.

 

[Adventurer2626]

Absolutely. I already play Wolf Quest when I'm bored. (the very beta wolf game mentioned) I've been working on an 8-bit where you play as a dragon, fly around and eat deer.