{"id":62757,"date":"2024-04-18T13:06:21","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T05:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=62757"},"modified":"2024-04-18T13:07:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T05:07:00","slug":"animal-town-encourages-players-to-play-your-way-to-a-greener-and-bluer-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2024\/04\/18\/animal-town-encourages-players-to-play-your-way-to-a-greener-and-bluer-planet\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Animal Town&#8217; encourages players to &#8216;play your way to a\u00a0greener and\u00a0bluer\u00a0planet&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Videogames can positively influence how people view the world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the very first videogame, Bertie the Brain, was unveiled in 1950, developers have conjured a bewildering array of worlds for us to explore.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From Nintendo\u2019s iconic 1985 Family Computer hit&nbsp;<em>Super Mario<\/em>&nbsp;to Nokia\u2019s addictive 1997&nbsp;<em>Snake&nbsp;<\/em>phone app, videogames have moulded millions of players, ranging from pre-schoolers to senior citizens.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To foster love for Philippine wildlife and biodiversity, the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (DENR-UNDP BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) together with the Forest Foundation Philippines (FFP) recently launched a new mobile game application called Animal Town.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnimal Town is a chill-paced simulation game where you build and manage a tiny town of animals. You can gather resources, develop various characters and complete a host of quests,\u201d explains Animal Town App Developer\u00a0Lord Gosingtian. \u201cThe game also serves as an educational tool to learn about the challenges and solutions to protect Philippine biodiversity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn development since 2019, Animal Town is also a real-world test to gauge if free-to-pay mobile games with in-app purchases can be a viable source for conservation funds,\u201d says DENR-UNDP BIOFIN Philippines Country Manager\u00a0Anabelle Plantilla. There are about 30 million gamers in the Philippines, with roughly 12 million annually spending around PHP700 (USD13) each on their beloved apps and PC games via game downloads and in-app purchases.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are 46 million registered mobile app users in the Philippines, so even a tiny percentage of paying gamers can do a lot to support our country\u2019s conservation initiatives,\u201d says DENR Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and concurrent OIC BMB Director\u00a0Marcial Amaro, Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Funds generated by the new app will be managed by conservation partner FFP while DENR-BMB will identify conservation programmes to be supported by Animal Town.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe will exercise prudent stewardship over the funds generated by Animal Town. We will ensure that the funds are utilized in accordance with the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP) and are directed towards the conservation of our natural resources. We also commit to maintain transparency in reporting the utilization of the funds to our valued players and partners,\u201d says Forest Foundation Philippines Executive Director\u00a0Atty. Jose Andres Canivel.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPeople rarely care about what they don\u2019t understand. And biodiversity is something which still requires awareness raising among the wider population,\u201d adds British Ambassador to the Philippines\u00a0Laure Beaufils. \u201cThe use of technology, specifically mobile applications, could be a game changer here. Animal Town can play a unique role in softly building that understanding in a fun, non-intrusive way. It\u2019s a readymade supplement for educators to teach environmental science and biology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Animal Town hopes to inspire a new generation of gamers to learn about Philippine wildlife. \u201cChildren learn so fast and positively attributing animals from the onset might just inspire today\u2019s tiny tykes to \u2018Level Up\u2019 and do bigger things for a greener and bluer planet,\u201d concludes UNDP Resident Representative\u00a0Dr. Selva Ramachandran.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Animal Town can be downloaded now at the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.ForestFoundationPhilippines.AnimalTown\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Play Store for Android Phones<\/a>\u00a0or the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/animal-town-cute-city-builder\/id6449448164\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple App Store for iOS Phones<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To foster love for Philippine wildlife and biodiversity, the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (DENR-UNDP BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) together with the Forest Foundation Philippines (FFP) recently launched a new mobile game application called Animal Town.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":62758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[34,2506],"class_list":["post-62757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming","tag-gaming-2","tag-gaming-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}