Animal-Helping Video Game

This past summer, 10-year-old Jack Dalton explored the rainforest in Borneo. That’s an island country in Asia. He scanned the forest looking for signs of orangutans. Sometimes he even got to see Fio, one of the orangutans studied by scientists! 

Jack did all of this from his home in Nashua, New Hampshire. He had planned to go to Borneo as a youth ambassador for the Orangutan Alliance. But his trip was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Luckily, the smartphone game Wildeverse (pronounced like will-diverse) brought the rainforest to him.

“When I discovered Wildeverse, it felt like it almost made up for the Borneo trip,” Jack says. 

Jack Dalton is 10 years old. He explored the rainforest in Borneo last year. Borneo is a country in Asia. Borneo is an island. Jack scanned the forest. He looked for signs of orangutans. Sometimes he got to see Fio. Fio is one of the orangutans scientists study!

Jack explored Borneo from his home. Jack lives in Nashua, New Hampshire. Jack planned to go to Borneo as a youth ambassador for the Orangutan Alliance. But his trip was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The smartphone game Wildeverse (pronounced like will-diverse) brought the rainforest to him.

“When I discovered Wildeverse, it felt like it almost made up for the Borneo trip,” Jack says.

Wildeverse uses augmented reality to make it seem like you’re in the rainforest studying animals. As you play, you hunt for different items. By pointing your phone up, you look into trees. By pointing it down, you search the forest floor. 

“The characters and animals are all based on real people and animals,” says Gautam Shah. He’s the founder of Internet of Elephants, the company that made Wildeverse. 

A team of developers made the game using computer code. They teamed up with conservationists and animal behavior experts to use real research in the game. The team’s goal: Raise awareness about what conservationists do.

“We wanted to try to create a direct connection between you and the animals,” says Shah. 

Jack, who shares videos as Kid Conservationist on YouTube, appreciates the effort of Shah and his team. 

“It’s a great idea, combining two things kids love—video games and conservation,” he says. 

Wildeverse uses augmented reality. The game makes it seem like you’re in the rainforest studying animals. You hunt for items as you play. You look into trees by pointing your phone up. You search the forest floor by pointing it down.

“The characters and animals are all based on real people and animals,” says Gautam Shah. Shah is the founder of Internet of Elephants. Internet of Elephants is the company that made Wildeverse.

A team of developers made the game. The developers used computer code. The developers teamed up with conservationists and animal behavior experts. They wanted to use real research in the game. The team’s goal is to help people understand what conservationists do.

“We wanted to try to create a direct connection between you and the animals,” says Shah.

Jack shares videos as Kid Conservationist on YouTube. He appreciates the effort of Shah and his team.

“It’s a great idea, combining two things kids love—video games and conservation,” he says.