Calls of the wild
Kelly Liaw
Massey University College of Creative Arts
How do you get a generation raised on digital entertainment to care about the physical world? You change the way you tell the story. Calls of the Wild is a 2D interactive game that explores how thoughtful game design can spark an interest in New Zealand's endangered birds, while educating and inspiring conservation efforts. Players take on the role of Fern, a Guardian tasked with helping native wildlife across a series of New Zealand-inspired environments. As players explore forests, wetlands, coasts, and urban edges, they discover animals in distress and complete quests inspired by real conservation challenges. Through character dialogue and storytelling, players build relationships with individual species before taking action to help them.