THE GREAT CIRCLE

The Great Circle is an African survival experience set in a Tanzanian wildlife reserve! Experience the daily struggles of hundreds of wild animals in this realistic depiction of nature, and the complicated role that humans play in the environment.

• Play as animal or human
  
• Explore a giant African wildlife reserve
  Realistic environment featuring hundreds of creatures,
  
• Cinematic visuals & realistic environment
  
• Play freely in open world simulation, or play Story Mode
  
• Documentary Mode allows you to record your own wildlife documentaries
  
• Complete story missions to uncover Lore, and explore alternate story endings

WILDLIFE IS EVERYWHERE
Our large open world is already teaming with over 85 animal species. The aim of TGC is to add as many African animal species as possible to create scientifically realistic ecosystems and for the player to fully immerse themselves in life of their creature. Small and stealthy Fennec Fox? Or a large and powerful Elephant? Or maybe a slow but well-defended Sulcata Tortoise? What about life as a butterfly or snake? Each animal has a different story to tell and offers a unique point of view of life

• Already over 20 Bird species: Secretary bird, Tawny owl, White stork, Shoebill Stork...
  
• Already over 18 Mammals: Meerkat, Fennec Fox, Giraffe, Lion, Leopard, Wildebeest, Elephant, Hippo, Zebra, Groot Otter, African Hare, Springbok...
  
• Already over 10 Reptiles: Puff adder, Black Mamba, Green Mamba, West African Crocodile, Sulcata Tortoise, Alligator Snapping Turtle...
  
• Other creatures: African bullfrog, Rhinoceros Beetle, Monarch Butterfly, Fire Salamander, Tarantula...
  
• Planned Animals: Gorilla, Cheetah, Ostrich, Serval, Honey Badger, African Rock Python, Nile Crocodile, Giant Anteater, Warthog, Baboon, Colobus Monkey,
• Yellow Mongoose, Giant Spitting Cobra, African Crowned Eagle...

AMBIENCE
The look of the environment is based on photos of African landscapes. Every sound the player hears in the world comes from a creature making the sound. A player only needs to move in the direction of any sound to find the creature producing it; from lions broadcasting their presence in the distance, to cicadas or birds on the ground a few feet away. As you move from region to region you will notice the ambience changes to reflect the types of animals found in each region.

STORY MODE
This is a structured narrative experience that allows the player to build towards multiple endings. Story mode is available for a limited number of animals and human characters.
DOCUMENTARY MODE
Documentary Mode allows you to record your own wildlife documentaries and write stories for animals. There are currently two implementations planned: The first is in story mode, where you play a human character who is a documentarian and physically drives to where animals are and records them. In story mode the recordings are automatically placed into a structured arrangement based on your chosen template. The second option allows you to control a spectator-cam moving freely around the world, to view and record animals. You may use the built-in recorder, or your own recording software to record and edit clips however you prefer.

ANIMAL GAMEPLAY
Every animal the player encounters is unique and will have its own name, personality, and unique stats. Animals remember their interactions with the player and other animals via scent info. Human players can access additional information from VHF/GPS collared animals such as name, sex, pedigree, location history, and audio recordings, and notes left by previous researchers.

ANIMAL MECHANICS

• Animals have unique Ai & personalities
  
• In-depth animal stats & Attributes
  
• Leveling, XP System
  
• Family Groups & Herds
  
• Nesting & Territory
  
• Mating, Pregnancies, Live births
  
• Migrations prompted by dynamic livability
  
• Tics & Grooming
  
• Short and Long-term illnesses
  
• Large Map includes multiple Regions, Areas, & Biomes
  
• Natural Disasters dynamically change livability of Map areas
  
• Climate Change which impacts each biome differently
  
• Cinematic cutscenes triggered upon entering new regions

STORY OF YOUR LIFE
As you progress, your story will be written automatically, counting days survived, regions migrated, children parented, and more. By the end of your life you can see a detailed list of the important choices you made and the resulting effects. (*A current work in progress expansion on this feature may include an automatically generated documentary recorded passively in the background as you play. Its not guaranteed but Im excited about this feature!)

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE
This principal dictates that every choice the player makes impacts both their animal's survival and the world around them. The wrong diet can lead to disease. Over foraging or hunting can cause an imbalance in the ecosystem that eventually leads to collapse. Hunting cattle can anger farmers and trigger a violent response from local villages. Even natural disasters that are beyond the player's control such as flooding, brush fires, or plagues can force migrations from a favorable area to a more dangerous one. The player must gain in-depth knowledge of the environment & their animal's characteristics in order to make better decisions for their animal's survival. As the timing and progression of all stats influence one another, therefore the development and experience of any given animal can never be predicted or repeated.

HUMAN GAMEPLAY
Human types: Game wardens, Wildlife Photographers, Zoologists, Poachers, Tourists, Farmers, Safari Tour Guide...

• Play the central story as Jennifer Maia, a newly hired park ranger.
  
• Defend the animals and park from illegal activity as a Park Ranger.
  
• Embark on scientific missions as a wildlife Researcher, studying and documenting animals in their natural habits, and monitoring the health of ecosystems.
  
• Save animals in need by offering medical attention as a Veterinarian.
  
• Collect rare photographs for wildlife magazines & researchers as a Wildlife Photographer.
  
• Lead guided safari's through the reserve's beautiful & dangerous terrain as Tour Guide

MULTIPLAYER MODE
Once implemented players would be able to share the experience of living in the wild with friends and other players. Multiplayer will also allow players to interact together with story events, playing cooperatively or in opposition to eachother, and still allowing each player to work towards their individual story endings.

LORE
The central story can be played through the eyes of Jennifer Maia, a newly hired park ranger with a mysterious past whose looking for a fresh start, however while adapting to her new duties, Maia finds herself increasingly entangled in an escalating conflict between her employer the national park, local villagers, and a dangerous gang of poachers.

STORY EVENTS
Additionally, by playing different animals, you can witness or take part in key story events, but from a different point of view. Example: While playing as a park ranger you may hear or read a report about a stampede that killed a villager, if you play Wildebeest, you may actually participate in the frantic escape from hunters that caused the event. The story, characters, and playable points of view will expand in future updates.

SURVIVAL IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
TGC is much more than an eat-drink-grow, simulator. From migrations, to mating, to forming animal relationships and families, navigating territories, and interacting with various humans and exploring lore. There are so many exciting things planned for your in The Great Circle. I hope we have earned your support!


MORE FEATURES

• Large Roster of Animals
  
• Hunt or Forage for Food
  
• Growth
  
• Tics & Grooming
  
• Short & Longterm Illnesses
  
• Family Groups
  
• Leveling & XP
  
• Territory
  
• Pregnancy & Nursing
  
• Large Regional World
  
• Dynamic Weather
  
• Climate Change
  
• Situational Music
  
• Interact with or play as Humans
  
• Documentary Mode
  
• Story Narrative & Lore

BIOMES

• Brush
  
• Grasslands
  
• Savannah
  
• Mountains
  
• Jungle
  
• Wetlands
  
• Desert
  
• Human Villages