Creating Zoos in Planet Zoo

As a kid I used to play a videogame called "Zoo Tycoon". A few years ago, a spritual successor to this game was announced: Planet Zoo. I was beyond excited to start playing it and build the zoos of my dreams. When the game came out, I was sucked in completely. The game gives players an incredible amount freedom, and tools to create zoos with astonishing detail. It didn't take long for me to get started on a real challenge, the project I am most known for; a recreation of my favorite zoo, Safaripark Beekse Bergen.

Since then, the project has evolved into something bigger than I could have ever imagined. I started making YouTube videos about it, which has grown a decent audience interested in my progress.

It's difficult to put into words what I enjoy so much about this project. I see it as a big puzzle. The game provides pieces, but you have to be very creative to put them together in such a way that you can manage to mimic the real life zoo.

Eventually the zoo caught wind of what I was doing, and they involved the local news. It made for a fun, lighthearted story during a difficult time where the zoo had to be closed due to covid. But this did give me some recognition within the zoo, and through this connection, I managed to get convince them to collaborate on my graduation project.

As I kept working on the project, I became more and more intersted in not just the Beekse Bergen, but zoos in general. I started visiting all kinds of zoos around the Netherlands to take inspiration from. I also started to read books about zoo design, and applied this into my own projects in the game.

A big reason people enjoy watching my YouTube videos, is to get inspiration for their own Planet Zoo projects. I decided to help them with this by starting to document other zoos I visit in a series called "Real Life Zoo Tours"

Zoos have become a huge part of my life. I absolutely adore visiting them, learning about animals I'd never even heard of and admiring the design.