Again, go the GTA3 route, and every time you're "wasted," have the screen fade out and then fade in again with the character someplace else.

Maybe the lion doesn't eat you, per se, but gives you a good swipe of the paw, and the screen goes black. Then it slowly fades back in, like you're waking up from being unconscious, and you're in the zoo hospital, from which you then have to escape.

So again, kinda like GTA. If you're "busted" (a.k.a. caught by the zookeepers) you go back to your cage. If you're "wasted" you go to the vet's office.

Dude the idea was supposed to be non-violent :) Ah the human mind, ever so violent...

That's what I'm saying. Instead of having the lion EAT the monkey, just have him SWAT the monkey.

Which makes me think you should put in an electric fence somewhere so that you can SHOCK the monkey.

Wait a minute, did I misinterpret this?

You slave over a design full of all your original work and ideas, and the university automatically gets the copyright??

What about drunk the monkey?
Hell, why not just spank the monkey ?

unrelated(will delete this after a few days): Nelly, you're from Manchester? Grrrrrr. Dinamo Bucharest - Man Utd 1-2. Grrrrrr. Go Arsenal!

Basically.

They only tolds us about this later though... bastards. :(

Seriously though, it is kind of annoying, but from what I understand they're not too fussy about enforcing it, so they won't keep you from using your own stuff however you like and if you really wanted, you could probably get the rights back from them - if, say, you wanted to do something commercial with it.

I guess it's just something they have in place so they can automatically use student work as promotional material. It's a good incentive to also do your own stuff in your spare time though. ;)

Because Peter Gabriel didn't sing about that.

I really, really like this idea.

But how will inventory be managed? Can only one item be held at any one time? This popped into my head because the game description mentions hiding items behind your back with your tail.

Also, I like Trep's idea of 'dying'. The monkey should be chased out, but there should also be some sort of penalty for dying, like having to begin at some different spot. Not necessarily your own cage, but perhaps... a info/map booth for visitors? Dunno.

It did say that could store items in your cage, hidden under straw or something. So you could go back and get them. Although I'd go for a bit of suspension of disbelief and make certain items always available once you find them, like the key ring and the map. Having to go all the way to your cage and back every time you need to open a door isn't fun.

However, "quest" items should be a one-at-a-time deal. Unless you're able to steal a purse or backpack from a zoo visitor, which lets you carry a few more things but may limit your mobility. You won't be able to swing from tree to tree if you've got a fully-loaded backpack, for example. Just too heavy for a little monkey.

Just curious, Dodo, HAVE you thought of submitting this idea to game designers? It seems to me that a company like Double Fine would love to do something like this. You might not get to be as involved as you'd like in the creation of the game, but you'd get to see it made, at least.

Thanks, didn't catch that when I read it I suppose.

Sadly, I don't think many developers are looking outside their own ranks when looking for project ideas. This could be submitted to a publisher but they probably won't bother with it unless you have a developer attached. So it's sort of a Catch-22 situation.

Love the idea! Can't see how I missed this topic earlier on.
Well, a developer such as Telltale is also looking to, quote:
We all know what their big project will be (or well, the second one), but that might take some time. I seriously believe that they "can't help themselves" when they see this idea. IT MUST BE MADE! :9

Seriously though, I don't see how someone hadn't thought of this before, it's brilliant! Aside from what's already mentioned (very good ideas also), consider all the possible moves a monkey could make! He could swing across the zoo without ever touching the ground, go PoP:SoT on any kind of hanging bar or ledge or signpost or tree, heck he might even give the zoo keeper a wedgy/drop his pants (only when not detected and from behind) to delay him in his tracks and amuse the animals (which might +1UP their regard for you) :P

And I know this is a non-violent game, but please tell me Monkey is going to have some kind of ability to, for instance pick up a can and throw it somewhere using his tail to distract the "guards", in a thief/NOLF like manner :D Damn when I imagine the possibilities, it's solid! Please make this game, make it as a HL2 "mod" if all else fails, PLEASE :9

ConcreteRancor: Sure it would be fun to see it made, but if it ever was made I'd want to be in on it.

However, how I feel about that possibility is largely irrelevant, as pretty much anyone will tell you that development companies never ever accept games design documents from third parties, unless they've specifically hired them to write one. They don't even look at them for fear of being sued for stealing an idea that they may have already been working on in a similar form.

As for an inventory... I have to admit I hadn't really thought about that in detail, but yeah as I mention in the doc you can hide stuff in your cage. Certain items you'd want to have with you all the time though (like the key-ring, lockpick, map, etc.) so I think I'd probably just have the monkey hide things like that in his fur. Mission-specific items would have to be carried in the hand or tail.

That's exactly the kind of stuff I had in mind. :D

Who knows, maybe I will get to make it some time...

Keeping my fingers crossed! Great ideas Dodo.