Science stuff
Why you should care about SORS
It’s a bit of a mouthful, but Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS), the technology in our latest game, is offering promising new ways of diagnosing certain serious conditions.
One of these is osteoporosis. In this bone disease, the density of the bone decreases over time, leading to a higher chance of bone fractures.
SORS Dev Log Part 3 – science, activate!
How do you include real science in a game without making it dull, or presuming some level of knowledge in the player?
That was our challenge with SORS. It was one we imposed upon ourselves, but then our motto is ‘to make games inspired by real science'.
Can monkeys recognise themselves in mirrors?
The mirror test is meant to help indicate if a species is capable of higher level thinking- above and beyond just instinct.
The group of species that can recognize their own reflections in mirrors is an exclusive one. All great apes can (Humans, Bonobos, Chimpanzees, Orangutans and Gorillas), as well as Elephants, Bottlenose dolphins, Orcas and European Magpies.
The experiment setup is deceptively simple- a mark is placed on the animal and they are given a mirror, the idea being they pass the test if they manage to identify the mark, thus showing they are aware they’re looking at a reflection of themselves.
Nikolas Tinbergen and his 4 questions
A Dutch ethologist and ornithologist, Tinbergen received the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Lorenz and von Frisch for their work on animal behaviour.
Arguably Tinbergen’s most famous contribution were the ‘four questions’ around how and why an animal exhibited a certain behaviour. These were:
Welcome to Ethology!
Monkey Panic is all about behaviour; specifically that of different primates. The game focuses solely on spotting predators, but there is a whole scientific field dedicated to studying all animal behaviours. That field is called Ethology.
The Squirrel Monkey (Genus Saimiri) and ‘urine-washing’
Seen in the game, squirrel monkeys (there are 5 different species) communicate using complex vocalizations and behaviours. The type of call associated with predator alerts is known as “Chucks” but these can also be used in mother-infant interactions and as sexual behaviour.
About us
We develop digital games inspired by real science. Our games are for everyone and you don’t need to know any science to play them – we want players to have fun, but if you feel like learning a bit about the world along the way, our games let you do that too (and then you can impress your friends with knowledge).