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When the developers at Feedtank — a small interactive studio specializing in the creation of playful interactive experiences — were looking for a character to star in their new game, they made a surprising discovery: The pangolin.

Co-Founder of Feedtank, Jonah Warren, explained that he and his team were so moved by the plight of the pangolin, they decided to help raise awareness for pangolins through the new game. We’re excited to announce that Feedtank will be including a link to Project Pangolin from the app’s info page — a unique opportunity to introduce pangolins to a wider audience!

Here’s more about Pangolin (the game):

Project Pangolin: What is “Pangolin”?

Jonah Warren: Pangolin is a physics-based arcade game for the iPhone that turns the classic platformer on its head. Instead of controlling the character, you control the platforms. Your objective on each level is to bounce a small pangolin to a target using a few well-placed trampolines, avoiding spikes and collecting coins and gems along the way.

PP: How did you discover the pangolin for your game?

JW: The idea of the game initially started with an interaction. The idea was to allow the user to bounce a ball around using trampolines, which could be created by tapping the screen with two fingers at the same time. After testing it and being excited by its potential, we started researching animals that roll into a ball … by literally googling “animals that curl into a ball.” After discovering the pangolin, we quickly fell in love with the strange, quirky creature and decided to base the entire game around it. We also decided to embrace its Asian roots, allowing the region’s music, typography and decorative arts to influence the game’s aesthetic.

PP: What inspired you to help raise awareness through Pangolin?

JW: After discovering the pangolin, it became hard not to want to learn more about this odd, fascinating creature. It seemed like the more we learned, the more interesting it got. I remember spending an entire Saturday watching pangolin videos on YouTube, entranced by shots of its unbelievably long tongue and its funny half-upright gait. We were also saddened to learn about how often it was poached for its meat and scales. This motivated us to reach out to organizations such as Project Pangolin and Save Pangolins to see how we could help and / or work together.

PP: Are there any other wildlife-themed projects in the works at your studio?

JW: We currently don’t have anything specific planned, as we’re trying to focus on Pangolin at the moment. However, we do have lots of game ideas that we’d like to make, so who knows.

PP: How do people purchase/download Pangolin?

JW: If you have an iPhone, you can just type in “pangolin” into the App Store. It should be the first search result you see. The game itself and the first 10 levels are free to download. There is an in-app purchase for $0.99 for an additional 40 levels that introduce a number of new items, like moving platforms, spikes that can roll and fall, and portals that transport you from place to place.

Addicted!

I’ve downloaded Pangolin on my iPhone and I’m addicted! After navigating my pangolin through “Education” (the first ten levels), the $0.99 purchase for “Exploration” (the additional 40 levels) was irresistible. Look out for those spikes!

Download Pangolin from the iTunes Store.

Author: Rhishja Cota-Larson