Locally-owned software company BTK Software has created Poacher Down, which it claims is the world's first anti-poaching game for Android and Apple users.
The initial version of this first person shooter game utilises three language options including Zulu and Afrikaans which, BTK Software says, is another first for international gaming.
BTK Software says it designed the app to help curb the epidemic of poaching in Southern Africa and hopes to generate much-needed international awareness and funds for this cause.
The company partnered with local anti-poaching organisation the Rhino Pride Foundation as the beneficiary of all national and international donations generated though the app.
BTK Software was founded by local entrepreneur Werner van der Westhuizen in 2013. It specialises in high-tech software designs and recently expanded into the gaming sphere.
Established in SA in 2015, the Rhino Pride Foundation was founded by specialist wildlife veterinarian Dr Jana Pretorius, who saw an urgent need to tackle the devastating rhino poaching crisis head-on.
The foundation works to create layered security sanctuaries with ultra-secure perimeters. Utilising technology to track and stop poachers, the sanctuaries feature high-tech early warning systems with buffer zones. These enable reaction teams to locate and apprehend poachers before they can gain access to the reserves.
Poacher Down is an action-packed shooter game where the user needs to protect an array of animals from an ever-increasing number of poachers. The user can choose from a range of weapons, guns, grenades and bullets. The game has slow motion action sequences for kill shots.
"The idea from the beginning was to create a world-class action game that is entertaining and fun to play. The more people that play the game, the better," says Van der Westhuizen.
"Users can help by simply clicking on a donation button in the game. We also plan on adding a couple more language options to unlock additional local and international market segments, such as Mandarin, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish and other South African languages. Players like to hear the poachers shout, cry and make jokes in their native tongue."
He points out that the primary focus of the game is to create international awareness and funds for anti-poaching groups. "As a company, we wanted to help in some way and this is how we are doing it.
"Apps are a great good way of penetrating international markets and to create awareness about a specific cause. We designed everything from scratch. We designed the stages, the bullet impact points, range of bullets and damage percentage from scratch.
"We also spent some time and money on recording the custom Afrikaans, Zulu and English language options in the game at a sound studio in Midrand. The idea was to make the poachers scream and swear in a language you could understand. It's also the first international game to use Zulu and Afrikaans. It's pretty cool to hear your own language in a game for a change."
Van der Westhuizen notes that although the game comes across as gruesome and graphic at times, the user can simply switch off the blood and strong language in the game's settings menu.
Another perk in the game is the use of an international leader board where users can see their ranking compared to all the other players across the globe, he adds.
"This is definitely an innovative approach to creating awareness for the poaching epidemic and we look forward to see what the public will make of this."
The app is available for free download on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
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