Dodo A Gogo

Dodo A Gogo was created by Stratum Games for ROM Game Jam 2014

Race for Survival

Oh no! Rats have invaded the island of Mauritius!

As the last of the dodos, how long can you evade this new invasive species? Gain more time by seeking out delicious fruit, but don't let the rats catch you!

The Facts Behind the Game

The Dodo is an extinct flightless bird which was only found on the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. First mentioned by sailors in the 1500’s, Dodos were driven to extinction within 200 years or less of their discovery. The poster child for extinction due to human interference, modern scientists believe that while sailors clubbed and ate their share of the plump birds, this was likely not the principal cause of their extinction. Rather, it was probably more to do with the introduction of other species (e.g., pigs, monkeys and rats) by humans which variously competed with the dodos for food and/or ate their eggs. 

The ROM Connection

Most of the dodo remains found in museums today are skeletons reconstructed from bones found at the Mare aux Songes locality in Mauritius. The ROM’s skeleton was originally assembled in the 1860s by Sir Richard Owen (the man who, among other accomplishments, came up with the word “dinosaur”). Originally purchased by Harvard University, the ROM traded an Anchiceratops skull for it in 1938 - it is the only dodo skeleton in Canada.

What's a Game Jam?

At a ROM Game Jam, teams of developers spend a weekend at the ROM learning from collections and curators and using those ideas to build fun games inspired by the museum.  With only two days to research and create their games, the results can be weird, wacky, and downright wonderful!