About Zoo Tycoon Unlimited
It was a bright fall day in 2001 when I strolled into my local game store looking for something new to play. As I was strolling along the aisles, a box jumped out at me... It was called Zoo Tycoon and it was different from any game I had ever played before. So I picked it up, and the rest was history as they say... No, wait... don't go. There is more to the story I promise....
I fell in love with the game instantly, and soon found myself answering questions on message boards and such.. and in doing so, discovered that there wasn't a whole lot in the way of a community for the game. So I set out to open up my own website to help others fall in love with the game. The site officially opened on October 25, 2001 and was located at http://hvnsent309.tripod.com/zootycoonunlimited . We grew and grew and several times I needed to up the bandwidth to keep up with the demand.
Over the years, we tried several forums that were all very popular, but for one reason or another they needed to be shut down. Since the forum aspect seemed to be a very important part of the community, I was frustrated and looking for answers. For a time, the site was without a forum though still growing in popularity. In March of 2003 we decided to make our site easier to find and changed the site address to http://www.zootycoonunlimited.com . The year chugged along, and there was much to do and many new community members finding Zoo Tycoon.
Then in late 2003, I was approached by a community member named Zoxaeus. She was looking to be a part of the community and noticed that we were without a forum. She offered to get us set up in return for being an admin. So Zoo Tycoon Unlimited Forums was born. It was at these forums that the Community Zoo project found new life and the Around The World event was born. I chose the Around The World event because at the time, we had visitors from 102 countries making regular visits to the main site. We pitched the idea to Microsoft and they were thrilled to help us get the word out. They posted a blurb on the main site about the event and provided LOTS of prizes. This event became a yearly event...
As with any large undertaking, more staff were brought on board... and that is where problems began to develop. Personalities began to conflict, and people that were friends became angry with each other. Soon there was no turning back, and in 2005, I parted ways with Zoxaeus and the staff at what is now Zoo Tycoon Unleashed Forums. I was a tad discouraged to find myself again alone and without a forum. I contemplated shutting down the site and giving up, but I found that I loved the community too much to turn my back.
I came across a fairly new forum software called WOWbb, and decided to check it out. Upon looking, I was drawn in by how easy it was to set up the board. That was part of my problem every other time - that I didn't know how to set up the board and was relying on others to do it for me. So now, I was responsible for the board and I had learned my lesson about allowing others to have too much control. In October 2005, we opened up the new and improved Zoo Tycoon Unlimited Forums. I worked VERY hard to get the board up to where I felt it should be, and we continue to grow faster each day that passes.
I have struggled to keep the site afloat over the past year or two, as personal issues take precedence over the board and several times I thought about shutting down entirely. Then I was blessed to find AuroraBorealis999, who came on board to help with the site. I was sure things were looking up... However, it was just the two of us for a while, and we struggled to juggle home and the board. I was again thinking of shutting down the site. Then another turn of luck - we brought several more staff members on board: zoo tycoon 1 master and Doc Montey.
As of today, Zoo Tycoon Unlimited Forums is flourishing, both with the help of the staff and with the team at WowUltra where we have our board software and hosting with. We continue to grow and evolve each day... which prompted our desicion this week to close down the www.zootycoonunlimited.com site and move all information here to the forums. It was a tough choice, but we feel that it offers you a better experience as our focus is dedicated solely to maintaining and running one site instead of two. For everyone who supported that site since it's start in 2001 - THANK YOU! For those of you who are new to the Zoo Tycoon Unlimited Family - WELCOME! We hope to continue to serve you in the years to come.
Wonder what we looked like over the years? Check out some of these: