<< IntroductionFrequently Asked Questions (FAQ)>>

Controls

Venture Arctic can be played entirely with a two-button mouse, but you may find it easier to use the keyboard in some circumstances.

Scrolling

Mouse: Right Click and Drag
Keyboard: W, A, S, D, or arrow keys

Change Elevation, Look Around

Mouse: Left+Right Click and Drag or Mousewheel
Keyboard: Q, E, R, F

Change Score Display

Keyboard: Space, Z, X

Tools

Interact with your ecosystem entirely with your tools.
1. To select a tool, move the mouse to the bottom of the screen until the palette pops up.
2. Click on a tool to select it.
3. Then move the tool to where you want to use it and click the left mouse button.
4. Some tools require you to click and drag.
5. You can use the “in-season” tools for free, or you can spend spirit to use “out of season” tools.

Collecting Spirit

In the winter, spirits of animals that have died appear as floating orbs. Click and hold any of your tools nearby to collect them.
Spirit is the currency of the game. You can use it to unlock new tools and animals, use out-of-season tools, or create new animals.

Each spirit is associated with a season. Each animal gives a certain color of spirit as well. For instance, arctic wolves have blue winter spirits. Collect these and you can use winter tools in the other seasons.

Creating Animals

You can create new animals in the world using spirit. While it’s generally more efficient to try to breed your animals naturally, sometimes it’s helpful to be able to create animals in places that they can’t get to on their own.

Scroll through your choices in the bubble on the left-hand side of the palette. Then click on the animal and click somewhere in the world to create the animal. You can only create it if you have enough spirit.

Goals

Achieve goals to progress through the game. Your goal will always be to raise a certain animal’s population to a certain level. After a certain number of goals, you will unlock new environments.

Often, it’s best to focus on creating a balanced ecosystem first – you’ll find that achieving the goals comes naturally. Don’t forget that you can buy new animals to help yourself achieve goals.

Score

Challenge yourself and your friends to get as high a score as possible! The ecosystem score, displayed in the upper-right, doesn’t have any effect on gameplay, but it may help you to figure out how to best balance your ecosystem. The score meter will give you advice on whether you need more of an animal (an UP arrow), less of an animal (a DOWN arrow), or just the right amount (a check). The bigger and more balanced your ecosystem, the higher the overall score!

Unlocking New Tools and Animals

In order to progress through the game, you will need to unlock new tools and animals. You can unlock things in the lock shop, which you can get to by clicking on the “lock” icon on the left side of the palette.

Unlocking tools, animals, and stories costs spirit. Collect the spirit from the right types of animals in order to unlock what you want!