About Us

aspenes.xyz was founded in 2021 by a team of environmentalists, puzzle designers, and nature lovers who wanted to combine fun gameplay with wildlife education and conservation advocacy. Based in Boulder, Colorado—a city surrounded by mountains, forests, and wildlife preserves—our small team of 8 is passionate about creating games that inspire appreciation for nature, teach players about ecosystems, and encourage real-world environmental action. Our story began when our founder, Dr. Elena Carter (a wildlife biologist), noticed that many people—especially children—were disconnected from nature due to screen time and urbanization. She teamed up with puzzle game designer Liam Foster to create a platform where players could "explore" nature virtually, learn about wildlife, and develop a sense of stewardship—all through engaging puzzles and adventures. What started as a passion project quickly gained traction after beta testers praised the game’s blend of education and entertainment. At aspenes.xyz, our flagship game, Wilderness Quest: Nature Puzzles, takes players on a journey through diverse natural environments—lush forests, snow-capped mountains, serene lakes, and arid deserts—solving puzzles to uncover hidden wildlife, restore damaged ecosystems, and learn about conservation. Each puzzle is tied to a nature theme: matching bird species to their habitats, solving maze-like river systems to prevent erosion, or decoding plant growth cycles to restore a forest. We integrate educational content seamlessly—every puzzle unlocks a short, engaging fact about the environment or wildlife, curated by our team of biologists, and players can track the species they’ve "discovered" in a digital field guide. What sets us apart? We’re mission-driven. A portion of every purchase goes to conservation organizations working to protect habitats, endangered species, and combat climate change. We also partner with parks and environmental groups to create in-game events tied to real-world conservation efforts—for example, a puzzle pack about coral reefs that raises funds for reef restoration, or a winter-themed update that highlights snow leopard conservation. Our games avoid time limits and fail states, focusing instead on curiosity and exploration, making them accessible to players of all ages and skill levels. Our team brings diverse expertise to the table. Dr. Carter leads our education and conservation efforts, ensuring all wildlife facts and conservation tips are scientifically accurate and actionable. Our lead puzzle designer, Mia Lopez, creates nature-themed challenges that are both fun and thought-provoking—from logic puzzles about food webs to spatial puzzles about habitat connectivity. Our art director, Carlos Mendez, crafts stunning, realistic visuals of natural environments and wildlife, working with nature photographers to ensure accuracy (from the colors of wildflowers to the behavior of birds). Our community manager, Zoe Patel, fosters a family-friendly space where players can share their favorite in-game discoveries and real-world nature experiences (e.g., hiking photos, wildlife sightings). Since launching Wilderness Quest in 2022, we’ve grown to over 180,000 users worldwide, with feedback from parents, teachers, and nature enthusiasts. Teachers often use our games in classrooms to supplement science lessons, and many families report that our games have inspired them to spend more time outdoors—hiking, birdwatching, or volunteering for local conservation projects. We release monthly updates, adding new exploration areas (e.g., tropical rainforests, coastal wetlands) and puzzles based on user requests, and we host "Conservation Challenges" where players complete in-game tasks to unlock donations to our partner organizations (e.g., planting 500 trees for 15,000 completed puzzles). We value our community deeply. Every update is shaped by player input: for example, we added a "night exploration" mode after players requested to learn about nocturnal wildlife, and we expanded our digital field guide to include audio clips of bird calls based on popular demand. Our forums and Discord server are spaces for players to share nature photos, ask questions about wildlife, and discuss conservation actions they’ve taken. We also offer free educational resources for teachers, including lesson plans that tie our games to science curricula. Looking to the future, we plan to expand our game library with a cooperative puzzle mode where players can team up to restore large ecosystems (e.g., a damaged forest or river basin), and a mobile app that includes augmented reality (AR) features—letting users "spot" virtual wildlife in their own backyards by scanning natural areas with their phones. We also aim to partner with zoos and aquariums to create interactive exhibits that bridge in-game and real-world nature experiences. Our ultimate goal is to become a leading platform for nature education and conservation, proving that games can be both fun and a force for environmental good. Whether you’re a kid curious about animals, a parent looking for educational entertainment, or a nature lover wanting to connect with the outdoors from home, aspenes.xyz invites you to embark on a wilderness quest. Explore, solve, learn, and join us in protecting the natural world—one puzzle at a time. Contact us to share feedback or learn more:aspenes.xyz890 Pine Glade Drive, Boulder, CO 80301, USAEmail: [email protected]