Dinotopia (video game)

Dinotopia is a 1996 adventure game developed by The Dreamers Guild and published by Turner Interactive for MS-DOS. It is based on the Dinotopia book series by James Gurney.[1]

Dinotopia
Developer(s)The Dreamers Guild
Publisher(s)Turner Interactive
Platform(s)MS-DOS
Release1996
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

Dinotopia features a young man, Nathan, searching for his sister Constance in a land inhabited by both humans and dinosaurs.[2][1]

Development and release

Dinotopia was developed by The Dreamers Guild and published by Turner Interactive. The game features cutscenes with live actors, as well as animatronic dinosaurs created by Andre Freitas and his special effects company, AFX Studios. Turner gave Freitas a small budget of $85,000. Dinotopia was released in 1996.[3][4]

Reception

Scorpia of Computer Gaming World found it too simplistic and wrote, "This isn't so much a game as a Dinotopia travelogue".[7] Next Generation stated, "All told, this is only a slightly above-average adventure title. The story is nothing special, and the puzzles won't be a serious challenge to hard-core players. It would make a great light hearted adventure to play with kids."[2] Dennis Michael of CNN wrote "its apt combination of intellect and humanity makes the game a winner for new players looking for something to share with the family".[8]

Popular Science praised the game's high production values, noting its use of 3D graphics, motion video, and "lifelike" dinosaur puppets. It was also praised for having a "warm and inviting atmosphere" and "a storyline worth following".[1] Steven Forbis, writing for Entertainment Weekly, praised the game for its "lively characters, humor, and the island's day-to-day life".[5]

Simone de Rochefort of Polygon praised the game in 2021, calling it "delightful and weird" and the puppets "incredible".[3]

Reviews
  • Quandary (Jul, 1996)[9]

References
  1. "A Dinosaur's World". Popular Science. July 1996. p. 28. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  2. "Finals". Next Generation. No. 20. Imagine Media. August 1996. pp. 95–96.
  3. Rochefort, Simone de (October 29, 2021). "Dinotopia is the best dinosaur game, and it's got puppets". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 27, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  4. Rochefort, Simone de (February 18, 2022). "Using Jurassic Park tech to make the Dinotopia video game". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 27, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022 – via YouTube.
  5. Forbis, Steven (April 5, 1996). "Dinotopia: Living the Adventure". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 20, 2010.
  6. Scorpia. "Dinotopia". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on October 22, 2002.
  7. Scorpia (September 1996). "Jurassic Lark: Scorpia Roams With The Dinosaurs in Dinotopia". Computer Gaming World. No. 146. United States. pp. 121–122.
  8. Michael, Dennis (April 11, 1996). "'Dinotopia:' CD-ROM fantasy for the whole family". CNN. Archived from the original on July 27, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  9. "Dinotopia Review by Quandary". Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
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