|
I
got the opportunity to interview Mathieu Girard, the Project Head of the
development team for Dino Island.
I asked about the development of the game, features which weren't
included in the final version, and what the future holds...
Was there a lot of research on dinosaurs required when you developed
Dino Island?
Yes indeed. We have bought almost every available book on dinosaurs,
using their descriptions and data, rather than what we had seen in
movies and other video games.
Dino Island is a fun game, but we have thoroughly studied these
creatures to produce an accurate simulation.
These books were a great source for data such as dimensions, diet,
speed, weight, or even sociability. Most of this data has been used in
the simulation.
Were there any features which weren't included in the final game?
Well of course, we had a lot of weird features that were removed from
the game by the end of pre-production. We were supposed to have flying
dinosaurs, aquatic or amphibian dinosaurs. We had contemplated using
trains and safari-cars as an alternate mean of traveling for the
visitors. We preferred to focus on the 3 main design aspects : park
building, genetic engineering, shows. Another question that is often
asked is "Why dinosaurs cant escape?" Simply said, it would
have been yet another main design development, and we preferred to focus
on our 3 original ideas. Also, we wanted the game to be played by kids,
and maybe their parents would not have approved seeing visitors gored by
dinosaurs.
What makes Dino Island different to other management games on the
market?
They are other park management games, and I have to admit that Roller
Coaster Tycoon was a source of inspiration. The genetic simulation is
the first aspect that makes it differ from other games. Dino Island is
the only 3D game (on the market) which offers such a wealth of creation,
allowing billions of dinosaurs. Maybe Impossible Creatures will propose
something equivalent, but from what I have seen, their choice of
possible mutations is limited.
The creation of shows is the other original aspect of the game. While
RCT and Theme Park offer ride creation features, their operation
involves only visitors progressing at a given pace. In Dino Island, the
dinosaurs have their own intelligence and are not simpletons lead along
a predefined path. They react to their environment (tiles, obstacles,
other dinosaurs), and react accordingly, based on their abilities and
situation.
Is there a possibility of an expansion pack for Dino Island in the
future?
We are currently assessing the possibility of a sequel.
Was the movie Jurassic Park a major influence for you? What made you
choose to develop a game about a dinosaur theme park?
Of course Jurassic Park had an influence, but less than dinosaur books
as I stated above. But we decided to avoid the violent aspects of
Jurassic Park, to suit a young audience. Besides, Jurassic Park (any one
of the 3) has never shown a working Dinosaur Park, but rather an island
where panic has overthrown fun.
We were looking for a game that would offer both a precise scientific
simulation, and lots of fun. Dinosaurs seemed like a good option.
Did you enjoy developing Dino Island and were you faced with any
obstacles/problems along the way?
Yes we enjoyed developing Dino Island, the team was great and the morale
was high up to the end. We were all committed to making the game a
success, even when it involved working evenings and week-ends. The
dinosaur AI was ambitious and took a lot of time to tune properly, since
there was no scripting but actual life simulation. I would gladly concur
to the rule that states that Game AI involves 20% development and 80%
tuning.
There are many different dinosaurs to choose from, each with their
own personalities. Which are your favourites?
I love almost all the 20 basic dinosaurs equally, but they are not my
favorites. If you want to check our favorite monsters, you can use one
of our cheat codes, to unlock the monster list in the dinosaur purchase
panel. In the game (not the menus) Hit F11, type the text "dinomaniac",
hit F11 again, and the special dinosaurs are unlocked. There is a
favourite dinosaur from each member of our team.
How does the final game compare to the initial thoughts that you had
before you started to develop it?
All in all, the game is pretty close to what we had in mind at the
inception of the project. We had to abandon some features, small or big,
but we remained focused on our goals. We have created a fun park
management game with mutated dinosaurs racing each other while the crowd
goes wild!
|
