Dino Island
Encyclopedia
This is the article about the PC game. For the DOS game see DinoPark Tycoon
Dino Island (also known as Dino Tycoon) is a PC business simulation game developed and published by Monte Cristo
.
scientists have managed to recreate dinosaurs. In order to fund research, government has set up dinosaur
-themed amusement parks that the player will manage.
, Roller Coaster Tycoon, or even Zoo Tycoon
. However, it is rendered in full 3D - players can rotate, pan and zoom at will. Dinosaurs, staff and visitors are fully animated. The game uses a typical point and click and menu interface.
.
In Dino Island, there are 20 pure, historical Dinosaur species, ranging from the classic Tyrannosaurus Rex to the lesser-known Troodon
or the Giganotosaurus
. Those dinosaurs are classified in 6 families: large carnivorous, armored quadrupeds, light bipeds, etc.
The player can mix any two dinosaurs to create a new one. The resulting creature will be a genetic
mix of its parents: it will inherit features from both of them, based on genetic dominance
.
Each dinosaur is made of many parts: legs, arms, head, etc. Each part of the resulting dinosaur will also be a mix between that of its parents. This is different from the game Impossible Creatures
: in that game, while it is possible to cross animals to create new ones, the resulting creatures are just assemblies of original parts. For instance, the mix of a tiger and a pig would have the head of a tiger or that of a pig. In Dino Island, the mix of a Diplodocus
and a Triceratops
will have a head in between that of its parents.
On top of that, some mutation
s can occur, either accidentally or, when the player masters the technology, voluntarily. Mutations include feathers, extra horns, weird scales, and the like.
The player can design attractions which are like mini-games in which dinosaurs participate for the amusement of visitors. Those games include, among others, racing events or dinosaur combat. The player can have complete control by creating each attraction using special tiles. The outcome of the event depends on the dinosaurs' attributes.
Every item in the game, dinosaurs, attraction or park installation, radiates several attributes like comfort, fear or cuteness, which will attract or repel different visitor types. Visitors will move in the park according to their needs. For instance, if the player's park has many older visitors, it is not a good idea to put all the shops next to the most violent dinosaurs, as they will hesitate to go that way.
DinoPark Tycoon
DinoPark Tycoon is an educational business simulation computer game released by MECC in 1993. A school version of the game was released for use in elementary schools.In the game, players run a theme park which features dinosaurs as its main attraction...
Dino Island (also known as Dino Tycoon) is a PC business simulation game developed and published by Monte Cristo
Monte Cristo (company)
Monte Cristo was a French computer game developer and publisher, based in Paris. It was established in 1995 by former Credit Suisse First Boston vice-president Jean-Marc de Fety and former Mars & Co strategy senior consultant Jean-Cristophe Marquis. The company was led by Jean-Christophe Marquis...
.
Story
In a more or less near future,scientists have managed to recreate dinosaurs. In order to fund research, government has set up dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
-themed amusement parks that the player will manage.
First looks
Dino Island is a theme park simulator not unlike Theme parkTheme Park (computer game)
Theme Park is a construction and management simulation game designed by Bullfrog Productions and originally released in 1994, in which the player designs and operates an amusement park....
, Roller Coaster Tycoon, or even Zoo Tycoon
Zoo Tycoon
Zoo Tycoon is a business simulation developed by Blue Fang Games and released by Microsoft Game Studios. It is a tycoon game in which the player must run a zoo and try to make a profit. Although first released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh in 2001, it was ported to the Nintendo DS in 2005...
. However, it is rendered in full 3D - players can rotate, pan and zoom at will. Dinosaurs, staff and visitors are fully animated. The game uses a typical point and click and menu interface.
Dinosaurs
- AllosaurusAllosaurusAllosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard". It is derived from the Greek /allos and /sauros...
- AnkylosaurusAnkylosaurusAnkylosaurus is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur, containing one species, A. magniventris...
- BrachiosaurusBrachiosaurusBrachiosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Jurassic Morrison Formation of North America. It was first described by Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in the Grand River Canyon of western Colorado, in the United States. Riggs named the dinosaur Brachiosaurus altithorax,...
- CoelophysisCoelophysisCoelophysis , meaning "hollow form" in reference to its hollow bones , is one of the earliest known genera of dinosaur...
- DeinonychusDeinonychusDeinonychus was a genus of carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur. There is one described species, Deinonychus antirrhopus. This 3.4 meter long dinosaur lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million years ago . Fossils have been recovered from the U.S...
- DiplodocusDiplodocusDiplodocus , or )is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek "double" and "beam", in reference to its double-beamed chevron bones...
- GiganotosaurusGiganotosaurusGiganotosaurus is a genus of carcharodontosaurid dinosaur that lived around 97 million years ago during the early Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period. It included some of the largest known terrestrial carnivores, slightly larger than the largest Tyrannosaurus, but smaller than the...
- HypsilophodonHypsilophodonHypsilophodon is an ornithopod dinosaur genus from the Early Cretaceous period of Europe. It was a small bipedal animal with an herbivorous or possibly omnivorous diet...
- IguanodonIguanodonIguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids and the ornithopods' culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs...
- KentrosaurusKentrosaurusKentrosaurus is a genus of stegosaurid dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of Tanzania. Its fossils have been found only in the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania, dated to the Kimmeridgian stage, between about 155.7 ± 4 Ma and 150.8 ± 4 Ma . Apparently, all finds belong to one species, K...
- PachycephalosaurusPachycephalosaurusPachycephalosaurus is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur. It lived during the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America. Remains have been excavated in Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. It was an herbivorous or omnivorous creature which is only known from a single skull and a few...
- ParasaurolophusParasaurolophusParasaurolophus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in what is now North America during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 76.5–73 million years ago. It was an herbivore that walked both as a biped and a quadruped. Three species are recognized: P. walkeri , P. tubicen, and the...
- PelecanimimusPelecanimimusPelecanimimus is a genus of basal ornithomimosaurian theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Spain...
- ProtoceratopsProtoceratopsProtoceratops is a genus of sheep-sized herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur, from the Upper Cretaceous Period of what is now Mongolia. It was a member of the Protoceratopsidae, a group of early horned dinosaurs...
- SaltasaurusSaltasaurusSaltasaurus is a genus of titanosaurid sauropod dinosaur of the Late Cretaceous Period. Relatively small among sauropods, though still massive by the standards of modern creatures, Saltasaurus was characterized by a diplodocid-like head...
- StegosaurusStegosaurusStegosaurus is a genus of armored stegosaurid dinosaur. They lived during the Late Jurassic period , some 155 to 150 million years ago in what is now western North America. In 2006, a specimen of Stegosaurus was announced from Portugal, showing that they were present in Europe as well...
- TriceratopsTriceratopsTriceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
- TroodonTroodonTroodon is a genus of relatively small, bird-like dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period . Discovered in 1855, it was among the first dinosaurs found in North America...
- TyrannosaurusTyrannosaurusTyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
- VelociraptorVelociraptorVelociraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed approximately 75 to 71 million years ago during the later part of the Cretaceous Period. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the past. The type species is V. mongoliensis; fossils...
Breeding dinosaurs
What's most unusual about Dino Island is dinosaurs and the ability to create brand new speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
.
In Dino Island, there are 20 pure, historical Dinosaur species, ranging from the classic Tyrannosaurus Rex to the lesser-known Troodon
Troodon
Troodon is a genus of relatively small, bird-like dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period . Discovered in 1855, it was among the first dinosaurs found in North America...
or the Giganotosaurus
Giganotosaurus
Giganotosaurus is a genus of carcharodontosaurid dinosaur that lived around 97 million years ago during the early Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period. It included some of the largest known terrestrial carnivores, slightly larger than the largest Tyrannosaurus, but smaller than the...
. Those dinosaurs are classified in 6 families: large carnivorous, armored quadrupeds, light bipeds, etc.
The player can mix any two dinosaurs to create a new one. The resulting creature will be a genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
mix of its parents: it will inherit features from both of them, based on genetic dominance
Dominance relationship
Dominance in genetics is a relationship between two variant forms of a single gene, in which one allele masks the effect of the other in influencing some trait. In the simplest case, if a gene exists in two allelic forms , three combinations of alleles are possible: AA, AB, and BB...
.
Each dinosaur is made of many parts: legs, arms, head, etc. Each part of the resulting dinosaur will also be a mix between that of its parents. This is different from the game Impossible Creatures
Impossible Creatures
Impossible Creatures is a real-time strategy game released on December 29, 2002 developed by Relic Entertainment in conjunction with Microsoft Game Studios. Its unique feature is that the armies used are all created by the player...
: in that game, while it is possible to cross animals to create new ones, the resulting creatures are just assemblies of original parts. For instance, the mix of a tiger and a pig would have the head of a tiger or that of a pig. In Dino Island, the mix of a Diplodocus
Diplodocus
Diplodocus , or )is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek "double" and "beam", in reference to its double-beamed chevron bones...
and a Triceratops
Triceratops
Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
will have a head in between that of its parents.
On top of that, some mutation
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
s can occur, either accidentally or, when the player masters the technology, voluntarily. Mutations include feathers, extra horns, weird scales, and the like.
Attractions
Dinosaurs are also defined by a set of attributes: for instance, they are more or less strong, agile, aggressive or intelligent.The player can design attractions which are like mini-games in which dinosaurs participate for the amusement of visitors. Those games include, among others, racing events or dinosaur combat. The player can have complete control by creating each attraction using special tiles. The outcome of the event depends on the dinosaurs' attributes.
Visitors
Visitors also come in several categories, which all have likes and dislikes. For instance, kids like cute dinosaurs but don't like big ones, hooligans like to see dinosaur fights from up close but don't like peaceful dinosaurs, pensioners like diverse dinosaurs but not too much action, etc.Every item in the game, dinosaurs, attraction or park installation, radiates several attributes like comfort, fear or cuteness, which will attract or repel different visitor types. Visitors will move in the park according to their needs. For instance, if the player's park has many older visitors, it is not a good idea to put all the shops next to the most violent dinosaurs, as they will hesitate to go that way.
Park management
The game also has a light park management aspect. The player can build facilities that sell stuff, enclosures to put the dinosaurs in and has to manage staff that will feed the dinosaurs, among other things. As this was not the focus of the game, there are very few options in that department, compared to other games in that category.External links
- Dino Island fan page
- The Story of Dino Island, page about the development of the game by the producer