Nanosaur
Encyclopedia
Nanosaur is a science fiction
third person shooter video game developed by Pangea Software
and published by Ideas From the Deep for Mac OS
and Microsoft Windows
. The player takes on the role of a "Nanosaur", a genetically engineered
intelligent dinosaur
from the future, sent back in time just prior to the extinction of the dinosaurs to collect eggs needed for the survival of the species. A Linux
port was planned by Three Axis Interactive, but never completed.
allowing flight, a temporal compass for locating time portals, and a GPS locator for navigation. The native animals will attack the Nanosaur when their eggs are threatened; species encountered include Tyrannosaurus Rex
, Stegosaurus
, Triceratops
, Dilophosaurus
(who spits like in Jurassic Park
), and the flying reptile Pteranodon
. As well as hostile creatures, the Nanosaur must also avoid water and lava, environmental hazards which slow the player down.
, a dinosaur
species, Nanosaurs, rule the Earth. Their civilization originated from a group of human scientists who experimented with genetic engineering
. Their experimentation led them to resurrect the extinct dinosaur species; however, their victory was short lived, as a disastrous plague
brought the end of their civilization
itself. The few dinosaurs resurrected were lent an unusual amount of intelligence
from their human creators, leaving them to expand on their growing civilization. However, as the Nanosaurs were the only species on Earth, inbreeding
was the only possible choice of reproduction. This method largely affected the intelligence of the various offspring, and slowly began to pose a threat to their once-intelligent society.
The Nanosaur government
offers a quest that involves time traveling into the year 65 million BC, where the five eggs of ancient dinosaur species must be retrieved and placed in a time portal
leading to the present year. Their high-ranking agent, a brown Nanosaur, is chosen to participate in this mission. On the day of his mission, he is teleported to the past via a time machine
in a Nanosaur laboratory
.
The Nanosaur arrives in a lush jungle
, with twenty minutes given to collect the eggs before the meteor that caused the initial extinction of the dinosaur race hits the Earth. After battling various Tyrannosaurus Rexes , the Nanosaur enters a volcanic crater
, where he must cross several stone formations in a river of lava
in order to retrieve the eggs. After making his way across the river, the Nanosaur detects the final eggs in a canyon
oasis
, where various dinosaurs, namely Dilophosaurus
and Stegosaurus
, are attempting to hinder his progress in order to protect their eggs. After evading defeat, the Nanosaur beams the final egg into the time portal, and is carried along with it back to the present.
Following the completion of the Nanosaur's mission, the eggs are placed in nationwide laboratories, where the scientists intend on breeding them for their own purposes. Several months following this event, the eggs finally start to hatch.
, a continuation of the original Nanosaur storyline. Nanosaur 2 is the first stereoscopic game released for the Mac.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
third person shooter video game developed by Pangea Software
Pangea Software
Pangea Software is an Apple computer game company based in Austin, Texas that is owned and operated by Brian Greenstone. The company is a former developer of Macintosh and Apple IIGS games, the former of which they still currently sell, however have recently stated their intention to focus solely...
and published by Ideas From the Deep for Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. The player takes on the role of a "Nanosaur", a genetically engineered
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
intelligent 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...
from the future, sent back in time just prior to the extinction of the dinosaurs to collect eggs needed for the survival of the species. A Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
port was planned by Three Axis Interactive, but never completed.
Gameplay
The object of the game is collect the eggs of five dinosaur and flying reptile species and desposit them in time portals to the future in twenty minutes; at the end of the countdown, the asteroid that caused the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event hits Earth. The Nanosaur is equipped with a "fusion blaster" (a basic multi-purpose energy weapon), a jet packJet pack
Jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack, and similar names are various types of devices, usually worn on the back, that are propelled by jets of escaping gases so as to allow a single user to fly....
allowing flight, a temporal compass for locating time portals, and a GPS locator for navigation. The native animals will attack the Nanosaur when their eggs are threatened; species encountered include Tyrannosaurus Rex
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus 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...
, Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus 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...
, 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...
, Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus was a theropod dinosaur from the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic Period, about 193 million years ago. The first specimens were described in 1954, but it was not until over a decade later that the genus received its current name...
(who spits like in Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
), and the flying reptile Pteranodon
Pteranodon
Pteranodon , from the Late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota, was one of the largest pterosaur genera and had a maximum wingspan of over...
. As well as hostile creatures, the Nanosaur must also avoid water and lava, environmental hazards which slow the player down.
Story
In the distant year of 41225th millennium
The fifth millennium is a period of time that will begin on January 1, 4001, and will end on December 31, 5000.-Astronomical events:* 4285 : Venus occults Regulus.* 4296 : Venus occults Antares....
, a 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...
species, Nanosaurs, rule the Earth. Their civilization originated from a group of human scientists who experimented with genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
. Their experimentation led them to resurrect the extinct dinosaur species; however, their victory was short lived, as a disastrous plague
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
brought the end of their civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
itself. The few dinosaurs resurrected were lent an unusual amount of intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
from their human creators, leaving them to expand on their growing civilization. However, as the Nanosaurs were the only species on Earth, inbreeding
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...
was the only possible choice of reproduction. This method largely affected the intelligence of the various offspring, and slowly began to pose a threat to their once-intelligent society.
The Nanosaur government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
offers a quest that involves time traveling into the year 65 million BC, where the five eggs of ancient dinosaur species must be retrieved and placed in a time portal
Time portal
Time portals are doorways in time, employed in various fiction genres, especially science fiction and fantasy, to transport characters to the past or future....
leading to the present year. Their high-ranking agent, a brown Nanosaur, is chosen to participate in this mission. On the day of his mission, he is teleported to the past via a time machine
Time Machine
A time machine is a fictional/hypothetical device used to achieve time travel. The term may also refer to:-Novels and films:* The Time Machine, an 1895 novel by H. G...
in a Nanosaur laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
.
The Nanosaur arrives in a lush jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
, with twenty minutes given to collect the eggs before the meteor that caused the initial extinction of the dinosaur race hits the Earth. After battling various Tyrannosaurus Rex
Volcanic crater
A volcanic crater is a circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a basin, circular in form within which occurs a vent from which magma erupts as gases, lava, and ejecta. A crater can be of large dimensions, and sometimes of great depth...
, where he must cross several stone formations in a river of lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
in order to retrieve the eggs. After making his way across the river, the Nanosaur detects the final eggs in a canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
oasis
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
, where various dinosaurs, namely Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus was a theropod dinosaur from the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic Period, about 193 million years ago. The first specimens were described in 1954, but it was not until over a decade later that the genus received its current name...
and Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus 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...
, are attempting to hinder his progress in order to protect their eggs. After evading defeat, the Nanosaur beams the final egg into the time portal, and is carried along with it back to the present.
Following the completion of the Nanosaur's mission, the eggs are placed in nationwide laboratories, where the scientists intend on breeding them for their own purposes. Several months following this event, the eggs finally start to hatch.
Nanosaur Extreme
Nanosaur Extreme is another version of nanosaur, released at a later time with heftier system requirements. It has many more enemies and weapons than Nanosaur, and it is described on the Nanosaur downloads page as "what Nanosaur was meant to be - a total kill-fest".Nanosaur 2: Hatchling
A sequel to Nanosaur was introduced in March 2004 entitled Nanosaur 2: HatchlingNanosaur 2: Hatchling
Nanosaur 2: Hatchling is a continuation of the original Nanosaur storyline. Nanosaur 2 is the first stereoscopic game released for the Mac.-Story:...
, a continuation of the original Nanosaur storyline. Nanosaur 2 is the first stereoscopic game released for the Mac.