Dinotopia is sort of a funny name for a video game of this nature. Based on the wildly popular children’s book series by James Gurney, the game Dinotopia follows the same general concept. Dinosaurs and people live together in a perfect world where everyone gets along and there is no conflict. Unfortunately, the game’s literal translation means “terrible place.” Given that this 1995 gem was geared for audiences roughly the same age as those buying Gurney’s books, that probably doesn’t matter much, but it is still a bit ironic.
Dinotopia is sort of a funny name for a video game of this nature. Based on the wildly popular children’s book series by James Gurney, the game Dinotopia follows the same general concept. Dinosaurs and people live together in a perfect world where everyone gets along and there is no conflict. Unfortunately, the game’s literal translation means “terrible place.” Given that this 1995 gem was geared for audiences roughly the same age as those buying Gurney’s books, that probably doesn’t matter much, but it is still a bit ironic.
In Dinotopia, shipwrecked humans find themselves amidst a colony of sentient dinosaurs. There are many different types of dinosaurs to interact with and interaction takes place on a number or levels. Some dinosaurs are simply talking
characters that you can chat with. Others are more functional and serve as mounts or guides. While this can be considered somewhat of an action game due to its subject matter, it is more of a puzzle. At the beginning of the game, the user sees a map with seven locations displayed on it. After choosing one of the locations, the user is taken to that area and has to use or interact with the dinosaurs living there in order to solve a variety of puzzles and games. None of the puzzles are terribly difficult, and with only seven venues to visit, there are obviously not very many of them. But, understanding that this game was geared toward younger children, it likely the perfect number and difficulty level to keep them interested.
As far as game play, Dinotopia is fairly smooth without a lot of clunks and jags. The graphics are really good and colorful and will surely grab the eye of most youngsters. The subject matter lends itself nicely to the budding imaginations of children and the concept of “everyone working together to get along” is a nice theme to offer kids. There is some dialogue between the user and the dinosaurs, and it is seamless, witty and engaging. Since it was created for children, there are no battle sequences or violence to worry about. This isn’t a “try to avoid getting eaten by the T-Rex” game. All in all, Dinotopia is a happy little feel good sort of game, which is likely how James Gurney would have intended it to be.
