''Eyewitness Dinosaur Hunter'' is an educational video game in the Eyewitness Virtual Reality series, developed by

DK Multimedia Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...

and released for Windows in 1996.

Gameplay

The player explores the museum, using a point-and-click method. The museum is in the shape of the ''Eyewitness'' logo. The outer corridor contains a timeline showing the evolutionary branches of certain dinosaurs, the east room contains maps and images of what the world looked like during the period in which dinosaurs existed, and the west room is a multi-level excavation site where the player can dig for

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

. Upon completion of a skeleton, the dinosaur will "come to life" and roam the museum. The rest of the museum contains various exhibits, which players can either explore themself or experience through four virtual tours: Introduction, how dinosaurs lived, how dinosaurs evolved, and extraordinary dinosaurs.

Reception

The game was considered advanced for its time, described as virtual reality, although today the term is restricted to much more advanced programs. ''Chilldhood Education'' journal described it as having a "feeling of walking through an actual museum" despite the simple point-and-click system used while likewise ''The Culture of Design'' said the game's developers went to "extraordinary lengths" to make the museum believable. The ''New York Times'' described the game as having a "clear, clean interface and design". ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'' praised how it combined "old-fashioned reading and model building".

Other Eyewitness Virtual Reality titles

* Eyewitness Virtual Reality Earth Quest * Eyewitness Virtual Reality: Cats * Eyewitness Virtual Reality Bird

References

{{Reflist Dinosaurs in video games Science educational video games 1996 video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Windows games Windows-only games