''Dinotopia'' is a 1996

adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

developed by

The Dreamers Guild The Dreamers Guild was a publisher and developer of video games that operated from 1988 until 1997. History Authors Bryan Kritzell and David C. Logan reported that The Dreamers Guild was founded on an "open, consensus-driven" business model, ...

and published by Turner Interactive for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few oper ...

. It is based on the ''

Dinotopia ''Dinotopia'' is a series of illustrated fantasy books, created by author and illustrator James Gurney. It is set in the titular Dinotopia, an isolated island inhabited by shipwrecked humans and sapient dinosaurs who have learned to coexist p ...

'' book series by

James Gurney James Gurney (born June 14, 1958) is an American artist and author known for his illustrated book series '' Dinotopia'', which is presented in the form of a 19th-century explorer's journal from an island utopia cohabited by humans and dinosaurs ...

Gameplay

''Dinotopia'' features a young man, Nathan, searching for his sister Constance in a land inhabited by both humans and dinosaurs.

Development and release

''Dinotopia'' was developed by

and published by Turner Interactive. The game features cutscenes with live actors, as well as animatronic dinosaurs created by Andre Freitas and his special effects company, AFX Studios. Turner gave Freitas a small budget of $85,000. ''Dinotopia'' was released in 1996.

Reception

Scorpia ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises thirteen novels, as w ...

of ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through t ...

'' found it too simplistic and wrote, "This isn't so much a game as a Dinotopia travelogue". '' Next Generation'' stated, "All told, this is only a slightly above-average adventure title. The story is nothing special, and the puzzles won't be a serious challenge to hard-core players. It would make a great light hearted adventure to play with kids." Dennis Michael of CNN wrote "its apt combination of intellect and humanity makes the game a winner for new players looking for something to share with the family". ''

Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

'' praised the game's high production values, noting its use of 3D graphics, motion video, and "lifelike" dinosaur puppets. It was also praised for having a "warm and inviting atmosphere" and "a storyline worth following". Steven Forbis, writing for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'', praised the game for its "lively characters, humor, and the island's day-to-day life". Simone de Rochefort of ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed '' polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two t ...

'' praised the game in 2021, calling it "delightful and ''weird''" and the puppets "''incredible''".

Reviews

*''Quandary'' (Jul, 1996)

References

External links

''Dinotopia''
at

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{{The Dreamers Guild 1996 video games Adventure games Dinotopia DOS games DOS-only games Fantasy video games Single-player video games The Dreamers Guild games Video games about dinosaurs Video games developed in the United States Video games set on fictional islands