Software:Dino Island

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Short description: 2002 video game
Dino Island
Developer(s)Monte Cristo
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Yanik Buttner, Jérôme Cukier, Nicolas Frémont
Platform(s)Windows
Release
Genre(s)Business simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

Dino Island is a 2002 PC business simulation video game developed and published by Monte Cristo. In the game, the player builds and manages a dinosaur theme park, and can also crossbreed various dinosaurs to create new ones. Dino Island received "generally unfavorable" reviews according to Metacritic.

Gameplay

Dino Island is a theme park simulator.[3] 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. Set in a more or less near future, scientists have managed to recreate dinosaurs. In order to fund research, government has set up dinosaur-themed amusement parks that the player will manage.

Dinosaurs

In Dino Island, there are 20 natural dinosaur species,[3] including Tyrannosaurus rex, Troodon, Giganotosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Iguanodon, Ankylosaurus, and Pachycephalosaurus. The dinosaurs are classified in 6 families: large carnivorous, armored quadrupeds, light bipeds, etc.

The player can crossbreed any two dinosaurs to create a new one.[4] The resulting creature will be a genetic hybrid 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. For instance, the mix of a Diplodocus and a Triceratops will have a head in between that of its parents. Mutations can also occur, either accidentally or, when the player masters the technology, voluntarily. Mutations include feathers, extra horns, weird scales, and the like.

Visitors

Visitors also come in several categories, which all have likes and dislikes. For instance, kids like cute dinosaurs but do not like big ones, hooligans like to see dinosaur fights from up close but do not 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 other older visitors, it is not a good idea to put a path to 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 like restaurants, food stands, shops, attractions, parks, enclosures to put the dinosaurs in and has to build a farm 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.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic42/100[5]
Review scores
PublicationScore
4Players69%[6]
CGWStarStarHalf star[3]
GameZone7.7/10[7]
IGN3.5/10[8]
Jeuxvideo.com14/20[9]
Games Domain20/100[1][5]

Dino Island received a "generally unfavorable" reception according to Metacritic, based on seven reviews.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Todd, Brett. "Dino Island". http://www.gamesdomain.com/gdreview/zones/reviews/pc/oct02/dinoisland.html. 
  2. ↑ "Dino Island opens for visitors!". 26 September 2002. http://pc.gamezone.com/news/09_26_02_02_08PM.htm. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 McAdams, Elizabeth (September 2002). "Dino Island: Leapin' lizards!". Computer Gaming World (United States) (218): 85. 
  4. ↑ "Der unterhaltsame Aufbau eines Vergnügungsparks mit Streichel-Dinos." (in de). 10 June 2002. http://www.pcgames.de/?article_id=56550. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Dino Island". https://www.metacritic.com/game/dino-island/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. 
  6. ↑ Naser, Bodo (31 May 2002). "Test: Dino Island" (in de). http://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht/PC-CDROM/Test/2351/1184/0/Dino_Island.html. 
  7. ↑ Zacarias, Eduardo (8 July 2002). "Dino Island". http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r19401.htm. 
  8. ↑ Adams, Dan (11 October 2002). "Dino Island". https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/10/11/dino-island. 
  9. ↑ "Dino Island" (in fr). 3 June 2002. http://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0000/00002153_test.htm. 
  • The Story of Dino Island, page about the development of the game by the producer
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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