`KILLING` PROJECTS CAN BE `GREAT` TOO
(25 August 2005, 21:55 | Dino) GameSpy`s Allen "Delsyn" Rausch caught up with Sid Meier, Firaxis Games` Director of Creative Development, at this year`s "GenCon" gathering. In the latter stages of the interview, the presently shelved Dinosaurs project is mentioned. In many ways, video games are about exploration and discovery, Meier had responded to an inquiry about the variety of scope in his games. All of my games are based on stuff I was interested in at the time. Rausch then mentions "dinosaurs" as one of those interests. Laughing, Meier replies: [s]ometimes it`s great to be able to kill a project, too.
Earlier, Meier indicated that he was attending "GenCon" with his son, who`s into Role Playing Games (RPGs) and Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games, to spend some time with him, and check out some cool new games. No titles of Firaxis` are being promoted at the event.
STILL SHELVED FOR THE TIME BEING
(24 August 2005, 15:03 | Dino) In the latest edition of his "Ask Sid" feature published earlier this month on Firaxis Games` website, the gaming developer`s Director of Creative Development addressed a fan regarding a return to development on Dinosaurs which has been on hold now for more than four years [see story].
I haven`t had much time to go back and look at that game lately, Meier answers. We`ve been non[-]stop busy making other games... so th[is] remains on the shelf. However, I do love the idea of a dinosaur game and would like to revisit it when I have some time. - DanQ
IT`S DEAD... FOR NOW
(12 August 2002, 23:25 | Dino) At the 35th GenCon held in Milwaukee, WI over the weekend, Firaxis Games` Chairman and Director of Creative Development Sid Meier answered a question from Andrew S. Bub -- amidst others regarding their current project, Civilization III: Play The World -- whether or not Sid Meier`s Dinosaurs is dead or not.
The answer? Right now it is. I still want to do it but it wasn`t working. We`ll see. - DanQ
MEIER TO SPEAK AT D.I.C.E. SUMMIT
(11 November 2001, 14:10 EST) Sid Meier, Chairman & Director of Creative Development at Firaxis Games, will be speaking at the 2002 D.I.C.E. Summit being held from February 28th -- March 1st next year at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vagas, Nevada. D.I.C.E. is short for Design, Innovate, Create and Entertain.
According to the summit's itinerary, Meier is set to deliver a speech to attendees entitled "The DINO Project: Three Glorious Failures". From the D.I.C.E. website:
Game designer Sid Meier discusses and shows his prototypes of three different approaches to creating the ultimate dinosaur game. "Sometimes we learn more from a game that doesn't quite work than from one that does", Sid claims.
Other notable speakers include Maxis' Chief Designer Will Wright and Bruce Shelley, Senior Designer at Ensemble Studios. It is hoped that the transcript of Meier's and other speakers' discussions will be released to the public after the conference is completed. Attendence cost is $500US for Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) members and $950US for non-AIAS members; online registration is available.
Thanks to CapTVK for the news tip. -DanQ
MORE ON DINOS` DEMISE
(29 May 2001, 15:21 EST) The Stratos Group has posted a report containing the outline and contents of the Q&A session that Sid Meier held during the E3 Conference, in conjunction with the main Trade Show. Although the game focuses largely on gaming trends in general and what makes a good game, there are several interesting tidbits for those who wonder what happened to Dinos.
[A]nother topic Sid discussed, [...] was when you have to kill a game. The game in question was tentatively named 'Dinosaurs.' The game was supposed to be a sim game where the player could create and control races of dinosaurs. The game idea sounded really plausible, but Sid just felt that they couldn't get the gameplay down. The game went through several radical design changes, from an RTS to a collectible card game theme, but in the end they had to close the project down. While the game concept sounded really intriguing, Sid's development team simply hadn't found the way yet to make a truly enjoyable game out of it. Rather than release a 'sub-par' game, they opted to put the game on permanent hold.
There is more to read, so head right over. Thanks to Blue's News for the link. -Snapcase
SID: `DINOSAURS LEFT FOR THE FUTURE`
(26 January 2001, 19:17 EST) Stomped published a short interview with Sid Meier on the recent announcement for Dinosaurs.
Sid explained that this isn't the first time something like this happens...
I've made a few games that I put on the back shelf at some point during their development because another idea suddenly caught my attention or it just wasn't flowing the way I wanted it to, so I went in search of inspiration (this happened with the original Civilization). (the definition of "good hunch" imho :))
left hope for the future...
I think a dinosaur game is a cool idea. So, it is definitely still on my wish list of games to make in the future
and gave no clue on what the new prototype is, while pointing to the official site for any civ3 news... :)
Thanks to CapTVK for the quick report! -MarkG
THE EXTINCTION OF DINOSAURS
(24 January 2001, 16:21 EST) If you hadnt seen that coming... :) Sid Meier explained the situation on the last Dino diary on the Firaxis site
Hi everyone.
I know you've been waiting a while for an update on the Dinosaur game. I've spent recent months playing with some different ideas on Dinos, but a lot of my time, and just about everyone else's at Firaxis, has been devoted to assisting in the Civilization III design. Civ III is looking and playing great and we think you'll all be thrilled with the final product! Also, I've been working on a new prototype, but more on that in a minute.
So what's up with Dinosaurs? Well, we've tried various approaches to gameplay: There's been a "DinoCraft" style of game (real-time). There's been a "DinoPlanet" style game (turn-based). There's been a game where you are one dino. There's been a game where you are an entire dino tribe. There's even been a much more abstract game with a heavy online component (you get the idea). We took into account your ideas, suggestions and concerns on the game. So far though, we haven't found that magic combination of ingredients that makes it really fun. And if it ain't fun, it don't get done!
Then, a couple of months ago, I was inspired by a new idea on a completely different topic. I built a really fun prototype and well, what can I say - this new project took hold! So I have decided to set aside Dinos for a while to work on this new idea, as well as devoting my attention to CivIII.
I know this news may disappoint some of you, but I think you'll find the new projects we're working on at Firaxis very interesting and a lot of fun!
This is not a new situation for us. It took me many years and several different approaches to find a way of presenting the Civil War game the way I really wanted to, but ultimately I was very happy with the result, which became Gettysburg!. Also, the original Civilization began as a real-time game and had many stops and starts in the design process. Dinos may eventually come to fruition, but for the moment there are other cool things brewing at Firaxis and, of course, there's a game called Civ III to consider!
So, this will be the last Dino Diary, at least for now. Thanks for your patience and stay tuned for more info on Civ III and other projects in development.
You can comment about this on our Dinosaurs forum. I guess we are going to have one more categorization on our front page: after "current games", "games to come", "other sections" and "oldies", we must create a category titled "extinct"... -MarkG
WHY YOU WOUDLN`T BUY DINOSAURS
(24 January 2001, 16:11 EST) If it was ever done(see above news item in a minute). The results of our last Dinosaurs poll
| Dinos: What will make you not buy Dinosaurs? | | Option | Votes / Percentage | | I will buy ANYTHING that has the name Sid Meier on it |  23 / 15% | | I won't buy if it contains unrealistic elements | 17 / 11% | | I won't buy if it's an RTS game | 39 / 26% | | I won't buy if it's a TBS game | 2 / 1% | | I won't buy period, since I hate anything that involves dinos | 37 / 25% | | Dont know/Dont care | 28
/ 19% | Total Votes: 146 | View Comments
Forums Discussion |
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-MarkG
NOT-BUYING ELEMENTS IN DINOSAURS
(31 October 2000, 16:58 EST) And here is the... most irrational :) poll we've ever had. The 5th Dinosaurs poll: What will make you not buy Dinosaurs? -MarkG
BIG GOALS SOUND GOOD
(31 October 2000, 13:24 EST) | A head dino character, an alpha dino or King/Queen Dino | 42 / 11% | | Humanize the dinos(baby dinos) | 19 / 5% | | Emphasize the story of the dinos | 35 / 9% | | A vicious enemy(enviroment/enemy dino) | 30 / 8% | | A home(shaping an area to the player's liking) | 98 / 26% | | Expressive animation | 21 / 5% | | Big goals(something big to grasp for) | 128 / 34% |
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After a really long time, here are the results of our 4th Dinosaurs poll. For the numbers, it seems that the most interesting ideas is for the player to have "Big goals" to grasp for, and a "home" which he can shape to his liking....
Comments forum thread -MarkG
LONG TIME NO DIARY
(3 July 2000, 17:58 EST) Long time no diary. Today, Firaxis posted the long awaited Dino Diary #8.
To start things off, Mike Ely -- who wrote the previous installment -- talked about the crew going to see Disney's Dino movie at the end of May when it debuted on the big screen. In addition to talking about the visual effects, Ely gave the team's take on the talking dinosaurs, quote:
"We won't weigh in on the debate of whether Disney should have made the dinos talk or not, but we will promise no talking dinos in our game. And no Jar-Jar either".
And now, onto the game:
"The clearest path to fun with this dino game of ours is to have lots of dinos, lots of different combos, lovingly crafted and shaped by the player, battling it out for world domination".
You'll find more discussion on this in the Diary itself.
Finally, pages 5-8 dealt with a conversation Sid had with a "store person" in Atlanta in mid-May, while visiting the city for the annual E3 conference, and the aftermath in how he and his wife got to see Disney's aforementioned movie before its official release! -DanQ
WHICH IDEA DO YOU LIKE BEST?
(14 May 2000, 7:58 EST) Our 4th poll is about some of the ideas mentioned in the 6th Diary.
Here is the exact part of the diary
1. Create a head dino character, an "alpha" dino or King/Queen Dino. This would be a single dino around which the rest of the herd revolves. This 'HeroSaur' could have special traits
2. Humanize the dinos. An interesting solution. One easy way to do this is through the baby dinos. When a new dino hatches, it would actually come out as a baby, and would follow its mother around until it gets old enough to go out on its own.
3. Emphasize the story of these dinos so that players become invested in that story. A simple technique Sid is experimenting with is the DinoCam, a kind of window on special events in the game, such as births, battles, and deaths
4. A vicious enemy. Be it the terrible harshness of the environment or an enemy dino so huge and violent it makes the player's heart leap
5. A home. Allowing the dinos to influence the environment, through nesting, digging, "fertilizing," or otherwise shaping an area to the player's liking, would create a physical space into which the player has invested time and effort
6. Expressive animation. Giving the dinosaurs more character than the grim reptilian faces they probably possessed would engage the player and help them to project emotions into the dinosaurs.
7. Big goals. Give the dinos something to drive them forward to the endgame. Give the player something big to grasp for, such as evolving a dinosaur to stand the test of time. =)
Comments forum thread -MarkG
AVERAGE INTEREST IN DINO`S SO FAR
(14 May 2000, 7:52 EST) Our 3d Dinosaurs poll, titled "Your interest in Dino so far?", has ended with a total of 505 votes. Here are the full results
| 5(already an addict) | 65 / 12% | | 4(I've started renting movies with dinosaurs for some reason) | 28 / 5% | | 3(looking forward to more info) | 206 / 40% | | 2(when I hear more about it, perhaps...) | 120 / 23% | | 1(bah! who care about dinosaurs...) | 58 / 11% | | don't know what you're talking about | 28 / 5% |
The average vote was 2.83
Comments forum thread -MarkG
DINO DIARY #7
(24 April 2000, 19:08 EST) 
The next installment of Sid's Dino Diaries has arrived.
In Chapter 7 Greg Cunningham, the lead artist on the dinosaur project, discusses the artistic process and how Firaxis is giving the dinosaurs distinct personalities plus some new dinosaur animations to boot! -DanQ
UPDATED INFO&DIARIES PAGES
(21 April 2000, 18:36 EST) The Information and Diaries pages have updated with content from the 6th Diary. Especially looking at the info page, it seems like we're slowly gathering some info. Still, we need more. Do you hear us Firaxis? :) -MarkG
DIARY #6
(28 March 2000, 13:30 EST)  Firaxis posted the 6th Dinosaurs Diary. There is a mention on the genetics system, but the main part deals with the connection between the player and it's dino's. A special "King/Queen Dino" is one idea, but there is more! Read on and give your comments on the forums -MarkG
FIRAXIANS: DINOSAURS
(23 March 2000, 16:54 EST) You probably saw the Firaxis press release announcing the promotions and hiring of several people. Let's sum up those related with Dinosaurs, starting with the promoted.
Dave Evans, Director of Software Development: An original Firaxian, worked on Microprose programming the sound engines for Pirates! Gold, Sid Meier's Colonization, Civilization II and Magic: The Gathering. He is now working on AI, sound and graphic technologies probably for both Dinosaurs and Civ3.
Greg Cunningham, Lead Artist, has been working on Dino graphics since the begining of the project(strangely, I was wondering just this morning(on the news item below) on who's going be the lead artist on Dinos now!) :)
Jeff Morris, Quality Assurance Manager, quite known on our forums from SMAC, will obviously get his hand into the Dino game as well.
As for the new people:
Mark Cromer, joins Firaxis as Lead Sound Engineer. With a past that includes Magic: The Gathering, all of the Civilization II add-on packs, MecWarrior III and Falcon IV, there is nothing else that needs to be said.
Ryan Murray has created art for X-Com Interceptor and other games and will be working on Dinosaurs as well.
Finally, Michael Fetterman has been hired as a Production Assistant on both the Dinosaur and Civilization III projects.
Give your comments on the forums -MarkG
FIRAXIS: LOOKING FOR A LEAD ARTIST?
(23 March 2000, 2:17 EST) If you check the Miscellaneous section you can read about an interview of Brian Reynolds on Daily Radar. Well, presenting the other partners in BHG, Brian tells that David Inscore was the Lead Artist on Dinosaurs. So, who's designing those dinos and those trees now, Firaxis(to put it simply(and a bit silly)?) It would be good to know... -MarkG
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