Frontier just released in-game footage for Jurassic World Evolution. And by God, does it look fantastic. I know it’s not right to get too excited, but as a dinophile and fan of the original Operation Genesis, I can’t help but be amazed.
However, I’m skeptical. I want Frontier to get it right.
Like many of you, I have some gripes with the way Operation Genesis was planned, developed, and executed. In theory, it was sound, but in practice, it lacked the real spit and polish that would have made for a universally-acclaimed dinosaur game.
I don’t want Frontier to give us a management sim game that has dinosaurs. Another developer could do that. I want a management sim game that revolves around dinosaurs, truly making them the center of attention.
That was something I feel Operation Genesis (OG) failed to do.
I recently wrote a blog post about the things I feel Frontier should plan and execute if they want to make a truly spectacular game. I propose the following:
What do you think?
However, I’m skeptical. I want Frontier to get it right.
Like many of you, I have some gripes with the way Operation Genesis was planned, developed, and executed. In theory, it was sound, but in practice, it lacked the real spit and polish that would have made for a universally-acclaimed dinosaur game.
I don’t want Frontier to give us a management sim game that has dinosaurs. Another developer could do that. I want a management sim game that revolves around dinosaurs, truly making them the center of attention.
That was something I feel Operation Genesis (OG) failed to do.
I recently wrote a blog post about the things I feel Frontier should plan and execute if they want to make a truly spectacular game. I propose the following:
- Keep the Dig Teams with slight modifications.
The Dig Teams were one of my favorite parts of OG. I think most of us can agree that harvesting random pieces of amber and seeing what dinosaurs you could create was fun. It was like opening presents on Christmas morning.
The option to choose which dig sites I wanted to focus on was nice. Focusing on different regions changed what dinosaurs I would discover. It diversified my playthroughs, making each subsequent park unique and different. In one game I found myself dealing with the remains of a brontosaurus, in another, a triceratops.
However, what I didn’t appreciate was the strict limitations on how many dinosaurs I could uncover. In OG, players were limited to a certain amount of dinosaur species — probably the silliest development choice in the entire game.
- Strive for realism.
Look, I get it: managing a dinosaur attraction park isn’t entirely realistic.
But you get my point. Some of the most popular mods for OG dealt with making the game as realistic as possible. The Realistic Expansion pack sought to increase realism by changing colors, adding more foliage, and modifying dinosaur behaviors. It’s what the players want and I stand by it.
Whenever I booted OG back up again, the first thing I did was download this mod.
Luckily for us, we don’t have to worry about the models not being realistic. According to the panel, Universal Studios and Frontier worked together to give us some of the assets used in the actual movie. I want authenticity, and Frontier is already doing an excellent job in providing that.
- More options to raise dinosaurs.
One of my initial complaints about OG was dinosaur management.
In a few words, it was too simple.
All you did was breed them from a hatchery. Choose your species, select the amount, and the dinosaurs come out ready and fully-grown. Your job, as a dinosaur park owner, was to provide the appropriate food dependent on the dietary needs of the specimen. Sure, we got different types of food to choose from (higher quality, bigger quantity), but our options were severely limited.
I hope that Frontier implements a proper growth cycle. Keep the aging from OG, but give us dinosaurs that start from birth.
I want to get attached to my dinosaur babies. I want to feel sorry when I lose them or am forced to put them down. Something as small as an aging system could do that. It would be more immersive and engaging. Whenever a dinosaur died in OG, I always knew I could simply hatch another one. So what if I lost Velociraptor 1? I could replace him easily with Velociraptor 2 who would come waltzing out the hatchery almost instantly. It would be a bit more meaningful if I was by that dinosaur’s side since their humble beginnings. I want to see little Charlie grow up to become one of the biggest carnivores in my park, and I want to have to face the terrible choice of deciding whether or not to put him down because he got loose.
- More unique amenities
We’ve seen a couple unique amenities from the Jurassic World movie. We got human hamster-balls, baby dinosaur enclosures, and even smaller reptilian environments. These are amenities that I know will be added into this installment of Jurassic Park.
Frontier, get creative with it!
If the level of customization you gave us with Planet Coaster is any indicator of how you’ll approach this game, I’m confident in what you can do. Let dinosaurs rule the game and give us amenities to reflect that.
- Maintain a dynamic and engaging management system
Contrary to popular belief, Jurassic Park isn’t all about dinosaurs.
Disaster is something commonplace in all Jurassic Park installments. The idea of caging up multi-ton prehistoric predators and allowing people to view them is just another recipe for disaster.
I don’t expect my park development in Jurassic World Evolution to be an easy process. I wholeheartedly expect to encounter some small and bloody speedbumps along the way. Natural disasters were a normal part of the original Operation Genesis. Jurassic World Evolution should be about building dinosaurs and recovering from the disasters that set you back.
Give us frequent and dangerous disasters. Give us scenarios that make us rethink our entire development plan. Give us dinosaurs like the Indominus Rex that are almost impossible to keep locked up and caged.
What do you think?
