The whole concept was hilarious to me, but it proved to be a very difficult design. In my mind, the dinos were marching towards exits on the island, and escaping on jet skis. One phase you design your park, and the next you attempt to stop the dinosaurs from escaping. Plus, you get to build a dino for cheaper!!ĭavid: Early in the design for the Rawr and Write, I had this idea of a two phase game. Marissa: My favorite attraction is the Incubator – whenever I see it I am transported to the moment in Jurassic Park where you watch the raptor being born. The Rawr and Write, too, has elements of engine building that isn’t seen in many games in the genre.ĭWP-JPD: What is your favourite attraction we’ll be seeing in Dinosaur World?īrian: My favorite attraction is the Velociraptor Culinary Experience (which appears in both games I thought it was hilarious and that why not use it in both?) In my mind you visited this restaurant where animatronic velociraptors wearing chef hats would cook or service your food. Dinosaur World builds on the theme and some mechanics from Dinosaur Island, but allows you to activate your park in a more controlled way. It’s not enough to ‘build’ something, but I want it to do something. The Rawr ‘n Write is pretty thinky for that genre, and I think it does some new things that are fun.ĭinosaur World takes some of the aspects of Dinosaur Island and streamlines them, removes some elements, and injects new mechanics to make for a totally new experience that I think will resonate with fans of the original.ĭavid: I really enjoy games with engine building elements. And building up a route to score maximum points in the Rawr & Write is such a fun puzzle to figure out!īrian: I hope fans are pleasantly surprised with the diversity that these two games offer. Marissa: I love that my park feels so unique to how I want to build and tour it in Dinosaur World. The challenge of designing as a team is that someone someone wants to go in a different direction sometimes it’s about compromise and the willingness to try something new even though it might not fit with one of the designer’s specific visions for the game.ĭWP-JPD: Given the tremendous success of Dinosaur Island, it’s great to see the franchise expand to not one, but two new games! What can fans expect out of these upcoming titles? It is so nice to have people to lean on.īrian: I love collaborating with other designers! I love the whole process: brainstorming, immediate feedback, playtesting, etc.
As an educator, I love collaboration and working together. I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to design a game by myself. We just all throw ideas out there, and they somehow get polished into working ideas. Marissa: I feel that we all have strengths that are different so we balance each other out in that way.ĭavid: I think we have a knack for not getting in the way of one another. I am thrilled that Brian saw fit to keep asking me about his designs, because in the end it inspired something that I am truly proud of.ĭWP-JPD: I’m so curious about what’s involved in the process of designing as a trio! What are the benefits and challenges of balancing three voices in the creative process? Given how often we played games, and Brian’s continued interest, we just slowly lent our input, and that input took on a larger role. We’ve all known each other for nearly a decade, and we just enjoy each other’s company. He invited me to join him at a meet up to introduce me to modern boardgaming and I was HOOKED! Brian was in charge of that meet up and had just published his first game which blew me away, and since then the three of us have gamed together consistently.ĭavid: Playtesting with Brian got me interested in design, but it is driven by my love of games.
He mentioned his hobby was boardgaming, which I had no idea about. Marissa: I met David at the school that we both work at. They have both always had keen insights into my playtests, and one night we designed a game called Fungeon Party (published by WizKids). Dave was there when I designed my first published game, Titans of Industry, and Marissa and Dave were there for Dinosaur Island. Dave started seeing Marissa about 6(?) years ago, and so we often get together to play games. I can’t believe it’s been that long! Dave and I have always had similar tastes in games, so we’ve been gaming buddies for those 10 years. DWP-JPD: Brian, Marissa, and David – Thank you for joining us for an interview! What brought the three of you together as a design team?īrian: I met Dave through a gaming group that I started in Ann Arbor, Michigan about 10 years ago.