And now, all of you curious about what the Tyrannosaur they had at the museum is doing now have your answer.

I think the new obsession with feathered dinosaurs in media is going too far. Games like Saurian and Prehistoric Kingdom are limiting themselves within the bounds of what’s believed to be “accurate”, and their designs are clearly suffering from it. The popular theory that dinosaurs had feathers is nice to explore, but the amount of hostility that is rising against the “less accurate” designs is quite frankly oppressive to more creative content creators.

Fiction should not be limited by reality ! Fantasy should be limitless !

(Rest of the rant under the cut, it ended up going for longer than i expected)

Manage a Dinosaur Theme Park in Mesozoica

Mesozoica is the newest game hoping to lure dinosaur fans. Players must manage their theme park, create dinosaurs from extracted DNA and even jump into first person dinosaur mode. Right now the game is in Early Access, and as such, is still pretty rough even though the idea is solid.

Check it!

In Mesozoica, you will have the opportunity to find and collect fossils from dig sites and formations situated all over the globe. Today we want to give the spotlight to one of the most populated and famous formations in the game: the Dinosaur Park Formation.

Canadian pride

The Dinosaur Park formation lies in Alberta, Canada and takes its name from the Dinosaur National Park, a World Heritage site for UNESCO. Here, the rocks deposed about 76 million years ago during the late Cretaceous and are exposed in the badlands alongside the Red Deer river.

History files

These areas were first explored by paleontologists near the end of the 19th century, during the famous “Bone Wars” between E.D. Cope and O.C. Marsh. The firsts findings were made by Lawrence M. Lambe around 1897 while sailing over the Red Deer river. These fossils suggested that, in the Late Cretaceous, there was a rich and complex environment inhabited by many animals.

A lost paradise... found?

If we could take a look at the Dinosaur National Park as it was in the Late Cretaceous, we would see a alluvial plain crowded with herds of herbivores like Parasaurolophus and Corythosaurus with groups of Stegoceras grazing under the enormous bodies of those hadrosaurs. Near the water streams we could see some Styracosaurus and some Chasmosaurus drinking and eating horsetails. In the background, under a Ginkgoites tree, a young Euoplocephalus is fighting for its life against a Gorgosaurus while a pack of Troodontids watches the scene hoping to get something from this clash. Alberta, in the Late Cretaceous, was a real paradise but dinosaurs weren’t the only inhabitants of this place: mouse-like mammals, lizards, turtles, crocodiles, frog and birds shared this habitat with the “terrible lizards”. Meanwhile, in the waters, sharks and fishes completed this incredible ecosystem. Will you try to recreate this prehistoric landscape in Mesozoica?

Crested lizards

One of the most peculiar animals from the Dinosaur Park formation is the renowned Parasaurolophus walkeri. This hadrosaur was a herbivorous dinosaur that could walk in both bipedal and quadrupedal fashions. The main characteristic of this 9 meters’ long and 3 tonnes’ heavy animal is the singular crest above its skull. This nearly 2 meters’ long tube-like appendage was probably used for sexual display, to amplificate sounds and calls for communication. The first skull of P.walkeri was discovered in 1920 and described in 1922 by William Parks; its names means “near Saurolophus” for its similarities to another hadrosaur (Saurolophus).

Interacting with two Cretaceous beasts? Check!

We here at Mesozoica are proud to show everyone three more pieces of concept. These are here for your eyes only via the gifted Liam van Dijk. Each picture is representative of something you may end up coming across while working on your park. 

The first picture seems like it could show something out of a future add-on. A tour program has chosen to take a voyage out onto one of our lakes in search of aquatic animals. The tour program is alerted by the presence a security speedboat. That’s fine and all, but oh wait, is that a giant shadow below the speedboat? Oh my, no matter how fast the speedboat goes, the danger will still be lurking beneath.

The second picture shows a day in park management. This isn’t a boring day, every day is an exciting day in Mesozoica. Today is the day when the baby Triceratops moved into its enclosure. As it was transported in, some of the senior members of the herd heard the cries of the baby. Now they have moved in closer and are investigating the transport truck, perhaps to get an early glimpse at their youngest.

In the last picture, there is again something that may be dealt with in a future add-on. This time, though, it something that security may deal with via a hands on approach. After all, it isn’t every day that a group of Pteranodons escape their enclosure. The security team is quick to get on their helicopters, after all, getting the animals back to their enclosure is the only course of action. So the team has to try and herd the flock back. This may be an old trick, but that doesn’t mean they won’t work on new animals.

Look out for more forms of transportation and in-game footage.Welcome to Mesozoica, today we are pleased to unveil, for your eyes only, one of our most important forms of transportation for your journey into the park. This jeep is Mesozoica’s very own Squadron AWD. This vehicle was designed with the visitor in mind, so that means it accommodates both luxury and safety. The Squadron AWD allows for the visitors to get an up and close encounter with some of the more unique creatures in the park.

With that in mind, we needed to make sure there would be no chance in harm coming our beloved guests. So, have added several state of the art quality safety features. There are kevlar lined off road tires that can withstand anything from large rocks to the horns of a Triceratops. The body of the beast is composed of carbon fiber – it is strong enough to take a hit from a charging Pachycephalosaurus. To top it all off, we have incorporated bulletproof glass to help aid in protecting passengers from a “raptor” pack attack on the vehicle.

This vehicle is a necessity that improves trip quality for the great transportation it provides around the park. The only downside is that some of our bigger carnivores have appeared to become fascinated with the vehicle. We have noticed some of them stalking the Squadron AWD when it appears within their vicinity.