Video Games – Page 8 – Jurassic Outpost

New Concept Art Emerges from Jurassic Park 3’s Scan Command

Posted on 5th October 2016 by Jack

While Jurassic Park 3 isn’t generally considered to be the best sequel in the franchise, at least critically, it does hold a special place in fan’s hearts – especially for those born in the 90s as it was likely to be the first Jurassic movie that many were old enough to see in cinemas.

I grew up watching VHS copies of Jurassic Park and The Lost World on repeat, but Jurassic Park 3 was the first movie that I remember following the production of. I remember the toys, the posters, the commercials, the games, everything from that period. It’s nostalgic to think back, and up until the release of Jurassic World last year it was the only movie I had seen merchandise for in stores.

One thing I remember fondly is the video games and the commercials that came with them. Jurassic Park 3 had a wealth of games released alongside it for multiple consoles. Danger Zone, Dino Defender, Island Attack, The DNA Factor… the list goes on.

One game that I never had myself but remember seeing endless commercials for, was Scan Command. It was a video game that utilised a physical barcode scanner – you would scan the barcode of household food/drink items to obtain “genetic code” to progress in the game.

Today, we have some concept art that was made for the game by artist Maurice Kimball, who also worked on some concept art for Jurassic Park: Institute. The concept art is described as visual development and production art. Check out more of the artwork below:

Maurice uploaded these images to his website along with some really cool concept art for Jurassic Park: Institute:

The art gives us an interesting look at some things that never came to be within the franchise, as well as some terrifying shots for Scan Command showing InGen’s facilities in ruins.

Do you remember playing Scan Command, or any of the other Jurassic Park 3 video games? Let us know in the comments section below, or let us know what your ideal Jurassic Park video game would be!

Be sure to check out Maurice’s official website for more of the artwork and to see his other work too!

Watch full ‘LEGO Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape’ short film on Netflix and YouTube now!

Posted on 3rd October 201610th October 2016 by Chris Pugh

The first two episodes of the new animated short series, ‘LEGO Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape’ are here! 65 millions bricks in the making, relive the events of the fourth Jurassic Park film in a comedic alternate reality. The entire short film will be released on YouTube split into 5 episodes this week, totaling in 24 minutes of LEGO laughs.

“Playing with the characters, dinosaurs, and environments of Jurassic World in LEGO form through the playsets and video games is one of the most popular ways for fans to experience the franchise,” said David O’Connor, Executive Vice President, Global Brand Marketing & Partnerships, Universal Pictures. “By creating new narratives and additional storytelling through this fun LEGO animated short, we’re able to showcase the lighter, more humorous side of the world’s most popular dinosaur brand.”

Update: You can now watch the entire 24 minute short film on NETFLIX now! Don’t have access to Netflix? Watch the episodes below, and read on to learn how to buy the film in stores!

Episode 1:

Episode 2:

Episode 3:

Episode 4:

Episode 5:

Want to own the ‘The Indominus Escape’, and see it as a complete short film? You’re in luck! Starting October 18th, you can buy the short in DVD format bundled with Jurassic World – plus another exclusive 8 minute LEGO short is included!

Believe it or not, ‘LEGO Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape’ is the first time the Jurassic franchise has seen an official animated outing. While it’s not an expansion of the canonical fiction, it certainly is a fun idea and hopefully will be the tip of the iceberg for brand evolution. The LEGO Movie was absolutely brilliant, and I know I’d love to see some Jurassic characters make a cameo in the sequel.. however, I’d like to see an expansion of the canon via a comic series, TV series, novels, or cartoon even more!

What did you think of ‘The Indominus Escape’? Let us know in the comments below, and as always: stay tuned for the latest news on everything Jurassic!

JurassicWorld.com has evolved!

Posted on 27th September 2016 by Chris Pugh

The official Jurassic World website has been inactive for roughly a year now, showcasing a fictional operational park hub with a few adverts for the Blu Ray. However, the inactivity came to an end earlier today, when the website evolved into a hub for the entire franchise! Sporting a fresh new look, the site now covers a multitude of subjects.

The websites now serves as fun page to learn the latest official news about the franchise, as well as including various facts, current video games, videos and more. I’m personally thrilled to see this change which is something I was hoping would happen for some time – while the new site is currently lite on content, hopefully as time goes on it will add new sections (canon/encyclopedia, editorial content, toys, books, etc.) and further flesh out its existing ones with more content. With the right team and management, the website can further evolve into something great (look to HaloWaypoint.com and StarWars.com for some fantastic examples.)

Thankfully, they also preserved the website created for the fictional Jurassic World park on Isla Nublar, which can be reached by clicking the link on the top of the site (or going directly to islanublar.jurassicworld.com). I wonder if future in-universe websites will be created that reflect the current happenings of the franchise – there’s plenty of room to expand, and Jurassic World 2 is right around the corner! Either way, this hub site is a great fit for the Jurassic Park franchise, and it’s great to see some change and life post 2015.

So, what are you waiting for? Go explore! After that, be sure to keep checking back here for even more news regarding all things Jurassic! Do you like the new look? Sound off in the comments below!

Trailer & release schedule for ‘LEGO Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape’ short film!

Posted on 26th September 201626th September 2016 by Chris Pugh

We’ve known about ‘Lego Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape’ for some time due to retailer listings of a DVD combo pack, but beyond that details have been scarce. Today Yahoo news exclusively debuted a trailer for the film, which will get an episodic release on YouTube starting October 3rd. Watch the trailer below!

“Beginning Oct. 3, the Lego and Jurassic World YouTube channels will roll out five daily installments that will ultimately form a 24-minute story. Universal will release a DVD collecting Indominus Escapes and another 8-minute short as part of a Jurassic World bundle releasing Oct. 16.

As you tell by the trailer, Indominus Escapes is not a strict retelling of the movie; instead, the animated short riffs on characters, creatures, and plot points in a zany new rampaging-dino adventure.” – Yahoo

The article only acknowledges the aforementioned DVD combo pack, with no information about a potential Blu-Ray release. Hopefully it will hit both formats, as while DVD’s are nice, they are also quite an outdated standard definition only medium. Plus, it will be great to have an alternative (and HD) way to own the other new short ‘Employee Safety Video’, which seems exclusive to the physical release.

It’s great to see more fun happening in the universe of Jurassic Park. This short series should be cute and funny, but won’t scratch the itch we all have for new story expansions, or something like a an art book – however, we’re looking forward to it all the same!

Are you excited to watch ‘The Indominus Escape’ (once again)? As always, sound off in the comments below and stay tuned for the latest news!

Source: Yahoo News

Two New Interviews with Jurassic Park Arcade Developers!

Posted on 15th September 201615th September 2016 by Jack

Over the past few weeks, contributor Joshua Malone has been speaking with two developers from Raw Thrills about their latest arcade game Jurassic Park, which was released at the end of last year. The game was received incredibly well by fans and gamers alike, providing an interesting story between Jurassic Park 3 and leading up to Jurassic World.

Without spoiling the game, it involves the “clean-up” of Isla Nublar that happened before Jurassic World construction began, so it gives us a look at an abandoned island that many fans have wanted to see for quite some time.

Like traditional arcade games it is eccentric, colourful and ridiculous – and that’s what makes it fun. Aside from that, the art direction alone feels very “Jurassic Park”, mixing the deep Nublar jungles with InGen’s concrete buildings and facilities. The dinosaurs are very hybrid-esque with colourful skin patterns and wild behavior, and the game itself flows very nicely. It’s a perfect two player game.

The first interview is with John Scott who was the Lead Programmer for the game:

What new ideas did you try to incorporate into the game that people haven’t seen in previous Jurassic titles? (be it games, books, or the films)
The movies mostly focus on the chaos of dinosaurs getting out. But someone had to get them back to safety! That’s the adventure we wanted to present to players. Something that still shows the incredible danger of these dinosaurs but where they could still feel the accomplishment of bringing them back under control.

And the second was with Nate Vanderkamp, who was the Lead Artist and a Primary Game Designer:

Was there a reason RAW Thrills wanted this game to take place on Nublar (the first JP island) and not Sorna (Site B?)
I think that it just had more of the iconic locations from the original film (Visitor Center, Jungle Waterfall, Kitchen, Entrance Gate). Many people have nostalgia when thinking back to JP and we hoped to connect with players on that level.

The interviews are rich with new information and a great behind the scenes look at the game itself. Check out John Scott’s interview here, and the interview with Nate Vanderkamp here!

If you can find this game in your local arcade then make sure you play it! Huge thanks to Josh for speaking with these two talented developers from Raw Thrills and for coming to us with the interviews! Be sure to check out our interviews page for more interviews we have published over the past few years.

Is the cancelled Jurassic World video game back in development?

Posted on 6th June 20166th June 2016 by Jurassic Outpost

Is the ‘cancelled’ Jurassic World video game back in development? We’ve heard yes. Before we dive into that bit, lets recap what we know about the game:

Developed with Unreal Engine 4, Cryptic Studios Seattle was planning to release the game as a digital download title on Steam, Xbox Live, and Playstation Network. It was described as a high budget, open world third person shooter action/adventure game. Allegedly, the title had MMO-like elements not unlike those seen in H1Z1.

Set on Isla Nublar, the player controlled Chris Pratt’s character, Owen. Several dinosaurs from the series were going to be in it, including: Gallimimus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor, Spinosaurus, Pteranodon, Ankylosaurus and Baryonyx. It’s unclear exactly how the game played and what its general plot focus would have been, but it was likely more mission/quest based with little focus on a story.

(A screenshot from the Telltale Jurassic Park game)

Flash forward to now: about a month back we were emailed by an individual who wished to remain anonymous, and was claiming that the game was back in development. To the best of our ability, we validated the authenticity of the persons claim through a small series of communications with them. Here’s what they had to say:

“It was back in development at a different studio by the time those artists shared their work from it, but they were unaware. They assumed that their contracts were void and NDA’s fulfilled as the initial development studio had closed, and went and shared the work. Once your site picked up on the story it spread like wildfire, and the publisher Perfect World cracked down HARD on them because it was still very much alive. The issue wasn’t that people knew the game existed, but rather so many key assets leaked. Plus the cancellation news coupled with the imagery immersed the project and IP holders with with negative attention, rather than positive.”

At this time, we’re unsure if and how the games assets, story and scope have changed. Considering it was close to being released on Steam Early Access last June, it seems likely the game has evolved into something larger and more comprehensive. While we’re unsure when the game will be formally announced, e3 starts June 14th which is as good of guess as any!

As with any news like this, we do recommend you take it with a healthy sense of understanding, and a grain of salt. We have done our best to validate it, however behind the scenes many gears are always turning, and things can often change. While the game has resumed development, that doesn’t guarantee it won’t be cancelled again – however, that does seem incredibly unlikely.