Like life, fans always seem to find a way.
In the case of Jurassic Life, a group of dino fans found a way to re-create the fictional world of the Jurassic Park movies and books in a video game. Jurassic Life is a mod for Valve’s first-person shooter Half-Life 2, and it places characters on one an island filled with the genetically resurrected lizard-creatures.
The Jurassic Life Staff — as the volunteers call themselves — is looking for help coding the game’s artificial intelligence and modeling some of the in-game flora and fauna. The developers released a trailer, complete with John Williams iconic score, to get people excited:
http://youtu.be/lTPk4iO47RQ
You can see in the video that things aren’t perfect yet, but it still looks amazing and not just as something that is “fan-made.” In 2012, many PC gamers fell in love with the Day Z mod for Arma II. It is a survival game that forces players to scavenge for weapons and resources in a world overrun by zombies. The Jurassic Life seems similar. Only, this dinosaur-based mod has the benefit of re-creating one of the biggest movie franchises and on the back of a title that a huge number of gamers already own. That’s a recipe for popularity if the product ends up fun to play.
When Jurassic Life Staff finally releases the mod, it won’t cost you a dime. I think that’s unfortunate because then no one can suggest that we have some sort of “coupon day.”