Exclusive Interview: Jurassic Park Mod Team

By: Illusion | Posted On: Friday 18 January 2008

Jurassic Park is about the collapse of an amusement park showcasing certain genetically recreated dinosaur species. It was a novel written by Michael Crichton in 1990, and adapted to film in 1993.

Jurassic Park is about the collapse of an amusement park showcasing certain genetically recreated dinosaur species. It was a novel written by Michael Crichton in 1990, and adapted to film in 1993.

Now that you have an idea of what it's about, let's get things kicked off here.

TheCrysisHQ: Hey guys, glad you could take time out of your busy schedules to have a chat with us. I guess the first obvious question is, why Jurassic Park?

Jurassic Park Mod Team: When measured against all other choices, the concept of Jurassic Park is just so rich, how could one possibly say no? On top of that, it is a dated film and novel. So any games for JP1 were already made, and to me they were not satisfactory. It was due to the limitation of the systems back then, and perhaps the developers just didn't choose the right direction. Thus one cannot expect a new JP game, and it is forever just a 2-D interpretation, lacking what made JP so popular. By making this game, we will provide fans of the novel and film with a game that really expands deep into the JP universe.

Into the characters: The game explores the personality of the characters, and makes them as 3D as possible. Other games do not have any effort put into character development. With the reaction we have had so far, it appears Jurassic Park is still a hot topic even after 15 years. I believe this game will make Jurassic Park fresh and exciting all over again.

TCHQ: What characters will be returning from the movie in your mod?

JPMT: All characters.



TCHQ: How many team members are involved in this mod and how many hours has it taken so far?

JPMT: I honestly don't know the exact amount. I've had over 100 applicants, and I've had to get rid of about 50 of them. I currently have 55 on my list, but maybe only 25 of them are actually contributing and putting in effort. As far as hours are concerned, I don't keep track of that kind of information. Some people put in a lot of time for the mod; some don't put in that much.

TCHQ: The mod seems to have become extremely popular, not only on ModDB, but elsewhere. Were you expecting such a large following when you started it?

JPMT: Yes. I knew if Jurassic Park [the movie] had high appeal from audiences, then the game would as well.

TCHQ: I personally know that you guys put in a ton of research to make it as realistic as possible; can you explain a little bit about your process?

JPMT: There really isn't a "process". I just gather data that can help me and my team achieve accuracy in our work.



TCHQ: How were you able to achieve photorealistic models? Which programs are you using?

JPMT: Most team members are using 3D Studio Max. A few have their own preferences. Lightwave, Maya, SoftImage, Zbrush. Anything can look photorealistic with proper lighting. What I believe you meant is simply realism. Accuracy on our models not only produces artwork true to the film/novel, but also realism. Stan Winston already did the job of making the dinosaurs look real. As long as our models look exactly like the Stan Winston design, it will be true to the film, and realistic looking.

TCHQ: What was the reasoning for not wanting to implement the nanosuit?

JPMT: Because it is a Jurassic Park game. Was there a nanosuit in the novel or film?



TCHQ: I don't know if you can pinpoint one great achievement, but what stands out as the greatest achievement so far?

JPMT: A much larger team now exists than when this project first started, and it continues to grow. I think that is an achievement, because it means the project is starting to take off, and that is obviously significantly important.

TCHQ: As we bring this interview to a close, can you provide our viewers with a projected release date?

JPMT: No date I set will be anywhere near accurate. No one here has the ability to see into the future. Anything I say is just a hypothesis. Late 2008/2009.


I would like to thank the guys from Jurassic Park Mod for taking time to sit down and chat with us. Please give the links below a look, and be sure to stay tuned to TheCrysisHQ.com for further mod updates!


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