''Color a Dinosaur'' is a 1993 electronic coloring book

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

for young children. It was developed by FarSight Studios for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

Gameplay

The player colors various

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s by using the provided dinosaur images and palettes. Players can either color using the free form mode or in the automatic mode where they only choose a color. Intended for ages 3 to 6, the game lacks sophisticated features such as

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

and minigames, and the basic colors are either brightly colored patterns or limited variations on

pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

. An extra set of patterns can be reached by pressing the ''Select'' button.

Reception

The September 1997 issue of ''

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...

'' presented the votes of twelve staff members, to list their top 100 games of all time. This list also includes a 10 worst games of all time, placing ''Color a Dinosaur'' at 9th. The article described the game as ''

Mario Paint is a video game developed by Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsm ...

'' "without anything fun in it" and that "even the producer of the game (Seth, wherever you are) would roll his eyes when reminded of this prehistoric patsy."

References

{{Reflist, 30em 1993 video games Video games about dinosaurs Drawing video games FarSight Studios games North America-exclusive video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Single-player video games Video games scored by Tommy Tallarico Video games developed in the United States Children's educational video games