''DinoPark Tycoon'' is an

educational Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

business simulation Business simulation or corporate simulation is simulation used for business training, education or analysis. It can be scenario-based or numeric-based. Most business simulations are used for business acumen training and development. Learning o ...

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 ...

developed by

Manley & Associates Manley & Associates was an independent video game developer founded in 1982 in video gaming, 1982, which developed over 70 titles for video game publishers, including Electronic Arts, Activision, Disney, GameTek, Publishing International, and Spec ...

and published by

MECC The Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (later Corporation), most commonly known as MECC, was an organization founded in 1971 best known for developing the edutainment video game series '' The Oregon Trail'' and its spinoffs. The goal of ...

in 1993 for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

and

MacOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...

. Players run a

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

with dinosaurs as its main attraction. The goal of the game is to care for the dinosaurs while keeping the park clean, organized, and well maintained. A port for the

3DO Interactive Multiplayer The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, also referred to as simply 3DO, is a home video game console developed by The 3DO Company. Conceived by entrepreneur and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the 3DO was not a console manufactured by the company ...

was released in 1994 with minor changes.

Gameplay

The objective in ''DinoPark Tycoon'' is the successful administration of a dinosaur park. Players start off with a $5,000 loan in the retail version, or a $20,000 loan in the school version. The money is used to pay for the land, dinosaurs, fencing, food and employees necessary to run the park and pay back the loan; failure to meet loan payments results in the park's foreclosure. Once the loan is paid off, players may expand the park and earn profits. If players are confused, an animated dinosaur appears and guides the players through the game. Players then visit supply stores to buy the necessary items for park maintenance. The food store provides meat for carnivores, plants for herbivores and seeds for planting. The general store provides fences for the dinosaur pens, with varying degrees of strength and price; concessions such as bathrooms, gift shops and parking lots; and advertising, which is bought per season. The employment office offers the personnel to run the park, and Dino City retails the dinosaurs for the exhibits. As time passes, players face problems such as escaping dinosaurs, sick employees, and seasonal attendance declines. Players may choose to sell their park. If it has been successful, the player achieves an onscreen award and an entry on the top scores list.

Release

Two versions were released: a retail version and a special school version, which was released to public elementary schools across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In addition to the retail software, the school version includes background information and classroom activities for teachers. It was not required by the schools' curricula, but was intended to be a fun way for the students to learn basic finance and management skills.

Reception

Writer Larry Blasko of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

described the game as having realistic similarities to real-life business management, along with skills such as mathematical estimation and "what if?" analysis. In a '' COMPUTE!'' review, David Gerding wrote: "Keeping the staff paid and the dinos fed and healthy is an ongoing task that requires kids to analyze graphs and numbers and make decisions based on their assumptions. The trick is to scratch out enough profit to expand the park with capital improvements and bigger and better dinosaurs".

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite journal , last1=Gerding , first1=David , title=DinoPark Tycoon , journal=Compute! , date=March 1994 , issue=162 , page=90 , url=https://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue162/90_DinoPark_Tycoon.php {{cite web , title=DinoPark Tycoon 3DO Manual , url=https://archive.org/details/Dinopark_Tycoon_1994_MECC_US , website=archive.org , publisher=MECC , date=1994 3DO Interactive Multiplayer games 1993 video games Amusement park simulation games Children's educational video games DOS games Classic Mac OS games Manley & Associates games Video games with isometric graphics Business simulation games Video games about dinosaurs Video games developed in the United States The Learning Company games Single-player video games