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Unrealistic Dinosaur Representation
Topic Started: Jan 15 2018, 08:47 AM (1,254 Views)
Taky
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Parkasaurus Warrior

This is for all your Dino fans out there.

If you were to say what your top pet peeve (or top as many as you'd like) was with how movies / videos game mis-represent Dinosaurs; be it look, behavior, etc, what would they be? Background: working hard at a Dino tycoon game; and in between the hours of being insanely busy would like to keep in my mind all the areas we can improve the game.
Thanks!
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stargatedalek
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I'm not slow! That's just my moe!

I like accuracy, and I also like sci-fi, but absolutely do not straddle the boundary! Either go full accuracy or full sci-fi monster. There are far to many "so close yet so far" "realistic but not scientifically accurate" dinosaur reconstructions out there and we really don't need any more.

Avoid anything Jurassic Park related. JP is fine enough but every off-brand dime-store and discount-land has more than enough JP copies (games and otherwise) and you don't want to get lumped in with the likes of them.

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Acinonyx Jubatus
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I AM THE UNSHRINKWRAPPER!

Behaviour, I think. Carnivorous dinosaurs in movies and such inevitably end up killing or attempting to kill the human characters at the first opportunity, without regard to the length of time it's been since the last time they've eaten OR to personal safety. Real carnivores don't act this way- they only hunt when its safe and prudent to do so. If they've eaten recently, they're not going to risk life and limb by hunting, and even if they're starving they're not going to injure themselves trying to get to their prey.
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Furka
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^ Adding to that, herbivores being used just for background scenes or as cannon fodder to make carnivores look scarier.
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magpiealamode
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No good hero is a one-trick phony.

Acinonyx Jubatus
Jan 15 2018, 12:07 PM
Behaviour, I think. Carnivorous dinosaurs in movies and such inevitably end up killing or attempting to kill the human characters at the first opportunity, without regard to the length of time it's been since the last time they've eaten OR to personal safety. Real carnivores don't act this way- they only hunt when its safe and prudent to do so. If they've eaten recently, they're not going to risk life and limb by hunting, and even if they're starving they're not going to injure themselves trying to get to their prey.
And may I add that when they do decide it's time to eat, Hollywood dinos have a habit of blasting out of the underbrush roaring at top volume. That makes no sense.

Also, if you're feeling extra creative and have time and resources, perhaps you could engineer new vocalizations other than the typical roars, growls, etc that we usually hear in movies/games. The "Jurassic park" sounds and anything similar are almost certainly wholly innaccurate. Definitely not a must but it would be an additional distinguishing factor for your game.
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Yutyrannus the second
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Herbivores randomly having elephant feet annoys the hell out of me personally.
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Burns
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King of Lemurs

So I'm all for dinosaurs and stuff but could this be moved to an appropriate subsection?
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Paleodude
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ex-Krampus

I think some of the most important aspects is to make sure you at least get the basic skeletal anatomy somewhat right. You dont need to be experts but using a reference by Scott Hartman or others can really help. As for behaviours Id have to suggest looking at modern day zoo animals rather thsn Jurassic Park behaviour.
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Acinonyx Jubatus
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I AM THE UNSHRINKWRAPPER!

Furka
Jan 15 2018, 12:28 PM
^ Adding to that, herbivores being used just for background scenes or as cannon fodder to make carnivores look scarier.
Yes. Also, herbivores seem to be portrayed (at least in the Jurassic Park franchise) as giant, harmless cuddlebags who would never do anything to hurt anyone. Herbivores, especially large ones, can be much more dangerous than carnivores (though, again, they're not killallthethings movie monsters.)
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Six Foot Turkey
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Feather Friend

Acinonyx Jubatus
Jan 15 2018, 12:07 PM
Behaviour, I think. Carnivorous dinosaurs in movies and such inevitably end up killing or attempting to kill the human characters at the first opportunity, without regard to the length of time it's been since the last time they've eaten OR to personal safety. Real carnivores don't act this way- they only hunt when its safe and prudent to do so. If they've eaten recently, they're not going to risk life and limb by hunting, and even if they're starving they're not going to injure themselves trying to get to their prey.
Yes this always annoyed me about the 2005 King Kong. You have a Vastatosaurus with a kill already in it's mouth and yet it decides to chase a comparatively mouse sized human. And throughout the whole fight scene they try to get the girl at any cost.
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Posted Image Flish
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I just... hate the elephantine-ing of Dinosaurs in general. Grey, wrinkly, elephant-feet, elephant trumpets for roars, etc.
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Incinerox
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Āeksiot Zaldrīzoti

I'm going to repost something I posted several years ago about how to make a chillingly scary sci-fi monster dinosaur while abiding by actual behaviours observed in modern animals:

Quote:
 
I mean, putting it into context, what's scarier:
A) Being chased by a gigantic scaly theropod that's lumbering through the jungle after you, roaring the whole time, lunging every now and then in case you got bored of the cliche. Think V-rex basically. This is the image that everyone says is scary.

Or

B) Stumbling through a dark forest and winding up in a clearing. You see a clutch of seemingly abandoned eggs in a nest composed of dozens of piled up dead, spiny ornithischians for insulation and protection. Around you, more corpses are stashed among the branches of surrounding shrubbery, smaller victims impaled on their thorns. You begin to retreat, only for a large raptor like creature with scraggly, battered feathers and a rough skinned face, complete with very possible hawk like scowl and some scratches and skin discolouration from years of fighting and scarring, leaping from a tree above, and pinning your friend to the ground under both its feet, using its wings for balance as it breaks open his/her skull with its deceptively strong jaws and feasts on their brains before adding it to its collection of carcasses impaled among the trees. You are still too close to its nest, so you are next.

Now that story is basically combining actually documented behaviours seen in owls, shrikes, eagles AND likely hypotheses for large dromaeosaurids.


So contrary to previous posts in this thread, realism and sci-fi monster doesn't need to be an either/or decision.

DO BOTH!
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TheToastinator
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A piece of toast and a terminator.

It kinda bothers me when depictions think they're accurate by slapping some feathers on a dinosaur. If you're adding feathers to something like a raptor, they'd probably be covering most of the body, especially the arms and tail, not just a few slapped onto the arms and neck.
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Ulquiorra
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stargatedalek
Jan 15 2018, 09:09 AM
I like accuracy, and I also like sci-fi, but absolutely do not straddle the boundary! Either go full accuracy or full sci-fi monster. There are far to many "so close yet so far" "realistic but not scientifically accurate" dinosaur reconstructions out there and we really don't need any more.

Avoid anything Jurassic Park related. JP is fine enough but every off-brand dime-store and discount-land has more than enough JP copies (games and otherwise) and you don't want to get lumped in with the likes of them.

You have no idea how many times I have seen a Dilophosaurus with a frilled lizard-like neck frill, and having no relation to JP whatsoever.

Quote:
 
^ Adding to that, herbivores being used just for background scenes or as cannon fodder to make carnivores look scarier.


Adding on to this, even the more well known herbivores, that get more than just a cameo treatment, still usually end up in 'meh' scenes with little to nothing dramatic happening. Although, when the herbivores do get some action, they either end up being killed by the carnivore, or if they're no carnivores involved, have a rather short scene.
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Incinerox
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Āeksiot Zaldrīzoti

Ironically, TLW had one of the better examples of how dangerous herbivorous dinosaurs can be.

Do not get between a Stegosaurus and her baby, ladies and gentlemen.
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