Deconstructing Dino Run

http://www.pixeljam.com/dinorun

You don't start the game with the little crown.  I had played the game for more than a month before getting it.  

Dino Run is a super fun game that I have been playing constantly for the past month or so. You play as a Dino escaping the apocalypse. It's deceptively simple game. The game has no HUD (Heads Up Display). Your Dino doesn't take damage he just gets slowed down. You basically just run to the right avoiding obstacles. Where the game gets interesting is in how the player's character interacts with the environment. And how a few simple elements are combined to create dynamic levels.

Aside from the fact that Dino Run is an excellent game (making it worth a look anyway), the game's levels are all generated dynamically.   This ties directly into my thesis. Each level has a few pieces of featured terrain. These are arranged at random with more generic terrain separating them. Interactive elements are layered on top of the terrain. Some of these elements help your Dino others get in your way. 

This is a perilous level element it's a shallow pitt with water on the bottom, inside is a stampeding heard of Triceratops! I have succumbed to the apocalypse more than once here.

Obstacles include:

• other large Dinos Lumbering stegosauruses, charging triceratops, and flaming pterodactyls.
• boulders of variable sizes
• hills and uneven ground
  

Helpful elements include:

• regular pterodactyls (they pick you up and carry you)
• other smaller Dinos (you eat them and get a speed boost)
• Eggs
• Flowers (pick them up and get a boost of a specific ability)

These elements all function independently but when thrown together into a level some interesting interactions start to happen that force the player to make quick decisions. 

Interesting decisions are key to a successful game just as interesting action translates into a successful narrative.  The "narratives" that are formed in Dino Run are non-obvious.  Either you survive to the next level or you are consumed by the apocalypse.  Along the way you either pick up bonuses or you do not.  You either have a difficult time with obstacles or you breeze past them.  This is all based on a players performance.  While the narrative in this game may be simple and black and white the addition of another layer of dynamism based on player performance surrounding narrative outcome is compelling.

Some additional notes on replayability:  One of the best features from a design perspective is Dino Run's replayability. This is a holy grail of game design and one that is often achieved by simply creating more.  More levels, more secrets, more explorable areas, more hidden items etc.  Dino Run does this but it does it in a way that maximizes it's assets, rather than having just more it actually has a select set of features that are presented in such a way as to maximize effectiveness.  

Dino Run only gives players the bear minimum of information, and at first glance it seems the game has little depth.  Through playing, it becomes apparent that there is more than meets the eye.  For example, the rules of the game are expressed simply as "start running."  Nothing is said of upgrading your Dino or finding secret eggs, this is left up to the player.  When the upgrade screen appears it's a pleasant surprise.  The player asks "what else is this game hiding?" Another example: the controls are presented minimally, more advanced controls are available but the player isn't told about them, they must be discovered.  Little details like these are scattered throughout the game.  Another feature worth noting As you play your dino changes colors, eventually the player is given the option to choose the color for their Dino.  Also you are given trophies after reaching certain milestones.  

 

There is a lot to learn from this game.