Jurassic World Evolution

04/29/21 • 19 min

Jurassic World - Evolution

Snuggle down and cosy up, for tonight you journey to a prehistoric time to explore the awe-inspiring world of the dinosaurs.

You find yourself standing in a large plaza filled with life-sized replicas of the most popular and best loved dinosaurs: Triceratops with its huge face shield and three horns, raptors with their intelligent eyes and aggressive stance and the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex - a formidable apex predator and king of all the dinosaurs. They tower above you and you shiver at the thought of seeing these creatures in real life. Beyond the sculptures, you see the station from where you will take the train. You will be transported back millions of years to the age of the dinosaurs.

You walk towards the train. Above you a golden sun shines brightly in an intensely blue sky, streaked with wisps of pure white. In the far distance, dark shadows soar amongst the clouds. They are too far away to see clearly, but in your excitement, you imagine they are Pteranodons: large-winged reptiles from the Late Cretaceous Period. But you quickly realise such formidable carnivores would not be allowed to soar freely in the open skies. With their huge nine-metre wingspan and enormous beak, none of the smaller dinosaurs would be safe if attacked.

Climbing aboard the first carriage, you are surrounded by glass on all sides including the roof. Each carriage carries a name plate. This one says EVIE.

You hear a familiar beeping that indicates the doors are closing, the train glides out of the station. There is no engine or driver in front of you to block your vision because this monorail is designed to run silently, hovering like magic over the single rail, driven by its huge magnets. You’re not scared, you’ve seen this before and know that the train is controlled from the Operation Centre.

The train takes you on a tour of all the key areas of the park. You observe the laboratories where fossils are examined, and where DNA is used to animate new dinosaurs. You spy the immense aviaries, high up amongst the hills, where the winged reptiles live. Then, elevated only metres above the surface, you pass over vast lakes surrounded by herds of dinosaurs: Ankylosaurus and Sinoceratops. Suddenly, to your surprise, the train descends into a glass tunnel taking you into an underwater world inhabited by the extremely rare freshwater ichthyosaurs. These dolphin-like creatures glide easily between the slender tendrils of the freshwater plants.
Emerging from the tunnel, the train enters an area of dense forest. Looking up through the glass ceiling you see the head of a brachiosaur tearing leaves from the branches overhead as it browses in the upper canopy.
The trees begin to thin, and you find yourself back at the station. You hear the beep again and the doors glide open. You alight from the train and follow a path that leads away from the built-up area.

The path leads you to the Cretaceous Compound. This is the area where the dinosaurs gather together before being escorted to their paddocks for the evening. The perimeter fence is quite low, and you have a clear view of the dinosaurs. To your delight you recognize a Dracorex because of its bony head. Covered in spikes, it looks exactly like a mythical dragon. Its full name is Draconex Hogwartsia, a name that is familiar to you.

All of a sudden, the air is filled with a low, resonating bass note. It is so loud that the ground beneath you vibrates. Instinctively, you scan the compound until you find a large Parasaurolophus standing on its hind legs with its head held high. The sound is coming from the magnificent bony crest on its head. By forcing air through it, the Parasaurolophus communicates with others in the herd. You are captivated by this magnificent animal and are unable to look away.

Then, with no warning, you are distracted by a commotion on one side of the compound. Two keepers have burst through a gate in the perimeter fence and are running down the path towards you. One of them is holding a large net and they are shouting something at you, but you are too far away to hear them clearly. As you stare at them, your eye catches a glimpse of a brightly coloured shape zig zagging across the path ahead of the keepers. It’s a small dinosaur, the size of a large chicken, and it is running towards you. It is a Compsognathus, and it is a carnivore. Finally, you hear the shouting, you’re being told to wave your arms. You understand that to appear more threatening, and stop the tiny dinosaur, you will need to look bigger and more fearsome than the keepers. You boulder down the path, waving your arms wildly. To your astonishment the Compsognathus stops dead in its tracks and stares you in the eye. You are quite close together and although it is extremely small for a dinosaur, you can see the rows of razor-sharp teeth in its beak. You know that if you stay still for too long, it will a...

Jurassic World - Evolution

Snuggle down and cosy up, for tonight you journey to a prehistoric time to explore the awe-inspiring world of the dinosaurs.

Climbing aboard the first carriage, you are surrounded by glass on all sides including the roof. Each carriage carries a name plate. This one says EVIE.

Previous Episode

Rayman

Snuggle down and cosy up, for tonight you embark on a wild adventure with Rayman and the Incrediballs.

You find yourself in a large underground passage beneath the floor of a castle. A strange, blue light illuminates the stone walls, cobwebs and old bones that litter the ground. Ahead of you a small, green fluffy-like creature is jiggling in the air. It’s pointing a beam of bright, white light towards the wall. This is Vern, your Seeker, who has rushed ahead and is impatient for you to catch up.

Intrigued, and never disappointed by Vern’s finds, you catch up keen to see what has been found. High above the floor and balanced precariously on a huge iron-clad length of timber, is a Teensie in a cage. These magical creatures are always imprisoned in hard-to-find places. With no hesitation, you run towards a wooden platform positioned just below where the Teensie is trapped. You leap onto the platform and bounce off to get to the cage. You smash it open and the Teensie escapes. As it flees, you are rewarded with tiny balls of golden light that appear to have wings. Unsure what to do with them, you keep them safe in your pouch.

You are about to jump down when you realise that Vern has gone even higher. Above you the ceiling forms a tall, narrow shaft and Vern is at the top. Bouncing from one side of the shaft to the other, you reach Vern and find a cache of golden coins. They carry the image of a human skull and remind you of pirate treasure. You quickly retrieve them and drop back down into the passage. You notice that Vern is looking tired and may not be able to stay with you for much longer. Even so, Vern leads the way once more.

Suddenly, the passageway is flooded with light and you see a scattering of old bones. Vern is hovering over it and looks very excited. Without your trusty Seeker’s guidance, you would’ve ignored this area of the floor. Instead, you jump with all your might on the pile of bones, and they give way. You fall only a short distance and land in a tunnel that forks two ways, left and right. Your instinct is to go right, but Vern is shining a light to the left. You follow Vern’s lead and find the tunnel ends quite abruptly. Chained to the wall is a very excited looking Teensie. You release the Teensie and receive more of the curious golden balls as a reward. You turn around to celebrate the moment only to discover you are alone. Vern has returned to the Sacred Tree to rest.

As you continue your journey alone, you discover a section of the floor has been replaced by another large piece of iron-clad timber. You run onto it and jump. It rotates, dropping you into the chamber beneath. Here you find another Teensie. This one is tied to a wooden pole and is very pleased to see you. You untie the Teensie and receive your reward. You miss your friend but are delighted to have found a Teensie without the help of Vern. You push the piece of timber to get it out of your way. It returns to a horizontal position above your head. You can't go back the way you came in now, so continue down this new passage. After a while it stops at the entrance to a large chamber that glows with a pure, golden light. You can hear a faint humming sound.

As you enter the large underground chamber, you are intrigued to find that a blue creature with a long trunk has joined you. This is Sniff. Infront of you, filling the chamber, are hundreds of the tiny, winged balls. They are radiating a beautiful golden light and the air is filled with the sound of their tiny wings buzzing. Sniff explains that these are Lums and are very precious.

On the ground, beneath the Lum filled air, there are lots of rotund, pink pigs ambling about. Sniff explains that they will allow you to jump on their backs. They will bounce you high into the air so you can catch the Lums. Although you are initially concerned for the pigs, Sniff assures you that they are glad to help; the buzzing of the Lums’ tiny wings annoys them. You jump onto the first pig’s back and are launched, as if on a trampoline, high into the air. The pig squeals with delight as you and Sniff sail through the air capturing Lums. You bounce from pig to pig and soon the chamber is filled with the sound of the pigs delighted squealing. The Lums you miss are easily captured by Sniff’s long trunk and soon, you have captured them all.

Near the exit from the chamber, you see there is only one pig left. It is standing beneath a torn tapestry that hangs from the wall. You can see a light emanating from behind the tapestry and wonder if you have missed some of the Lums. You jump onto the pig’s back and, now expertly, navigate the high reaches of the chamber. But, instead of finding more Lums, you find crystals. They are a beautiful sky-blue colour, and you collect them quickly. You are pleased because these are the first crystals you've found. As you leave the chamber, you realise that Sniff has left, and you are alon...

Next Episode

Mars Horizon

** Kindle eBook available - for those that want to read along and immerse themselves in the beautiful artwork **

Cosy up and snuggle down, for tonight we explore our inner solar system with Mars Horizon.

You find yourself in what appears to be a huge field. It's flat as far as the eye can see, except for when you turn around, a number of varying size buildings dominate the landscape. There are towers and a large building that connects to a number of smaller buildings around it. To you it looks like a hospital, you know different buildings will help people in different ways. Intrigued, you make your way towards the main building.

Because the building is so large, you miscalculate it's distance from you. It takes a little longer to wander over to it than you thought, but this time allows you to study the place more. You realise what you mistook for towers weren't towers, but intricate scaffolding. You also notice the flags on the buildings. The main building houses lots of different countries' flags as well as another flag you don't recognise. This flag has a space shuttle blasting off what appears to be Earth with a massive smoke trail behind it and heading towards a red planet. You realise you must be at some kind of space agency, and the towers you noticed are the launch pads for rockets that explore our tiny, local part of this vast universe.

Before you know it, you're standing in the atrium of the building you were heading towards. It's a light and spacious lobby that has rockets, spacecraft, rovers, pictures and many more models - exhibiting the history and legacy of this agency. You're impressed and are captivated by all this history which surrounds you. Before you're able to get too lost in your thoughts, you're approached by a soft-smiling person who indicates for you to follow them. Something about their face is familiar, and you are here to complete a mission it seems. Without hesitation, you follow them through the security areas and enter the heart of the building.

As you make your way through the building you notice more pictures of space that you'd never seen before. Some of the missions from this agency have been highly successful it seems, and you're keen to see what your mission will be.

You and your companion finally approach a large door which they unlock with a keycard. Almost like the doors of an elevator, they peel away in layers revealing a huge room with hundreds of desks facing the wall in front which has numerous large screens across its width. You know that this is the beating heart of the agency, the operations centre.

From here, every rocket, shuttle and satellite is launched and the low whirring of the computers' fans, the quiet chatter from the people and the beeps from the various space missions create a sound of determined calm. Everyone knows what they're doing, only talking when they need to confirm or collaborate.

Your guide nods towards the front of the room where a seat has been left for you. You're not sure yet what you're supposed to do, but you walk towards the desk and take a seat. With a tap of a button your screens come to life and takes you directly into a program that has some simple maths equations. A little bit of addition, some subtraction as well as some fractions pop up on screen. You answer nearly all the questions perfectly, only miscalculating one of the fractions. But it's ok and it doesn't stop you from getting to the next screen. You turn to look at your guide, but they're gone. There is no-one sitting either side of you, so you decide to continue exploring the program which brings up a pop-up message.
"Welcome to the Checkpoint Space Agency. Today we will launch a satellite that will travel across our solar system to study Haumea (Ho-ME-Ah), a dwarf planet on the edge of our solar system," the message reads. Your eyes light up. You remember this planet from looking at space books when you were very small with your parents. You remember its potato-like shape and its red eye. You remember wondering what it would be like to sit on the edge of the solar system looking back at the sun and all the planets in-between.

"To proceed, please press ENTER. You will be required to solve some puzzles to help the on-board computers learn how to solve them in case they have problems in space."
You press ENTER and the screen goes black for a second or two before flickering back to life. On the screen you can see a number of objects that need to placed into containers of a similar shape and size. Much like the shape blocks you played with when you were younger, you have to fit the right shape into the right hole. At first it's quite simple, but as you progress through the program the shapes get more complicated and colours are also introduced. Your work will hopefully aide in the success rat...