We spoke to the Italic Pig team all about the gorgeous dino ranching game Paleo Pines for our latest interview!
The beautiful Paleo Pines launches for Xbox later this year (and I’ve been badgering the rest of the TrueAchievements news team about how good this game looks for much longer) so we just had to reach out to developer Italic Pig for more info, with executive producer Aimee Lingman, game director Nina Roussakoff, lead producer Aisling McElroy, and lead artist Abigail Gelston having been kind enough to answer all our dino questions!
What is Paleo Pines?
Paleo Pines is a gorgeous game about befriending dinos, creating a home for them, and having them work alongside you on your ranch.
“Dinosaurs were a part of my childhood — of many people’s childhoods. Paleo Pines celebrates idyllic childhood summers, so I think the dinos and growing-your-own fit that perfectly,” says Roussakoff.
“We love dinosaurs and think they’re incredibly fascinating creatures, and we wanted to create a game that would allow players to learn more about them and experience what it would be like to live alongside them,” adds Lingman.
Having Paleo Pines revolve around its dinos and their abilities is an interesting twist on the farming/ranching genre. “Dinosaurs can also be used to help you explore, not only do they have farming skills but they also have wild skills to help you reach the far corners of Paleo Pines,” continues Lingman. “Who hasn’t dreamed of having a dino steed? The experience of exploring the island on a T-rex versus a Utahraptor is entirely different and we imagine the players will spend a lot of time finding their favourites.”
When does Paleo Pines launch?
We now have a release date for Paleo Pines, which is great for two reasons: one, it means we just have to wait until September 26 to get hands-on with dino ranching, and two, it means the TrueAchievements news team is safe forevermore being summoned to join in my constant speculation about when the game might come out.
What’s it about?
One dino in particular has stood out in Paleo Pines: the blue and white-striped Lucky. “Lucky is your companion from the beginning of the game, you’ve had this Parasaurolophus since she was a baby,” McElroy says. “Lucky begins to outgrow your space and you find yourself moving to Paleo Pines to live on a wide open ranch. You believe you’ll find other Parasaurolophus there — but it turns out that no one has seen them in ages. Where are they? It’s a total mystery.” As we explore the island and its history, we’ll come to befriend its dinos and its townsfolk alike.
How does Paleo Pines play?
So, Paleo Pines will keep you busy with a variety of activities: exploring the island, discovering and befriending new dinosaurs, ensuring they’re happy in their new home with you, restoring and decorating your ranch, farming (with the help of your dinos, each have their own farming abilities), getting to know the townsfolk, and completing quests. “You wake up to a soft sunrise, stretch to the fresh air on the ranch. There’s dinos to greet, there’s crops to tend. As you approach a pen, Lucky runs towards you, bursts into a heartful hello. Maybe you pet her and feed her. There’s plenty of watering to do, so you hop onto your watering steed and get water from the nearest pond,” Roussakoff begins. “Once you have watered all the crops, and maybe harvested some too, you head off to Pebble Plaza. You sell your crops to Corlan, the local merchant, and then buy some seeds from Granny Agami. Maybe you have a quest you’d like to do next. Or maybe you want to tame a new dino.
“So off you go exploring in the wild. There are lots of berries to pick in the forest. And some mushrooms. You discover a new area, and there — you spot something glowing. Yes! It’s a dreamstone! You’ll need that to make a new dino happy to move in with you. Ah, but the day grows long, and the sun is setting. You grab another few berries and start to make your way back. The night pulls in and you can’t see much in the distance, but cosy night lights guide you all the way home. As you return to the ranch, a dino runs up to you in greeting while others sleep by their cosy dreamstones. You hop onto your Styracosaurus and till a few new fields. You give them a pat to show your appreciation for their hard work. And then plant the seeds you bought from Granny Agami earlier. Your last job of the day. Time to go to bed. That quest can wait until tomorrow. Goodnight, dinos.”
When exploring the island for new dinosaurs, you’ll need to be prepared to gain their trust. “Once you’ve found a dinosaur that you’re interested in, you’ll need to befriend it by feeding it, playing with it, and giving it treats. Once you’ve earned a dinosaur’s trust, it will be happy to follow you back to your ranch and help with your farming chores,” McElroy continues. “You can also enjoy exploring the island on your dino steeds! In addition to exploring, farming, and befriending dinosaurs, players can also interact with the townsfolk of Paleo Pines. The townsfolk can give you quests, sell you items, and provide you with information about the island. Players can also participate in a variety of events, such as festivals.”
So, how exactly will our new dino friends help us with our farming work? “Once you’ve befriended a dinosaur and created a cosy pen back on your ranch, you must care for them and build on the relationship to gain its full trust,” McElroy says. “When your dinos are happy and trust in you they begin to get involved in farming. Dinosaurs can perform a variety of tasks, such as watering crops, harvesting crops, and clearing debris. Each dinosaur has its own unique skills, so you’ll need to experiment to find the best dinosaurs for the job.”
Roussakoff expands on this a little, saying, “Oh dinos are so helpful on the ranch! They can till, water, and harvest. Steeds, which would be the larger dinos, specialise in one of those three, while small dinos can be assigned to a harvesting basket or watering bowl or seed bowl, and will work independently on the ranch. You can also take dinos with you into the wilds, where the steeds help you get past obstacles and collect resources such as stone or wood. Little helpers can sniff out berries, dandelions, clover, and so on and help draw your attention to them.”
What’s the world like?
Paleo Pines’ world ranges between biomes like Veridian Valley, Dapplewood, and Ariacotta, and our dino friends can help us unlock new areas. “Paleo Pines is a large island with a variety of different regions to explore; the valley, a forest and even a desert,” Gelston says. “We have put a lot of effort into ensuring that the environments feel incredibly cosy and lush — the dinos agree as they all have their favourite areas to enjoy in the wild.”
McElroy adds that Paleo Pines’ rich atmosphere extends to all sorts of details. “We wanted to create a sense of nostalgia, those childhood summers where you would explore for the day, lose yourself and all sense of time but could always find your way home. The feeling of exploring each area goes beyond the visual. We wanted the player to feel immersed — for instance, when you enter the canyon you will notice a distinct echo and the soothing sounds of the forest change with the weather.”
That idea of childhood nostalgia is also expressed through the game’s beautiful art style. “We wanted to create a game that was both visually appealing and nostalgic. The art style of Paleo Pines is inspired by children’s books, with a bright and colorful palette,” Gelston explains. “Our dinosaurs are chunky, soft, and a lot more cutesy than the dinosaurs we’re used to seeing. We wanted to make sure that we stayed true to the anatomy and the characteristics of each species as much as we could, so from the beginning we consulted with a palaeontologist to get their input on the designs.”
Roussakoff says that the team began with concept art from former creative director Jordan Bradley and “evolved from there,” adding, “When I joined the team, Animal Crossing was a key inspiration for the game. But the 3D environment art didn’t feel quite right to me, because unlike the top-down view of Animal Crossing, in Paleo Pines you are immersed in the world via third-person view. So we went back to the spirit of the game itself — childhood summers — and reimagined the world as a kind of picture book lens on the British countryside. By capturing the feel, it set the art of Paleo Pines free!”
Any news yet on the Paleo Pines achievements?
We don’t yet have the Paleo Pines achievements, but Roussakoff gave us an idea of what to expect. “We broke our achievements into different categories, and brainstormed with lots of team mates. I also prodded an achievement-hunter friend to bounce some ideas back and forth. As a result, I think we have a nice wide range of achievements, from story-based ones to collections.”
If you’ve been watching the Paleo Pines trailers and dev updates, you might have noticed that rare dino variants can appear in the game under certain circumstances, and since there already look to be a large number of dino species featured, we wondered if we could expect any achievements related to catching each type of dinosaur and/or their special unique variants. “You gotta study ‘em all!” Roussakoff says, and even gives us a clue for one achievement: “although we have some achievements related specifically to befriending dinos — including an Ultra Rare one — to pop “Dino Expert,” you have to register all dino species in your journal and there is a way to do that without bringing them with you to the ranch.”
As for what makes an ideal achievement list; in Roussakoff’s opinion, “I think it’s got to have a mix of everything. Easy achievements. Challenging ones that focus more on skill than grind. Achievements for completing collections. Achievements that encourage you to try a different playstyle or use a different feature more. And achievements that make you laugh.”
Out of all that — what are the Paleo Pines team most excited for players to experience? “I’m most excited for players to experience the sense of wonder and discovery that comes with exploring the island of Paleo Pines. We’ve put a lot of work into creating a world that’s both beautiful and believable, and we can’t wait to see how players interact with it. We’re also excited for players to meet the dinosaurs of Paleo Pines. We’ve designed each dinosaur with a lot of care, and we think players will love getting to know them,” says Lingman. “I honestly can’t wait to meet everybody’s dinosaurs! Their names, their colours, who they share a pen with, and their adventures out in the wild,” adds Roussakoff.
What do you think? Will you be checking out Paleo Pines in September? Let us know in the comments!
