Gamified Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Play: The <em>Jurassic Park</em> Ludo Mix

Justin Wigard

doi:10.6092/issn.2280-9481/16747

Authors

Justin Wigard University of Richmond

Justin Wigard is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Distant Viewing Lab at University of Richmond, where he works and teaches in comics studies, game studies, and digital humanities. His current project explores visual representations of race and gender in the contemporary US newspaper comic strip through combined methodologies of comics studies and computer vision. He is co-editor of Attack of the New B Movies: Essays on SYFY Original Films (McFarland Press, 2023), the first academic treatment of SYFY Channel’s made-for-television films, including Sharknado (2013), 2 Lava 2 Lantula (2016), Frankenfish (2004), and more. The book features a cultural history of the SYFY Original Film beginning with the channel’s inception in 1992; essays on creature features, genre studies, ecocriticism, and STEM-humanities connections within the SYFY Original Film corpus; and the first filmography of 525 SYFY Originals from 1992-2022. His work has appeared in INKS, Cultural Analytics, Genealogy, KULA, and various edited collections. You can find more at his website, justinwigard.com, and you can reach him on most social media platforms @JustinWigard.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2280-9481/16747

Keywords:

Dinosaurs, RPG, Video Games, Games Studies, Ludo Mix

Abstract

Over 30 years, the Jurassic Park franchise has spawned myriad games across several mediums, including: video game consoles; arcade cabinets; PC games; standalone handheld games; a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG); board games; game-versions of LEGO toys; an alternate reality game; games using bar codes. By treating this games portfolio as a ludo mix, a theoretical frame that allows for connecting these disparate game forms to one another and to the larger franchise, it becomes clear that the Jurassic Park franchise historically positions dinosaurs as adversaries, hazards, and commodities to be exploited within their games, and in the process, requires players to be complicit.

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Gamified Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Play: The Jurassic Park Ludo Mix

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