Developer Interview: Paleo Pines

Italic Pig is a small but passionate game development company based in Northern Ireland, and we've been working on Paleo Pines since 2019. As with any project that is this long in the making, we've been on a tumultuous journey to get to where we are now, but, boy, are we happy to be here! We're on the home stretch to launch, and it's been mind-blowing to see players enjoying the game through the demo and bonding with their dinos!

The concept originally came to life out of a Game Jam in 2019 from the original creator, Jordan Bradley. The concepts Jordan created struck a chord with so many people, and within the Italic Pig studio, the game as we know it today began to take shape in those early days of development. It's fair to say that we have a team of developers that are very passionate about dinosaurs!

Nina: "Dinosaurs were a part of my childhood — of many people's childhoods. Paleo Pines celebrates idyllic childhood summers, so I think the experience of living on an island with dinos and growing your own just fit that perfectly."

With most farming sim games, you have tools to help you farm that can be upgraded throughout the game to increase your ability to automate simple tasks. With friendly dinosaurs being the name of the game, it felt natural to not only be able to befriend them and build them pens on your ranch but work with them as helpers. I mean, who wouldn't want to watch a T-Rex spray a fountain to water your crops?!

We've been on quite the journey with Paleo Pines! Most recently, our biggest challenge has been choosing where to focus our resources with a small development team. There are so many things we want to do with this game, from character customisation options to new dino colours, but we also want to make sure that, first and foremost, the players have a fun and seamless experience. Striking that perfect balance can be difficult, as many indie studios know, but we are proud of the work we've been able to accomplish so far and excited to share it!

The biggest change has been in the concept of not taming the dinos but befriending them. Paleo Pines is a land where kindness reigns, and it didn't seem right to treat these amazing dinosaurs as beings that needed to be controlled in any way. Once we knew that taming wasn't going to be a feature, this made us rethink the mechanics of how you make friends with each dinosaur and thus, our friend songs were born.

There are currently 29 officially confirmed dinos in the game, with many having multiple patterns and colours — not to mention personalities! As for the final dino count, we're saving some surprises for launch!

We've worked closely with palaeontologist Natalia Jagielska to consult on the game and ensure accuracy with our dino designs and animations (as much as one can with them being cute and cuddly!). We've tried to align each of their helper abilities with skills they might have had in real life. For example, the Coelophysis were great trackers, and they can help you track down berries and resources in the game. The Pachysaurus was known for its particularly tough head, so they can help you break down boulders cluttering up your ranch!

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.

The entire team has drawn inspiration from all aspects of their lives! From a game perspective, our experiences playing other farming sims like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing certainly gave us a wealth of insight into game mechanics and helped build up our own preferences for what we liked or didn't like. For visuals, childhood books and chibi art played a big role. With environments and customisation, we got very personal, adding nods to our own favourite childhood areas and Northern Ireland.

This game has been in production for nearly four years, and we've had community members following our progress since the beginning. The outpouring of community support and excitement for the game has kept us going through some long development days! And it's been incredible seeing all the hard work and passion our team has poured into it pay off with all the wonderful reactions to the demo so far.

Aimee: "I can definitely say that it's quite surreal to work on a game close to your heart for years and then suddenly have it being played by tens of thousands of people! The love they have for this world we've created is so incredible to see. "

We like to think of it as an expansion of the genre. A farming sim with a dino twist! Like most farming sims, you start out with a hoe, shovel, and watering can and plant your crops by hand. Then as you befriend dinos and they level up, you can increase your capacity to automate ploughing, planting, watering, and harvesting until you have a thriving ranch that just about runs itself. In addition, you've got exploring, villager quests, and even a bit of mystery — all the core ingredients that make for a compelling sim game!

If there was anything at all that we wanted to convey was a huge sense of gratitude to everyone who is playing our demo and spreading the word about Paleo Pines. There have been times in the past months where we've called upon our community to help give us a boost to make the most of events or we've wanted to catch the eye of a specific influencer. They've come through for us every time, and it just makes us want to make the best possible game for them. So much of game development is done in a vacuum, yet it is just so much better when your community is along for the ride.

Aimee - "I have to give a shout-out to the moderation team on our Discord. These incredibly talented people have been volunteering their time to help build our community, and there is just no way we could have done it without their passion and commitment."

We'd be remiss if we didn't say that Lucky has a special place in our hearts. But Lucky aside, there seem to be a lot of 'twins' going around the team. There's the twin Psittacosaurus Jelly Bean and Lolo befriended by Katy, and on Yazz's ranch, you can find the Therizinosaurus twins, Honk and Bonk!

Granny says it best in the game when you approach, and she exclaims, "Look what the rapt dragged in!"