Unleashing the Dino Horde with CEO David Prassel

You know what I really miss? Great dinosaur games. Remember classics like Dino Crisis and Turok? Well so do the folks at Spiral Game Studios and they’ve released a solid game to help whet your prehistoric appetite, ORION: Dino Horde. 

Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine you and a few good friends on an exotic island. The wind flows through your hair and the fresh ocean breeze gently caresses your nostrils. Now imagine that island is overrun with hundreds of relentless predators, that just so happen to be dinosaurs. Now imagine that you and your friends must face countless waves of these horrific creatures in a desperate struggle to survive. But wait… what’s that off in the distance? It’s a huge weapon cache and a bunker full of radical vehicles. Now imagine you and your friends laying waste to hordes of raptors, triceratops, t-rex, pterodactyls and much more. That is essentially what an average round of ORION: Dino Horde looks like.

[youtube http://youtu.be/Rt6tM72XSYM]

I got the chance to ask Spiral Game Studios CEO/Founder, David Prassel, a few questions about this game and his undying love for dinosaurs.

1. First off, and probably the most important question, how many times did your team watch Jurassic Park during development? 

Way too many times.  Not only during development but as a child, plane rides, when they play it on TV (which seems to be a lot lately…) – way too many times.  But deservingly so.  It’s amazing how well that movie still holds up / trumps some special effects of today.

2. How would you describe ORION: Dino Horde to someone who is totally unfamiliar with it? 

It’s the “Summer Blockbuster Movie” of Video Games.  The ‘ORION: Dino’ label (Dino Beatdown, Dino Horde) is our over-the-top, retro-inspired, in-your-face action.  The best example I’ve been able to give is that it’s similar to what SSX Tricky is to the SSX video game brand.  

• If you like Adventure, Cooperative, Competitive, Survival gameplay – you will love it.
• If you like games like Halo, Gears of War, Left 4 Dead, Killing Floor – you will love it.
• If you like Dinosaurs, we have 9 species of them and more coming for FREE
• If you like Vehicle Combat – we have it.
• If you like Achievement Hunting – we have over 100 with more coming regularly.
• If you like FREE DLC – we are doing it all Summer long.
• If you like participating in feedback, competitions and events with the developer – we are here.

3. There are a wide selection of game modes. Which is your favorite?

I have to give a nod to Survival 2.0 as that is the bread and butter of the game and what it truly was and always is at its core.  However the new modes all add something unique (CTF, King of the Hill, Team Elimination, FFA DM) and are tributes to other games that have encouraged us or inspired us along the way.  

Ninja (Team Elimination) is by far my favorite.  This is our nod to the Stealth genre (Theif, Alien VS Predator, Crysis) and it puts two teams of five against one another in rounds of elimination.  The focus is the Recon (Stealth) class and this mode revolves around Cloaking Devices, Knives, Power Jumps, Long-Range weapons and shotguns.  It’s incredible seeing shrubs and foliage move from cloaked players blitzing your position hoping for a stealth Knife kill.

4. Co-op is a huge part of the ORION: Dino Horde, in what ways did you try and ensure that each class provides an interesting and balanced experience?

Each class has quite a few unique traits including Starting Pistol, Grenade Type, Ability, Class Upgrades, and Adrenaline Weapon selection.  Each class offers a completely unique gameplay experience and play-style.

5. This game has a really fun and classic feel to it, were there any multiplayer PC games you had specifically in mind when you folks went into development? 

When I was younger I was super into competitive gaming.  Literally everything.  Counter-Strike, Quake’s, Renegade, Unreal’s, Tribes 1 & 2, Jedi Knight (+Mysteries of the Sith), Alien Vs Predator and tons of others.  You’re going to see tons of inspiration and tributes to those classics both in modes and “feel” as you mentioned.6. If you could be any dinosaur, what kind would you be? 

Triceratops.  What about you?

Me: Well, I’d have to say the velociraptor. I think my life goal would be to recreate the “clever girl” moment from the original Jurassic Park. 

7. For those of us who have been playing, or plan on playing very soon, could you share some tips on surviving the Dino Horde? 

As I get the time I am writing official Steam guides to aid newer players with the game.  I’ve only done three but plenty more are to come.  Three universal tips for combating most if not all Dinosaurs and attack types:

• Roll-Evade (hold Crouch + a direction)
• Melee (applies a great deal of damage, slows smaller types)
• Aim for the head (does way more damage).

A huge “thank you” to David Prassel for being such a good sport. Not only was he kind enough to answer a few questions for me, but he also gave me a few game keys for ORION: Dino Horde to give away on Steam. We have four keys up for grabs, but you’re going to have to work for ’em. In the comment section below, tell us who would win in a fight between a velociraptor and a triceratops. There is no right or wrong answer, but our four favorite answers will get this game absolutely free.

If you’d like a little more information on the game or just want to get in touch with the great people over at Spiral Game Studios, be sure to visit their website and show them some love. They’ve obviously put a great deal of hard work into this project and it deserves every bit of praise it receives.