Welcome to Cyclopaedia 33: Dinosaurs. Cyclopaedia is a monthly article on the InnRoads Ministries website. I was reading through the classic Dungeons & Dragons module X1 – The Isle of Dread and was inspired for my topic this month. Dinosaurs feature prominently in that module which got me to thinking about other examples of dinosaurs I love including playing with toy dinosaurs as a kid, watching Land of the Lost, reading Jurassic Park, visiting natural history museums with my daughters, and laughing as Wash on Firefly played with his toy dinosaurs. What is it about dinosaurs that fascinate us so much? Be wary of the Sleestak as we explore the wonderful world of dinosaurs.
If you have questions about this article or topics you would like me to consider researching for future Cyclopaedia articles, please leave a comment below.
Overview
The great reptiles of the ancient past have enthralled us from early myths and legends into our first discoveries of proof. Since the first fossils were recognized in the 19th century, dinosaurs have fascinated us, been debated among scientists, been loved by children, packed people into natural history museums, been turned into monsters by cinema, and left so many unanswered questions. We are fascinated by these massive creatures that once roamed the earth. What did they really look like? Were they leathery or feathered, greenish-gray or brightly colored, violent or communal, intelligent or limited? With only fossils and the rare frozen-in-time glimpse in ice or amber, we are still extrapolating a lot of what we know. And as paleontologists make new discoveries, our knowledge and understanding of these amazing creatures comes to light.
We are beginning to understand that dinosaurs were not just large, brutish reptiles covered in leathery hides and armor. Evidence has begun to reveal colored patterns, feathers, lifestyle patterns, family groups, and more. Even with all the scientific research, there is confusion and misrepresentation, much of which is made worse by fiction and cinema. So many stories depict dinosaurs incorrectly living with humans, the ice ages shown at the incorrect time, various time periods of dinosaurs overlapping when they never would have been together, and the life and society of dinosaurs depicted in so many conflicting ways. We have a scientific view of dinosaurs, then we have our imaginary view of them. No matter your view of dinosaurs, you must admit they are fascinating and provide such amazing story potential. Whether it is a lost world full of the massive creatures, genetics bring back dinosaurs, or kids dreaming of walking with their favorite toys..we love to imagine life with dinosaurs
The Age of Dinosaurs
The age of dinosaurs is called the Mesozoic Era and is broken into three periods:
• Triassic (250-144 million years ago)
• Jurassic (144-90 million years ago)
• Cretaceous (90-65 million years ago)
Following are sources of information pertaining to Dinosaurs to assist prospective game masters, game designers, writers, and storytellers in knowing where to start their research.
ARTICLES
The True Colors of Dinosaurs
By Vinther, Jakob.
Source: Scientific American. Mar2017, Vol. 316 Issue 3, p50-57. 8p. 24 Color Photographs
WHEN IS A DINOSAUR NOT A DINOSAUR? The rulers of prehistoric Earth are having an identity crisis
By Barras, Colin.
Source: New Scientist. 5/5/2018, Vol. 238 Issue 3176, p38-41. 4p.
BOOKS
Anonymous Rex
By Garcia, Eric
The Banshee Engine: The End of the Human Species
By Jones, Harry J.
Bones of the Earth
By Swanwick, Michael
Bully for Brontosaurus
By Gould, Stephen Jay
The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures
By Dixon, Dougal
Cretaceous Dawn
By Graziano, Michael S.A.
Dinosaurs: A Concise Natural History
By Fastovsky, David E. and Weishampel, David B.
Dinosaurs – The Grand Tour: Everything Worth Knowing About Dinosaurs from Aardonyx to Zuniceratops
By Pim, Keiron and Horner, Jack
The Dinosaur Four
By Jones, Geoff
Dinosaur Planet
By McCaffrey, Anne
Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time
By Gurney, James
Dinosaur Summer
By Bear, Greg
Dinosaur Tales
By Bradbury, Ray
Dinosaur Thunder
By David, James F.
Earthfall
By Hopp, Thomas P.
End of an Era
By Sawyer, Robert J.
Far-Seer
By Sawyer, Robert J.
Feathered Dinosaurs: The Origin of Birds
By Long, John and Schouten, Peter
Footprints of Thunder
By David, James F.
Future Remains
By Jack, Robert
The Homecoming
By Longyear, Barry B.
Horizon Alpha
By Vogel, D.W
Journey to the Center of the Earth
By Verne, Jules
Jurassic Park
By Crichton, Michael
The Lost World
By Doyle, Arthur Conan
The New Dinosaurs: An Alternative Evolution
By Dixon, Dougal
Oh Say Can You Say Di-no-saur?: All About Dinosaurs
By Worth, Bonnie
Predators of Eden
By Vogel, D.W.
Prehistoric Life: The Definitive Visual History of Life on Earth
By DK
The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs
By Paul, Gregory S.
Raptor Red
By Bakker, Robert
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World\
By Brusatte, Steve
Turok: Son of Stone
Comic Book
Tyrannosaurus Drip
By Donaldson, Julia and Roberts, David
Tyrant: King of the Bosporus
By Cameron, Christian
The Ultimate Dinosaur
By Silverberg, Robert
West of Eden
By Harrison, Harry
GAMES
ARK: Survival Evolved – Video Game
Bios: Megafauna – Tabletop Game
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs – RPG
The Complete Guide to T. Rex – RPG
Dino Crisis – Video Game
Dino Dude Ranch – Tabletop Game
Dino Hunt – Tabletop Game
Dinosaur Island – Tabletop Game
Dinosaur Planet: Broncosaurus Rex – RPG
Dinosaur Tea Party – Tabletop Game
Dungeon Module X1: The Isle of Dread – RPG
Evo – Tabletop Game
Evolution: The Beginning – Tabletop Game
Great Dinosaur Rush – Tabletop Game
GURPS Dinosaurs – RPG
GURPS Land out of Time – RPG
Hollow World – RPG
Horizon Zero Dawn – Video Game
theHunter Primal – Video Game
JurassAttack! – Tabletop Game
Jurassic Park Game – Tabletop Game
Jurassic Park: Trespasser – Video Game
Jurassic World Evolution – Video Game
Lands of Mystery – RPG
Lego Jurassic World – Video Game
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate – Video Game
Off-road Velociraptor Safari – Video Game
Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Movie Game – Video Game
Primal Carnage – Video Game
Primal Rage – Video Game
Primeval – RPG
Raptor – Tabletop Game
Rory’s Story Cubes: Prehistoria – Tabletop Game
Trias – Tabletop Game
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter – Video Game
CINEMA
100 Million BC
Anonymous Rex
At the Earth’s Core
Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend
Barney – TV
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs – TV
Dino-Riders – TV
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs – TV
Dinotopia – TV
The Flintstones – TV
Gogs – TV
The Good Dinosaur
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Jurassic Park
Jurassic World
King Kong
Kong: Skull Island
Land of the Lost
Land of the Lost – TV
The Land Before Time
The Land That Time Forgot
The Lost World – TV
One Million Years BC
The People That Time Forgot
Prehistoric Planet – TV
Primeval – TV
Primeval: New World – TV
Terra Nova – TV
Turok: Son of Stone
The Valley of Gwangi
Walking with Dinosaurs – TV
We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story
LOCATIONS
American Museum of Natural History
https://www.amnh.org/
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
https://www.childrensmuseum.org/
Dinosaur National Monument
https://www.nps.gov/dino/index.htm
Field Museum of Chicago
https://www.fieldmuseum.org/
Natural History Museum
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
https://www.naturalsciences.be/
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
https://naturalhistory.si.edu/
Society of Vertebrate Technology Annual Meeting
http://vertpaleo.org/Annual-Meeting/Annual-Meeting-Home.aspx
Wyoming Dinosaur Center
http://www.wyodino.org/
PEOPLE
Luis Alvarez
Mary Anning
Robert H. Bakker
Barnum Brown
William Buckland
Michael Crichton
Edwin H. Colbert
Edward Drinker Cope
Stephen Jay Gould
Jack Horner
Othniel C. Marsh
Henry Fairfield Osborn
Richard Owen
Paul Sereno
Patricia Vickers-Rich
Dong Zhiming
I hope you find these resources informative and inspiring for your adventures, storytelling, or game design.
Stay Creative!
T.R. Knight
( If you would like to save this list of resources as a convenient PDF for later reference, you can find that HERE )
WHO IS T.R. KNIGHT?
He is a freelance editor, proofreader, and writer in the game industry. He is also a Husband and Caregiver to his wife Angie, Father of Twins Emily and Rachel, Gardner and Hobby Chef, and Director of Academic Technology and User Services at Taylor University. You can learn more about T.R. at his blog http://www.thomasrknight.com.