After millions of years, dinosaurs are once again appearing across the world, thanks to an ambitious debut from one Northern Irish game studio.
Set in a world of prehistoric animals, Amber Isle is a wonderfully cosy social sim game where you restore a near-extinct village back to life. Prepare to fall in love with dinosaurs all over again...
With an appealing blend of exploration, crafting and shop management, it's the kind of game where hours pass you by, but they feel like minutes.
It is the definition of a cosy game, with harmonious music, gorgeous artwork, a gentle colour palette, and the opportunity to play as (and with) adorable creatures. What's not to love about that?
After making your very own prehistoric character, equipped with everything from horns, fangs, wings, and unique patterns, the game sees you pass by a strange village while on a mission for adventure. As you’re flung from the sky through a cottage roof, you find yourself at odds with the grumpy village Mayor over repair bills. And so begins your quest to become the island’s new shopkeeper and slowly whittle away your new-found debt.
There’s just one problem – the island is in a pretty sorry state. And no customers means no profit. After a brief tutorial guide, you learn the basics of managing a shop. But you're quickly given all the freedom you could ever want to restore this quiet village to your liking.
Amber Isle is brimming with areas to explore, and discoveries are plentiful. Resources beg to be harvested. A steady supply of new recipes keeps the creative juices flowing. And, of course, there is a wide cast of characters waiting to be befriended, including dinosaurs, ice-age mammals, marine life and more.
While it's important to stock your shop, it's equally important how you present it, too. You can customise it's layout, what items you sell, and at what price. Haggling will become second nature as you try to maximise profits while remaining on good terms with your new dino friends. Any profits you make can be reinvested into the island for much-needed improvements.
It's a gameplay loop that is as rewarding as it is fun.
The fact that the game was made by a studio in Northern Ireland brings Amber Isle to another level. It reminds us of the wealth of talent on these shores and the huge potential the industry has.
So, just how did the idea of game about friendly dinosaurs and managing a prehistoric shop hatch in Belfast?
For the love of dinosaurs - the making of Amber Isle
The drive to make Amber Isle came during a very uncertain time, when the world was facing the Covid-19 pandemic. But as Ambertail Games co-founder Jordan Bradley explains, this period provided an opportunity to create something new.
"At the start, it was just myself and Noel Watters, Ambertail Game’s other co-founder," she says.
"We’d both just quit our previous, less than ideal employment situation, lockdown was happening, and it felt that our lives were being so shaken up anyway that we thought "Why not try? What else do we have to lose?"
"If we’re simplifying, our main goal was to create something from the heart, that we ourselves would actually be excited to play. But we also wanted to create a studio where people are treated right and their time is respected."
The initial idea of Amber Isle soon hatched into something bigger, attracting the attention of stakeholders to scale the project up.
"We secured a small prototype fund from Northern Ireland Screen, which enabled us to build a basic pitch and Prototype for "Project Amber"" she says. "We spent the next couple of months working on the game when we could, whilst working other freelance gigs to pay our personal bills.
"A few months in, we had a playable prototype, and a trailer which was featured on the Wholesome Games showcase in 2021. From there, it started doing rounds on social media, and that’s when Team17, a UK-based games publisher, surprisingly reached out to us directly about pitching Amber Isle to them."
A cosy game with a dino difference
Cosy games have revolutionised the gaming industry. From Animal Crossing to Disney Dreamlight Valley, Stardew Valley to Harvest Moon, they offer a chance to unwind, be creative, and play at your own pace.
With Amber Isle, the idea of a peaceful game being based on dinosaurs is brand-new territory for the genre. Out of anything and everything possible to include, why dinosaurs?
"Why not dinosaurs?" Jordan responds. "This is an easy one for me to answer: as a life-long paleo-nerd, dinosaurs have been an enduring obsession of mine (I only have three dino tattoos!)."
"Although dinosaurs captivate people from all over the world, we'll never be able to see them in the flesh… they now only exist in our collective imaginations. And so, one of the only ways to actively engage with dinosaurs is through interactive media like video games."
Placing dinosaurs in a social sim game, though, where the goal is to help rebuild an area, does go against the consensus of dinosaurs being these terrifying, vicious and destructive creatures. In Amber Isle, they’re friendly. They’re helpful. They’re also hilarious. The dialogue you encounter upon meeting them and as they busily try to haggle with you at your shop never fails to bring a smile to your face.
"We definitely have the talent here, and I hope to see more people stay in Northern Ireland as opportunities continue to present themselves."
Each one has a distinct personality, and it’s clear that there’s been careful work in bringing characters to life in a meaningful way. What was the reasoning behind the cosy angle of Amber Isle? And what was the most fun thing about the process?
"Well, dinosaurs are all too typically portrayed as violent movie monsters, it’s almost a trope at this point," says Jordan. "I found that when posting cuddly dinosaur artwork online, it would resonate with people so strongly, that it was clear that there’s a desire for friendly, yet accurate, dinosaurs!
Howdy, pardner! 🐊 Axel the Sarcosuchus got a bit lost, but he's found our way to our socials eventually!
— Amber Isle 🔶 PC OUT NOW! (@AmberIsleGame) October 5, 2024
🚩Wannabe explorer with no sense of direction
🗺️Never able to sit in one place for very long
🤠 The rootin'est tootin'est navi-gator there ever was! pic.twitter.com/lHLDNeYzQK
"For me, I had the most fun designing our cast of dinosaur characters called Paleofolk! There's 48 unique characters in the game to meet, befriend and complete quests with, all of which are based on a specific prehistoric creature. We had to include the iconic dinosaurs like T.rex and velociraptor in our roster, but there are also more niche, esoteric animals like anomalocaris and sinosauropteryx for the real paleo-nerds!"
Jordan says that the team "struck a balance" between species-driven characterisation and the subversion of those expectations. As a result, she’s confident there’s a Paleofolk for everyone on the island.
Despite the fun of making Amber Isle, she says there were "learning experiences" throughout development. "This was our first game, and the first time we’d all worked together as a team. It was certainly a challenge to learn how to effectively balance directing a game and all its production needs, whilst also running the 'business end’ of a games studio."
Northern Ireland is becoming a gaming magnet
Altogether, Amber Isle represents the culmination of over £1.2 million of investment. And since 2020, Ambertail Games has created 10 full-time jobs, worked with over 30 freelancers, and become ingrained in the community, supporting local outsourcing partners and educational institutions.
It seems to be a very exciting time for the industry in Northern Ireland. Is this something that resonates with Jordan? "Absolutely, Northern Ireland’s game scene has never been more promising and exciting!" she says.
"There’s fantastic training schemes, more workshops than ever and game design and art courses at the likes of Belfast Met, which didn’t exist when I was at Uni. We definitely have the talent here, and I hope to see more people stay in Northern Ireland as opportunities continue to present themselves."
Although having just been released, Amber Isle has already caught the attention of gamers. It’s received glowing praise on Steam, and an upcoming Nintendo Switch release will no doubt raise the Paleofolk's profile further. Besides a well-earned rest, what’s next for Jordan, Amber Isle, and Ambertail Games?
"As for us, we’ll continue to support Amber Isle with new content and get the game ready to launch on Nintendo Switch later this year! Plus, we’ve begun preliminary work on game #2… I can’t say much for now, but rest assured, there may be dinosaurs!"
Amber Isle is now available to play on PC and Mac. A Nintendo Switch version will be released soon. For more information, visit the Amber Isle website.
