Dinosaur Polo Club, the award-winning studio behind the popular traffic management sims Mini Motorways and Mini Metro, which boast nearly 12 million combined players, is shedding light on their recently canceled project, code-named Magic School.
The studio is using this moment to transparently share the learnings from the Magic School project, celebrate the hard work and creativity of the team, and provide insights into the game development process.
Reflections on Magic School
Though Magic School will never be released, Dinosaur Polo Club wants to highlight the efforts of the dedicated team behind it. The studio appreciates the varied talents of the Magic School team and plans to redirect their skills to new projects within the beloved Mini series.
The Magic School project aimed to venture beyond the minimalist simulation games the studio is known for, exploring new creative horizons.
Designer Zala Habib shared her experience, saying, “The Magic School team was an absolutely incredible group of people. Everybody was so inspiring and driven throughout the project’s life, and it was a joy to collaborate with such talented folks.”
However, as development progressed, it became evident that the game’s expanding vision was leading to a much larger project than the studio could sustainably support. Despite excitement about the visual exploration and game systems, the prototypes felt overly complex, conflicting with the intuitive, quick-to-learn gameplay that fans expect from Dinosaur Polo Club titles.
Looking Ahead
Dinosaur Polo Club remains committed to its inclusive and supportive culture. They are proud to retain the Magic School team members, who will now contribute their skills to new projects within the celebrated Mini series.
For more information and to follow the celebration of Magic School, visit the studio’s new Artstation, the Dinosaur Polo Club website, the YouTube page, and follow the studio on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
About Dinosaur Polo Club
Dinosaur Polo Club is an independent game development studio based in Wellington, New Zealand. Founded in 2013 by brothers Peter and Robert Curry, the studio first gained attention with their award-winning and BAFTA-nominated debut, Mini Metro. This game, created in collaboration with Disasterpeace and Jamie Churchman, explores relaxed and minimalist subway design. Their second game, Mini Motorways, introduces colorful road-building and resource management, expanding the Mini Collection.
With a supportive culture that values giving back to its creative community, the studio has grown to nearly 30 team members, or “dinos,” as they work on new titles that continue the tradition of relatable simplicity.
For the latest updates, visit Dinosaur Polo Club.