Inspiration
This project started with a simple idea we kept coming back to at Realcast: What if you could rebuild a dinosaur the way paleontologists do — bone by bone — but inside XR? Many of us grew up staring at fossils in museums, and still do, wishing we could actually touch them and get closer to these ancient creatures. XR finally makes that wish possible.
We chose SUE the T. Rex as our first skeleton because she’s iconic and immediately sparks engagement. When dinosaur skull appears in front of you, curiosity takes over — you want to rotate it, inspect it, and understand how the pieces fit together. That instinct is exactly what inspired this project.
What it does
Le Dino Labo is an interactive XR puzzle where players assemble a scientifically grounded dinosaur skeleton. You pick up bones, examine their shapes, figure out where they belong, and snap them into place. The puzzle progresses through meaningful anatomical groups to keep the experience intuitive and satisfying, while still letting players make discoveries on their own.
How we built it
We started development on November 19th, giving us just three weeks before the December 9th deadline. Even for an experienced XR studio like Realcast — we released Hide The Corpse and Just Hoops on the Meta Store — this was an extremely tight timeline to create a meaningful interactive prototype.
We focused our energy on what mattered most: – intuitive grab, rotate, and snap mechanics – bone models accurate enough to feel real but simple enough to understand quickly – a clean assembly flow based on anatomical groups – subtle feedback (snap cues, highlights, soft audio) that helps without removing the joy of discovery – revealing the full-scale skeleton in front of the player once assembled
Some longer-term ideas — like skin layers and rag-doll posing — were intentionally postponed so we could polish the core puzzle first.
Challenges we ran into
Time was the biggest challenge. We also had to find the right balance between scientific accuracy and accessibility. Performance, clarity, and ergonomic interactions were constant concerns, especially when managing many bones in the same space.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We’re proud that in just three weeks we produced a working, coherent reconstruction experience that already feels engaging. The puzzle flow is intuitive, interactions feel good, and testers (including our families) quickly start treating the bones as meaningful objects. We’re also proud that this prototype lays the foundation for a larger XR learning and puzzle platform that Realcast can continue to grow.
What we learned
We learned how crucial tiny VR details are — how snapping behaves, how lighting helps players read complex shapes, and how feedback influences perception. We also saw how quickly players emotionally connect to scientifically grounded 3D objects. The short timeline pushed us to iterate fast, simplify where needed, and trust our experience as a studio.
What's next for Le Dino Labo
- More dinosaurs released in themed packs, each with unique anatomy and difficulty.
- More scientific and historical insights, revealing what bones can teach us about dinosaur life.
- Skins and anatomical layers, letting players switch between skeleton, muscle, and skin in future updates.
- Pose & Rag-doll Mode to place completed dinosaurs in expressive poses and create scenes.
- Collection & progression, enabling players to build a personal museum.
- A creative mode, mixing bones from different species for fun, non-scientific creations.
- Collaboration with paleontologists to deepen scientific context and enhance educational impact.
Our ambition is to grow Le Dino Labo into an XR platform that blends science, creativity, puzzle-solving, and the wonder of bringing prehistoric creatures back to life — one bone at a time.
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