Jurassic Park: Adaptation and Evolution
Join the Karch Gaming Institute for a one-day discovery of the iconic franchise, its influence on faculty and practitioners at UT, including paleontology, museum studies, scenic design, puppeteering, interactive and engineering.
The main event features a discussion with the creators of the new "Jurassic Park: Survival" video game and a screening of the original film.
It's a 21st-century symposium 65 million years in the making.
Schedule
Noon - 1:30 p.m. | Epic Encounters with Dr. Liam Norris - Paleontologist + Exhibition and Outreach Associate at Texas Science & Natural History Museum
Epic Encounters, a newly updated exhibit at the Texas Science and Natural History Museum, brings together fossil displays, immersive design, and interactive experiences to explore deep time, ancient environments, and the rich diversity of life that flourished in Texas. Join Dr. Liam Norris for a talk on paleontology and one of the treasures of the UT campus.
2 - 3:30 p.m. | Building Raptors for the Stage with Karen Maness & J.E. Johnson
In 2018, Karen Maness and J.E. Johnson led an interdisciplinary class that combined design, science and technology to build animatronic raptor suits for a play produced in the department of theater and dance. Join Karen and J.E. as they reflect on the adaptation process that drew on departmental expertise across campus.
Jurassic Shorts Festival
Short films, clips and media odds-and-ends on Jurassic Park selected by RTF faculty and friends.
5 - 6:30 p.m. | The Adaptation and Evolution of Jurassic Park: Survival with game co-director Craig Sherman
What is involved in adapting one of the biggest film franchises into a modern AAA video game? Join us as we discuss the business, design, story and production of the highly anticipated Jurassic Park: Survival video game from Craig Sherman, co-director of the game and chief narrative officer at Saber Interactive.
6:30 p.m. | Reception and Digital Games Industry Mixer
7 p.m. | "Jurassic Park" screening
Speakers
Dr. Liam Norris
Paleontologist + Exhibition and Outreach Associate at Texas Science & Natural History Museum
Dr. Liam Norris is the Exhibits & Outreach Associate at the Texas Science & Natural History Museum at The University of Texas at Austin. He is a paleontologist whose research specializes in dinosaur paleontology, specifically studying paleoecology through geochemistry. Liam graduated from Texas A&M University in 2020 with his B.S. in geology and from The University of Texas at Austin in May of 2025 with his Ph.D. in geosciences. Liam is originally from Houston and is passionate about paleontology, wildlife, and artwork, and loves giving people their own "eureka" moment by making complex scientific topics understandable to all.
Karen Maness
Assistant Professor of Practice, UT Live Design and Production
Associate Director of Fabrication, Texas Performing Arts
Karen Maness is a visual artist, designer and educator with thirty years of painting and fabrication experience for the entertainment industry. Lecturer with The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance, The School of Design and Creative Technologies and Scenic Art Supervisor for Texas Performing Arts, her courses build upon a culture of encouraging risk-taking, academic rigor, excellence in execution and mutual respect. Maness has worked extensively in theatre, themed attractions, industrial display and music tours teaching master classes in the U.S.A. and abroad. Maness is a proponent of digital-analog fluidity for artists and hands-on, project-based, interdisciplinary team collaboration. She believes the future of education and innovation lies in the spaces between disciplines, actively exploring these concepts through emergent pedagogy projects in design and fabrication. She has dedicated her life's work to developing future artists and the preservation of painting knowledge as a key to visual storytelling. She is the co-author of the award-winning The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop, the definitive behind-the-scenes history of Hollywood's motion picture scenic art. Her studio practice includes public art, exhibitions, corporate and private commissions.
J.E. Johnson
Senior Academic Program Coordinator at Texas Inventionworks
Assistant Professor of Practice, College of Fine Arts
J.E. designs media-rich blended learning experiences that challenge students to collaborate, innovate, and solve real-world problems. Specializing in developing Canvas modules incorporating video-based instruction and first-person POV 360 interactive imagery, he is driven to connect people from all disciplines to create, collaborate, and make a lasting impact.
He specializes in creating learning experiences where interdisciplinary student teams can thrive. In 2017, he began teaching award-winning “charismatic mega-project” experiential courses, including practical special effects, animatronics, escape rooms, mini-golf, and velociraptor full-body puppets.
J.E. also co‑founded Maker Ready, whose workshops and “Maker Starter Kits” introduced hands‑on, project‑driven learning to K–12 schools across Texas and Hawaii.
Craig Sherman
Chief Narrative Officer, Saber Interactive
Craig Sherman is an accomplished video game writer, narrative designer, and Chief Narrative Officer, best known for his extensive work across major franchises such as World War Z, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II, and Jurassic Park: Survival. He has been credited on at least 16 video games, serving in roles ranging from Writer to Director of Narrative and Chief Creative/Narrative Officer.
Sherman began his writing career in Hollywood, creating screenplays for major studios including Fox, HBO, Paramount, and Sony, collaborating with notable producers such as Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney. His Hollywood background strongly influences his approach to interactive storytelling, emphasizing cinematic structure, character‑driven narratives, and emotional clarity.
In 2012, Sherman joined Saber Interactive, where he has written across an unusually wide range of genres—including horror, action, sports, and licensed properties—and rose to Chief Narrative Officer in 2022. In this leadership role, he oversees story development across multiple simultaneous projects and manages studio‑wide narrative strategy.
Sherman advocates for giving each game its own distinct voice and empowering embedded writers to make bold creative decisions. He emphasizes collaborative story development, adaptability, and resisting homogenization across franchise.
