Game Feature: Scribblenauts, a magnificent concept but a flawed execution

Sep 15, 2009 by Joshua    No Comments    Posted under: game feature, games

Game: Scribblenauts

Developer: 5th Cell

System: Nintendo DS

Genre: Puzzle/Adventure

May appeal to fans of: Drawn to Life, Katamari Damacy

Key points: huge dictionary of objects, imagination-fueled interactivity, poor mechanics

It is with great anticipation that I, like many gamers, have awaited the release of “Scribblenauts”. The latest project by developer 5th Cell, who brought us “Drawn to Life” and “Lock’s Quest”, promises hours of entertainment with its innovative gameplay and reliance on the gamer’s creativity to complete goals. Like “Drawn to Life”, however, the game may suffer a bit from repetition of a gimmick that, while groundbreaking and exceptional, gets old after a while.

The concept of “Scribblenauts” is that Maxwell, a perpetually smiling lad with a “rooster hat”, can conjure virtually any object or creature by scribbling its name in his notepad. The game pits the player against a series of scenarios, each one with any number of possible solutions, and the player must come up with a good combination of items to achieve the given task. For instance, an early challenge requires the player to get a girl’s kitten down from the roof of a house. Possible solutions include creating a firefighter to lead the kitten to safety, creating a pair of wings and strapping them on to fly up and grab the kitten, or spawning a mouse for the kitten to chase off the roof. The possibilities are virtually endless.

The developers clearly went to great lengths when creating the database of objects. Possible items that Maxwell can conjure range from common objects such as rope and tools, animals both real and mythical (bears, alligators, ifrits and Cthulhu, oh my!), any number of real-life figures (whether they be a truck driver or Abraham Lincoln), and a number of internet memes (including longcat). Objects can be combined, with combinations ranging from useful – like a helicopter with a rope attached to transport objects – to completely absurd – like a policeman riding a gorilla riding a bicycle.

God loves skee ball. Image courtesy gamespot.com.

The levels are broken up into two groups: puzzles, like the example above, which require Maxwell to perform some task; and action levels, where Maxwell must overcome certain obstacles to reach a goal. The puzzles are unique, and it’s fun to come up with different objects to complete the same mission, but after a while of playing, gamers may find that a handful of objects will get them through most scenarios. Especially in the case of the action levels, most obstacles can be overcome with, for instance, a jetpack, rope, a gun, and a well-placed black hole or kraken.

The game tries to encourage creativity by rewarding the player for using unique items each time, giving currency called “ollars” depending on certain conditions of each completed level. The ollars become rather meaningless after a while, though, as anyone who plays each level will quickly earn enough to unlock more levels and skip any that may be undesirable. The ollars can also be used to unlock music and alternative avatars, but these additions add little to the gameplay.

“Scribblenauts” also suffers from an often clunky interface, due in part to its reliance on the touch screen for all actions. Players may encounter a great deal of frustration while trying to set up a solution with objects, as both the movement of Maxwell and the manipulation of the objects are handled by tapping and sliding the stylus on the screen. Imagine trying to set up a climbing rope on an opposite ledge and instead having Maxwell walk off a cliff just off-screen. Also, because controls are not handled at all by the arrow buttons, fine movements can be just as difficult when executed with the touch screen.

Where the game really shines, though, is in the sandbox mode that can be accessed at the opening screen. The player has no tasks to accomplish, only an open area to conjure objects and interact with them. With an item list numbering at least in the tens of thousands, the experience is limited only by the gamer’s imagination. Younger players would no doubt get a kick out of playing around with the different objects, especially given that many combinations of objects have unique ways of interacting with each other.

“Scribblenauts” is the sort of game to pick up from time to time and explore at one’s own pace. Despite its flaws, the game delivers on its promise of emergent gameplay through player interaction. This early teaser trailer, though it shows an interface that differs slightly from the finished product, presents a good example of how the game lets the player figure out his or her own unique way to solve each puzzle:

So if you’re looking for a rare experience in gameplay with seemingly endless replay value, and you don’t mind a few user-interface issues, check out “Scribblenauts”. Any game that lets you stage a battle royale between God, a kraken, Cthulhu, Death, and longcat must be worth at least checking out.

Also, I feel it is important that I mention the game has a level editor feature which allows you to go back to any previously completed level and create your own scenario, complete with programmed responses for objects and characters. I haven’t taken the time to fully explore this feature, but from what I can tell, it offers one more opportunity for someone with an active imagination to explore the game further.

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