Scribblenauts
Scribblenauts is a video game that consists of 3 releases
Reviewed on Sept. 21, 2009
In spite of its wonderfully unique concept, Scribblenauts struggles to fulfill its potential.
Read Brad Shoemaker's full review
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Developed by 5th Cell Media, Scribblenauts is a puzzle-action game for the Nintendo DS in which players can spawn objects from a database of thousands to aid in solving puzzles and overcoming obstacles.
"Scribblenauts is just something that nobody's ever really done before".Jeremiah Slaczka, (Creative Director)
Overview
Scribblenauts is a unique game developed by 5th Cell. Players input words into the game by writing on a touchpad or, alternatively using an on-screen keyboard; both of these functions are performed using the stylus. The game then materializes a representation of that object on the game screen which can be moved about using the stylus. Objects can, in many cases, be combined with other objects to create unique results. Players must then utilize these objects and item combinations to solve puzzles.
So many decisions it hurts...
The key aspect of the game is scope. Developers have confirmed the database of suppo rted
words (and thus items) to be in the tens of thousands, giving players literally endless possibilities and affording Scribblenauts a good replay value.
Development
Originally coined as being an impossible concept to bring to fruition, it took 5 people around 6 months of perusing wikis, encyclopedias and dictionaries to come up with a database of usable words. It then took 8 artists "almost a year" to bring these words to life in the form of corresponding objects.Object interactivity works effectively in Scribblenauts and coding was made a less tedious task by assigning objects to categories rather than coding them all individually. For example, wooden objects may fall under "flammable", whereas they would not fall under "edible" (however a steak or hamburger would). Artificial Intelligence can move and has basic emotions of fear and attraction to certain objects. This allowed developers to code interactivity between objects far more easily.
Gameplay
Nearly Boundless Possibilities
The game comes advertised as having over 200 levels (with the confirmed number by the developer is 220) divided into two basic types: puzzle and action oriented. The difficulty of the game also increases with each consecutive playthrough, in that upon completion of a level, the objects used last time are locked for two more playthroughs, encouraging creativity. The game encourages you to do this by rewarding you with ollars, the ingame currency. Ollars must be used to purchase new levels, and can be used to buy new characters to play as, as well as new songs. It also rewards merits for things like summoning 2 dogs or keeping every character alive, and there is a large list of these-getting more will increase the multiplier on your score and give more ollars.
In puzzle levels, the starite will generally not appear for you to collect until you have solved the puzzle in question; this often involves appeasing an NPC with some kind of task, such as rescuing a cat from the roof of a burning house. In action levels, the starite already exists within the level, but you must find ways of overcoming obstacles and enemies to reach your goal.
There are also advanced mechanics that stress additional creative thinking. The interactivity between objects within the game means that most objects will react appropriately with one another, as you would come to expect in reality; policemen will equip weapons, glue will form a seal between objects, and Einstein will be afraid of God.
Level Editor
A more free form version of the game in which you summon things to make a puzzle. These puzzles can be shared via Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. You can also change the rules for these levels.Control
The one thing this game is most bashed for in it's reviews is its control. You can write to summon items. The D-Pad controls and the four face buttons Y, X, A, B move the camera around the levels. The player can move Maxwell by using the stylus and tapping locations on the screen. Maxwell will then try and move to that location using any items he is equipped with.Critical Reception
The general critical consensus from the enthusiast press is that Scribblenauts may be a great idea, but it fails to live up to its potential. Most of the problem comes with trying to control the game, since everything is controlled by the touch screen. Tapping to move is a problem exacerbated when trying to summon out some of the more thin objects, such as rope, especially when the camera is moving back to center Maxwell again. The AI of Maxwell isn't so hot, either, as telling him to go certain places doesn't result in him always going there. Often it is a matter of not having clicked in the right place, and trying again might be all that's needed to fix the problem.The other problem is the way objects work. It is mentioned a lot of times that using the fire extinguisher doesn't always put out fire, and it's like that for a few objects that should behave one way, but wind up acting some other way. This tends to be the way with only those objects not necessary for completing the game, but blowtorches unable to get through steel, fire not melting ice and the strange way that certain automobiles jump around (thanks to the physics engine) drag this down.
Yet the final flaw is that it can be simple. 22,000 words are in the game, but in the end, most use will go to a select few items, such as rope and jetpack, to get through most problems. Though the game tries to encourage you with its reward point system (the Ollars, mentioned above) to try new things, it remains tempting, and too easy, to just summon Jetpack and Rope to fly your way through the level and get the starite that much faster. The average on Metacritic still hovers around an 82.
It has also recently been discovered that, by using handcuff and a container-style object (basket, vending machine, shopping bag, etc), it is possible to put the starite into the container and drag it over to Maxwell- effectively breaking the game. The choice lies on the player as to whether or not they'll use it, though, but if this is an oversight by the developers or something they put in on purpose to show player creativity is unknown.
Words Not In The Game
As noted by the developers, this list of words has been confirmed to not be present in the final retail product of the game (Note-this list represents actual OBJECTS. Words like democracy would not appear in the game because they do not have a physical body-only a theoretical one):SANDBOARD
DELTOID
SHOVELWARE
ANTIMACASSAR
MISANTHROPE
PLUMBOB (not in dictionary)
GLITCH
COULROPHOBE
BOOBS (vulgar)
JEDI (trademarked)
MEANING OF LIFE (not an object, though they could have put something in for fun)
DS (trademarked)
HAMMER OF THOR (not in dictionary)
DANCING BANANA (not in dictionary)
USB STICK
LEG WOUND
RUPEE
RUDOLPH
EXPLOSION
Easter Eggs
- Typing in "game of the year" will result in the Nintendo DS cartridge of Scribblenauts appearing
- Gamer, Virgin and Fanboy result in the same person being summoned.
- When typing in " Master Chief" a soldier with a green helmet and a machine gun gets summoned.
- Both the internet phenomenons Longcat and Keyboard Cat can be summoned in the game
- Typing in "Gaf" will summon a hovering and ride-able version of the popular videogame forum NeoGAF's logo.
- The term 'Fifth Cell' will make manifest the logo of the company, 5th Cell.
Trivia
- The developers have stated that they perused dictionaries and encyclopedias, incorporating every noun they could find into the game. With such a large database of objects, it is possible that a certain object will never be used by anyone.
| Game Name | Scribblenauts |
| Platform(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Developer(s) | |
| Genres |
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| Themes |
Add a new theme
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| Original US Release |
Sept. 15, 2009
need a fuzzy date? |
| Original US Release |
Q3 2009 know the real date? |
| Aliases | |
| OFLC |
OFLC: PG
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| ESRB |
ESRB: E10+
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| PEGI |
PEGI: 7+
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Scribblenauts Summon list
A - Z of all words in the game.
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