Scribblenauts Explained

Scribblenauts
Publisher:Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Composer:David J. Franco
Artist:Edison Yan[1]
First Release Version:Scribblenauts
First Release Date:September 15, 2009
Latest Release Version:Scribblenauts Showdown
Latest Release Date:March 6, 2018

Scribblenauts is a series of action puzzle video games primarily developed by independent studio 5th Cell. The series is owned[2] and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The first game in the series was titled Scribblenauts and was first released on September 15, 2009, in North America, exclusively on the Nintendo DS. Since the release of the first game, five other Scribblenauts games have been released, in addition to two compilations and two comic adaptations.

The Scribblenauts series primarily sees the player as Maxwell, a boy who has a magical notebook that summons anything he writes in it. Players are tasked with solving puzzles by summoning different items and creatures using the notebook, leading to emergent gameplay elements. The sixth and latest installment in the series, Scribblenauts Showdown, has significantly different gameplay than other entries, with it being more of a party game, rather than an action puzzle game.

Critical reception of the series has been generally positive, with critics praising how the series encourages creative thinking and the number of objects that can be summoned within the games. Some criticism has, however, been directed towards the lack of properties of objects, which some critics have felt restricted the player's creativity. By October 2015, the series had sold over 13 million copies across its different installments.[3]

Games

The first Scribblenauts game, also titled Scribblenauts, was unveiled in December 2008, when its gameplay was first shown.[4] Scribblenauts was later available as a playable demo at E3 2009, where its presence received numerous awards and honors.[5] [6] Scribblenauts was released in September 2009 in North America, exclusively for the Nintendo DS. Five other games in the Scribblenauts series have been released for multiple different platforms. Additionally, two compilation games have also been released: Scribblenauts Collection (2013) for the Nintendo DS, consisting of the first and second game,[7] and Scribblenauts Mega Pack (2018) for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, consisting of the 4th and 5th games.[8] The series also has 2 canceled games, first being Scribblenauts: Fighting Words, which began development in 2014 and was canceled in March 2016 after the lay off of forty-five 5th Cell employees.[9] In late 2019, a cancelled 3D action game trailer was leaked on Instagram by former developers.[10]

List

  1. Scribblenauts, the first game in the series, was released on the Nintendo DS on September 15, 2009, with a Europe release following on October 9.[11]
  2. Super Scribblenauts was released for the Nintendo DS on October 12, 2010, in North America,[12] after it was first announced in an issue of Nintendo Power earlier that same year.[13]
  3. Scribblenauts Remix was released for iOS devices on October 11, 2011.[14] The game was later ported to Android systems on December 10, 2012.[15]
  4. Scribblenauts Unlimited was released on November 18, 2012, for the Wii U, with a PC port via the Steam service releasing later the same month.[16] [17] The game was later released on the Nintendo 3DS on December 6 the same year, and on mobile devices in December 2015.[18] [19]
  5. was released on September 24, 2013, for Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and PCs via the Steam service.[20] [21]
  6. Scribblenauts Showdown, the latest entry in the series, was released on March 6, 2018, for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.[22] [23] [24]

Gameplay and common elements

Scribblenauts is a series of emergent puzzle games, where players primarily take control of a young boy named Maxwell, who has a magical notebook that summons anything he writes in it.[25] [26] Players are tasked with solving puzzles by summoning different objects with the notebook, which rewards the player with "Starites", a type of star.[27] Puzzles in Scribblenauts typically have multiple different solutions, with players being encouraged to use out-of-the-box ideas.[28] [29] [30] The original three games were divided into linear levels, whereas Scribblenauts Unlimited and Unmasked took a more open world-like approach, with individual levels featuring multiple different puzzles for the player to solve.[31] [32] [33]

Summoning objects is done via a keyboard interface or a rotary wheel,[34] [23] where players type the object they wish to summon. Starting in Super Scribblenauts, players could also add adjectives to words to alter their appearance and properties.[35] [8] The games recognizes thousands of words,[36] although it omits most profane words, gore, and copyrighted material.[37] [26] The games have, however, included some copyrighted characters, such as Nintendo's Mario and Link, among other characters, in the Wii U release of Scribblenauts Unlimited.[38] [39]

Scribblenauts Showdown features drastically different gameplay than other installments in the series, with it being a party game where players play different minigames.[40] Before starting a minigame players must choose an object to use, the first letter of which is predetermined by a carnival wheel.[41]

Development

The first Scribblenauts game was first conceived by 5th Cell in spring 2007, around the same time as they had come up with their other title, Lock's Quest. The first idea for Scribblenauts named "Once Upon a Time" was inspired by Mad Libs; in it, a player could draw sentences on the bottom screen and the action would appear on the top screen. Jeremiah Slackza said that it was a good idea but it wasn't a game. Later on Jeremiah had a dream where he was solving puzzles in an Aztec Temple. He merged the two ideas together and made "Scribblenauts" (a portmanteau of Scribble Astronauts).[42] The first story for the game was about an astronaut that went to different planets to help them out.

The general concept of Scribblenauts was that "anything you write, you can use", with 5th Cell spending three months just listing different objects to be added to the game. The game was developed using an engine named "Objectnaut", which allowed 5th Cell to quickly add properties to objects and creatures. According to 5th Cell creative director Jeremiah Slaczka, Scribblenauts was developed to be more of a casual game, akin to that of Brain Age and Nintendogs.[43]

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment was chosen to publish the series in English territories, due to them showing gradual interest in the first Scribblenauts game as it was developed.[44] Konami published the first two games in Japan.[45] [46]

After the layoff of 45 5th Cell employees in 2016, development of the series was shifted over to Shiver Entertainment, who would proceed to develop the series' sixth entry, Scribblenauts Showdown.[47]

Reception

Reception of the Scribblenauts across its different installments has been mixed. According to review aggregator Metacritic, the first three installments of the series all received "generally favorable reviews" from critics, whereas the next three games received either "mixed" or "generally unfavorable" reviews.

The general concept of the series has been described as encouraging creativity from the player.[48] [49] [50] [51] Some reviewers have, however, felt that the player's creativity is limited by the lack of unique properties of objects. Ian Bonds of Destructoid, reviewing Scribblenauts Unmasked, wrote that the game promotes creativity, but only creativity that the game designers intended.[52] The A.V. Club John Teti, reviewing the original Scribblenauts game, felt that most objects are pointless, noting one scenario where a plumber with a wrench wouldn't fix a leaking pipe.[53]

Critics have enjoyed the series' art style, which has been described as charming and cute.[54] [55] Casey Malone of Paste wrote that Scribblenauts has an adorable art style, describing it as being akin to paper dolls.[56] IGN Chuck Osborn, reviewing Scribblenauts Unmasked, felt that the series' "cutesy art style and presentation" made it clear that the games can be enjoyed by different age demographics, opining that even DC Comics characters such as Doomsday and Mr. Zsasz, who are normally "bloodthirsty killers", become adorable when in the series' art style.[57]

The series' soundtrack has been a source of generally positive reception and has been described as upbeat and "whimsical".[58] [59] In a review for Scribblenauts Unlimited, Game Informer Kyle Hilliard complimented the music, writing that it "rests pleasently in the background".[55] Destructoid Dale North criticized the music of Super Scribblenauts, writing that it felt repetitive.[60]

Scribblenauts Showdown is generally considered the worst game in the series by critics, who felt that the game restricted the player's creativity by limiting the objects usable in a minigame.[61] Nintendo World Report Daan Koopman wrote that Showdown was highly underwhelming, and criticized how the different objects barely differ in gameplay.[62] Steven Petite of Digital Trends was more positive to Showdown, writing that the game's is a "fresh and fun spin on the party game genre" due to the game's object creation feature.[63]

Merchandise and other media

Multiple pieces of merchandise featuring series protagonist Maxwell have been released, such as a real-life replica of Maxwell's "rooster hat", which came with GameStop and EB Games pre-orders of the original Scribblenauts game,[64] and a figurine of the character released to promote the release of Super Scribblenauts.[65] In 2011, in collaboration with Funko, 5th Cell released a vinyl figure and plush of Maxwell.[66] In conjunction with the release of Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure, a series of Scribblenauts vinyl figurines was released by DC Collectibles.[67]

Bundled with the Wii U release of Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure was a one-shot comic set in the Scribblenauts universe featuring DC Comics characters written by American writer Josh Elder, titled .[68] The one-shot was first conceived when editor Alex Antone asked Elder to pitch a comic adaptation of Scribblenauts.[69] Following the pitch for the one-shot, Antone asked Elder to pitch him an idea for a limited comic book series also based on Scribblenauts, which ended up becoming the 9-issues long .[70] [71] To promote the release of the original one-shot, multiple of DC Comic's other comics received alternate covers featuring the art style of Scribblenauts.[72]

American publishing company Prima Games has released two official strategy guides for the Scribblenauts series: one of the first game and one of the second game, released in 2009 and 2010, respectively.[73] [74]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Leray. Joseph. Scribblenaut artist does Street Fighter, Final Fantasy VII. Destructoid. July 11, 2009. April 17, 2021.
  2. Web site: Sherman. Alex. AT&T seeks sale for Warner gaming unit, could fetch about $4 billion, sources say. CNBC. July 12, 2020. April 2, 2021.
  3. Web site: Hall. Charlie. Scribblenauts team launching crowdfunding, investment campaign through Fig. Polygon. Vox Media. October 8, 2015. March 31, 2021.
  4. Web site: Bozon. Mark. World Debut: Scribblenauts. IGN. News Corporation. May 11, 2012. March 31, 2021.
  5. Web site: Kuchera. Ben. Scribblenauts is genius, maddening; Ars reviews hit of E3. Ars Technica. Condé Nast. September 15, 2009. March 31, 2021.
  6. Web site: Hernandez. Pedro. Scribblenauts Receives Honors at E3. Nintendo World Report. June 29, 2009. March 31, 2021.
  7. Web site: Green. Andy. Scribblenauts Collection Out Now in North America. Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. March 5, 2013. March 31, 2021.
  8. Web site: Kennemer. Quentyn. Everything in the Scribblenauts Mega Pack for Nintendo Switch. iMore. September 14, 2018. March 31, 2021.
  9. Web site: Phillips. Tom. Warner Bros. cans new Scribblenauts game, 45 laid off. Eurogamer. Gamer Network. March 22, 2016. April 2, 2021.
  10. Web site: Art of Mike Uziel. 2021-05-22. Art of Mike Uziel. August 2019.
  11. Web site: Scribblenauts (DS) Game Profile. Nintendo Life. 16 December 2010 . Nlife Media. March 31, 2021.
  12. Cork. Jeff. Super Scribblenauts: Maxwell Expands His Vocabulary. https://web.archive.org/web/20100914134142/http://gameinformer.com/games/super_scribblenauts/b/nintendo_ds/archive/2010/09/10/maxwell-expands-his-vocabulary.aspx. dead. September 14, 2010. Game Informer. GameStop. September 10, 2010. March 31, 2021.
  13. Web site: Good. Owen. Nintendo Power Reveals Scribblenauts 2, Due Out This Fall. Kotaku. Gawker Media. June 3, 2010. March 31, 2021.
  14. Web site: Rose. Mike. Scribblenauts Remix Released For iOS Devices. Gamasutra. Informa. October 12, 2011. March 31, 2021.
  15. Web site: Scribblenauts Remix - Apps on Google Play. Google Play. March 31, 2021.
  16. Web site: Scribblenauts Unlimited (Wii U) Game Profile. Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. March 31, 2021.
  17. Web site: Skyes. Tom. Scribblenauts Unlimited writes itself to Steam - er, unless you live in Europe. PC Gamer. Future plc. November 25, 2012. April 10, 2021.
  18. Web site: Scribblenauts Unlimited (3DS) Game Profile. Nintendo Life. 2 December 2013 . Nlife Media. March 31, 2021.
  19. Web site: Seppala. Tim. Word-puzzler 'Scribblenauts Unlimited' returns to mobile. Engadget. AOL. December 17, 2015. March 31, 2021.
  20. Web site: Whitehead. Thomas. Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure to Save the World on 24th September. Nintendo Life. 10 July 2013 . Nlife Media. March 31, 2021.
  21. Web site: Sarkar. Samit. Superman alone won't get you through Scribblenauts Unmasked. Polygon. 11 September 2013 . Vox Media. April 3, 2021.
  22. Web site: Scribblenauts: Showdown (Switch). Nintendo Life. 14 March 2018 . Gamer Network. March 31, 2021.
  23. Web site: Tailby. Stephen. Scribblenauts Showdown Review (PS4). Push Square. Nlife Media. March 12, 2018. March 31, 2021.
  24. Web site: Snaith. Kim. Scribblenauts Showdown Review: Your New Favourite Party Game. GameSpew. March 21, 2018. March 31, 2021.
  25. Web site: Calimlim. Aldrin. If you can think it, you can create it in Scribblenauts Unlimited. AppAdvice. December 17, 2015. April 24, 2021.
  26. Web site: Matulef. Jeffrey. Scribblenauts Unlimited review. Eurogamer. December 3, 2012. April 24, 2021.
  27. Web site: John. Tracey. How Innovative Scribblenauts Recognizes 10,000 Different Words. Wired. Condé Nast. June 17, 2009. April 24, 2021.
  28. Web site: Gallegos. Anthony. The Consensus: Scribblenauts Review. GameSpy. September 15, 2009. May 3, 2021.
  29. Web site: Snaith. Kim. Scribblenauts Mega Pack Review. GameSpew. October 1, 2018. May 3, 2021.
  30. Web site: McShea. Tom. Scribblenauts Review. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. September 16, 2009. May 3, 2021.
  31. Web site: Wii U - Scribblenauts Unlimited Developer Interview. Nintendo. June 5, 2012. April 24, 2021. YouTube.
  32. Web site: Fogel. Stefanie. 'Scribblenauts Mega Pack' Out Now for Switch, PS4 and Xbox One. Variety. September 18, 2018. April 24, 2021.
  33. Web site: DelVillano. Ron. Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure Review (Wii U). Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. January 16, 2014. April 24, 2021.
  34. Web site: Kohler. Chris. iPad's Big Screen Makes Brilliant Scribblenauts Shine. Wired. Condé Nast. October 12, 2011. May 3, 2021.
  35. Web site: Hatfield. Daemon. Super Scribblenauts Review. IGN. News Corporation. May 5, 2012. May 3, 2021.
  36. Web site: Ashcraft. Brian. Racial Term in DS' Scribblenauts? Unintentional, Developer Explains [Update]]. Kotaku. Gawker Media. September 16, 2009. May 3, 2021.
  37. Web site: Good. Owen. Fatalities Are OK In Mortal Kombat. Finger Banging, No.. Kotaku. Gawker Media. May 1, 2011. May 3, 2021.
  38. Web site: McFerran. Damien. Link And Mario Have Gate-Crashed These Scribblenauts Unlimited Trailers. Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. November 20, 2012. May 3, 2021.
  39. Web site: Goldfarb. Andrew. Why Scribblenauts Unlimited's Nintendo Characters Aren't on 3DS. IGN. News Corporation. October 19, 2012. May 3, 2021.
  40. Web site: Sheridan. Connor. Scribblenauts Showdown challenges you to have words with your friends in March. GamesRadar+. January 16, 2018. May 4, 2021.
  41. Web site: Cowley. Ric. Scribblenauts Showdown review - A party puzzler which doesn't quite deliver on its potential. Pocket Gamer. Steel Media. March 12, 2018. May 4, 2021.
  42. Web site: 2009-10-15. Scribblenauts game developer makes a risky bet on being original. 2021-05-22. VentureBeat. en-US.
  43. Web site: Jordan. Jon. Interview: 5th Cell's Slaczka talks about E3 DS hit Scribblenauts. Pocket Gamer. Steel Media. June 29, 2009. March 31, 2021.
  44. Web site: Bozon. Mark. Interview: 5TH CELL Talks Scribble. IGN. News Corporation. May 1, 2009. March 31, 2021.
  45. Web site: Plunkett. Luke. When A Game About English Words Is Released In Japanese. Kotaku. Gawker Media. May 1, 2009. March 31, 2021.
  46. Web site: Mountain. NDS「スーパースクリブルノーツ」本日発売。プロモーションムービーやミニゲームアプリでゲームの特徴をつかもう. 4Gamer.net. Japanese. Aetas. October 13, 2011. April 9, 2021.
  47. Web site: Frank. Allegra. Scribblenauts Showdown brings the series back in March after four years away. Polygon. Vox Media. January 16, 2018. April 2, 2021.
  48. Web site: Scribblenauts. GameTrailers. Defy Media. September 15, 2009. April 5, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20121127151822/http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/t4ulgi/scribblenauts-review. November 27, 2012. dead.
  49. Web site: McShea. Tom. Scribblenauts Unlimited Review. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. November 13, 2012. April 5, 2021.
  50. Web site: Squires. Jim. Scribblenauts Remix Review. Gamezebo. October 13, 2011. April 5, 2021.
  51. Web site: Sanchez. David. Super Scribblenauts review. GameZone. November 3, 2010. April 5, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20110924002708/http://nds.gamezone.com/reviews/item/super_scribblenauts_review/. September 24, 2011. dead.
  52. Web site: Bonds. Ian. Review: Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure. Destructoid. October 5, 2013. April 10, 2021.
  53. Web site: Teti. John. Scribblenauts. The A.V. Club. September 21, 2009. April 10, 2021.
  54. Web site: Saltzman. Marc. Comics, creativity collide in 'Scribblenauts Unmasked'. USA Today. October 6, 2013. April 17, 2021.
  55. Hilliard. Kyle. Scribblenauts Unlimited. https://web.archive.org/web/20121122002940/http://www.gameinformer.com/games/scribblenauts_unlimited/b/wii_u/archive/2012/11/18/engage-your-imagination-with-this-sort-of-video-game.aspx. dead. November 22, 2012. Game Informer. GameStop. November 18, 2012. April 10, 2021.
  56. News: Malone. Casey. Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure Review (Multi-Platform). Paste Magazine. October 23, 2013. April 17, 2021.
  57. Web site: Osborn. Chuck. Scribblenauts Unmasked Review. IGN. Ziff Davis. September 26, 2013. April 17, 2021.
  58. Web site: DelVillano. Ron. Scribblenauts Unlimited Review (Wii U). Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. November 28, 2012. April 10, 2021.
  59. Web site: Campbell. Evan. Super Scribblenauts Review. Nintendojo. October 29, 2010. April 10, 2021.
  60. Web site: North. Dale. Review: Super Scribblenauts. Destructoid. October 21, 2010. April 10, 2021.
  61. Web site: Biggs. Tim. Scribblenauts Showdown review: a lack of imagination. The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co.. March 21, 2018. March 31, 2021.
  62. Web site: Koopman. Daan. Scribblenauts Showdown (Switch) Review. Nintendo World Report. March 28, 2018. April 20, 2021.
  63. Web site: Petite. Steven. 'Scribblenauts Showdown' review. Digital Trends. March 12, 2018. April 20, 2021.
  64. Web site: Casamassina. Matt. Scribblenauts GameStop Pre-order Bonus. IGN. News Corporation. July 28, 2009. March 31, 2021.
  65. Web site: Super Scribblenauts on DS. Game People. March 31, 2021.
  66. Web site: McWhertor. Michael. Summon Some Scribblenauts Toys For Your Collection. Kotaku. Gawker Media. March 29, 2011. May 13, 2021.
  67. Web site: Farokhmanesh. Megan. DC Collectibles to release Scribblenauts Unmasked figures. Polygon. Vox Media. January 18, 2014. April 11, 2021.
  68. Web site: Burlingame. Russ. Scribblenauts Unmasked Comic Coming From DC Comics, Josh Elder and Adam Archer. Comic Book Resources. Valnet. September 6, 2017. March 31, 2021.
  69. Web site: Carle. Chris. DC Comics to Launch Scribblenauts Unmasked Digital-First Comic. IGN. Ziff Davis. August 9, 2018. March 31, 2021.
  70. Web site: Carle. Chris. DC Comics to Launch Scribblenauts Unmasked Digital-First Comic. IGN. Ziff Davis. August 9, 2018. March 31, 2021.
  71. Perry. Isaac. Return To Scribblenauts Unmasked With Crisis Of Imagination. https://web.archive.org/web/20131207030059/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/12/04/return-to-scribblenauts-unmasked-with-crisis-of-imagination.aspx. dead. December 7, 2013. Game Informer. GameStop. December 4, 2013. March 31, 2021.
  72. Web site: Langshaw. Mark. DC Comics titles get 'Scribblenauts' variant covers. Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. October 10, 2013. March 31, 2021.
  73. Book: Scribblenauts: Prima Official Game Guide. 9780307465504. April 11, 2021. Browne. Catherine. 2009. Random House Information .
  74. Web site: Ronaghan. Neal. 5th Cell Reveals Exclusive Excerpts from Prima's Super Scribblenauts Guide. Nintendo World Report. November 15, 2010. April 11, 2021.

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