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The Scribblenauts Official Thread of imagination revelations

my amazon copy ships just as the hype backlash begins.

so it looks like this went from game of the century to a decent puzzle game with control problems within a 24 hour period. Looking forward for the continued derailing that NeoGaf does best.
 
Even the people bitching about the controls concede it's a fantastic game. A friend of mine - the one I mentioned before who kept going out of his way to report on every last flaw to me - is STILL playing it. I asked him yesterday if he got tired of the game and he said, "Well it's weird, I find myself playing it whenever I'm bored".

Also Amazon happily reminded me I still have the guide on preorder...which I now realize isn't actually a bad tool to use. I plan on fully "unlocking" a level then going to the guide to see what they felt were "proper" solutions to see how far I deviated :lol
 
Hawkian said:
Where'd that come from?
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Someone mentioned the word count on some other site, but it's obviously too low. They mentioned that there are about 4000 - 5000 unique words, but these base words are combined to create a bigger vocabulary.
 
Jackson said:
Oh! (side note).

Check out a cool in office interview on the Nintendo Channel on your Wii about 5TH Cell, I thought the Nintendo guys did a really cool job!
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Just saw it on gametrailers really cool vid. Few more hours till my delivery yeah!
 
Ok, I'm on puzzle 4-6 were I have to "Contain the corpse and put it six feet under". I tried creating a tomb to put the corpse inside but zombies won't stop coming from it :lol

I have also used a shovel to create the hole and whatnot, but still..
 
Man, the fuckin' people on Kotaku who are actually bragging about pirating the game is...mind-boggling.

Say what you will about GAF, I'm sure there are people here that are pirating games but atleast they're smart enough to not wear their dipshittery like a badge of fucking honour like they are on Kotaku.

It's insane.



And thanks to the guys that commented about the controls. I'll be buying two. One for my wife and one for the mother-in-law.
 
It's funny, I've never seen such hyperbolic love/hate dichotomies in a review before. It's like you can tell the reviewer is conflicted about awarding a score yet can't stop playing the game at all.

Again, he found the controls frustrating and ultimately a hindrance. I find them intuitive but ultimately hilarious. YMMV. :P
 
jrricky said:
Oh so the Eurogamer review was the one Jeremiah was talking about getting a 7 from...
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No, that was the Canadian G4TV Jackson mentioned.

Eurogamer review is the harshest I've read yet. Brutal.
 
Eurogamer is known for using lower scores than other sites (they try to have a 5 as a average rather than a 7), so a 7 from them is still a very good score. They really don't like the controls, but they think the rest of it is great. Here's there conclusion:

This is a game in which I killed a bee with a blue whale. It's one where jetpacks stop working if they get wet, and just blow out bubbles. Hippies are present to stop you killing ants. Reindeer can fly. When a rock, gun then rocket launcher won't work, it's time to pull out a black hole. You can create handcuffs and cuff yourself to another character. You can create a colossal squid and make it fight a bear. You can type in "portal" and an alien will jump through.

Scribblenauts is unquestionably a thing of wonder. But it's also a clumsily made game, with clumsy text (every level ends with the words "MERIT GET!", and then there's the gibberish sometimes contained in the clues), clumsy level design, and beyond clumsy controls. Oh, and an agonising tutorial that seems intent on denying anything the game is about.

I find it hard to believe anyone could play for more than six or seven levels before just typing in random things to see if they're there and whether they can beat Cthulhu in a fight. But then, doing that is utterly brilliant. It's like trying to wash the car and ending up having a water fight. The water fight is tons more fun than the car washing, but then you're wet and tired and it's time for tea.
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That Eurogamer review, while a little harsh, is the best I've read so far. It covers the majority of the issues I have with the game rather than being a useless gush-fest.
 
Damn, just entered "neogaf" for the hell of it & sure enough, the wonderful NeoGAF logo popped onto my screen :lol This game is amazing!

edit: damn, I interacted with it & some guy popped out of it :lol
 
ign review 8.7
http://ds.ign.com/articles/102/1024059p1.html

With all that said, Scribblenauts sounds like a fantastic experience, doesn't it? It sure is. Unfortunately, there's a big "but" involved. The Scribblenauts experience involves the game's player-controlled protagonist, Maxwell. While objects can be dropped into the world simply by typing them in, the only way they can be used by the player is if they give those objects to Maxwell. Need to dig a hole with a shovel? Give it to Maxwell and tell him to start digging. Need to drive a vehicle? Tell Maxwell to jump in and start the engine. You get the idea.

Now, if you had direct control over Maxwell using the D-pad and buttons everything would be great. Instead, you control the guy using taps on the touch screen. It's very much like commanding a squad in a real-time strategy game, and like in some RTS games occasionally your troops tend to do things on their own, even after you tell them to do something else.
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Closing Comments
Even though I harp on the clunky controls, I'm still a huge Scribblenauts fan and fully believe that, even with Maxwell's awkwardness, this game one of the top titles on the Nintendo DS platform. The game is enormous fun as an interactive toy, a sandbox for players to simply muck around outside of the normal progression, and the puzzles themselves can be challenging and encourage some wild thought processes. Scribblenauts has all the makings of a franchise and I will not be surprised at all to see it in sequel form sooner than later…and not just as a Nintendo DS game, either. Lets just hope that when that happens Maxwell gets a control upgrade.
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Gameplay
The game's a better sandbox than it is a self-contained game, but its progression is great too. Maxwell's controls stink, though, and you'll find yourself growing increasingly frustrated with him.
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Is there anyone in here that isn't having any issues with the controls. Its so hard for me to trust reviewers from a control standpoint simply because often they try to control a game in a manner it is not meant to be...such as many calling tank controls bad, or labeling "stiff" controls as a flaw regardless of implementation.

Is this problem shared by everyone here?
 
Scribblenauts is unquestionably a thing of wonder. But it's also a clumsily made game, with clumsy text (every level ends with the words "MERIT GET!", and then there's the gibberish sometimes contained in the clues), clumsy level design, and beyond clumsy controls. Oh, and an agonising tutorial that seems intent on denying anything the game is about.
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It worries me to see something like this. Do they really not get the reference to the Japanese version of Super Mario Galaxy?
 
batbeg said:
It worries me to see something like this. Do they really not get the reference to the Japanese version of Super Mario Galaxy?
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I'm honestly astounded that they didn't get it... That line is a very common sort of cute Japanese congrats screen. Heck when I first saw that I was flooded with fond memories of Gitaroo Man :lol

VQ
 
abstract alien said:
Is there anyone in here that isn't having any issues with the controls. Its so hard for me to trust reviewers from a control standpoint simply because often they try to control a game in a manner it is not meant to be...such as many calling tank controls bad, or labeling "stiff" controls as a flaw regardless of implementation.

Is this problem shared by everyone here?
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They aren't atrocious. Just wonky at first. The Agro comparison from SotC I think is very fitting.
 
I will get this game because it looks like tons of fun, but I will feel even better about getting this game because of all the fan service, and inside jokes that the devs put in.
 
Just got the game and there are indeed some control issues. Have already managed to get stuck behind counters and mistakenly jumped into pools of water because of the stylus control.

Other than that the game seems rather good, the hints can be too vague sometimes and it'll probably take a while to get into the whole scribblenauts-thinking used in the puzzle-solving part of the game. Seems like one of those games that'll grow on me given some time.
 
jasonng said:
Many thanks goes to iamcool388 for letting me buy his extra copy and many many more apologies for being tardy. I should have figured the US Open crowd would slow transportation down a bit. Hope you had good seats for the match. In fact, you're probably watching the men's finals as I'm typing this.

I promised him impressions of the game but I haven't gotten far past the tutorial. It's also due to the fact that I'm having a blast just toying around on the title screen. I guess that alone speaks volumes of this game.
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No problem at all dude... I'm just glad my extra copy didnt go to waste. I hope you enjoy it... its an awesome game!
 
I mean, I obviously love the reference, but I don't think that counting "Shine Get!" as a negative is necessarily incorrect. Shine Get is an in-joke, a massive in-joke, that only 5% or so of the demographic of Scribblenauts is going to understand. To everyone else, it's going to seem like a bit of a sloppy effort.

Anyway, Scribblenauts Get! Tomorrow afternoon. :D
 
i've been insanely frustrated with the controls, but somehow i always manage. now, the biggest quirk, the most inane, unnecessary, most annoying "feature" by far is the camera's insistence on re-centering on maxwell every few seconds. WHY? WHY is this in the game? why not have a dedicated button or an on-screen icon for this? the game is so clearly designed around being able to stay and work on a solution in a specific spot with maxwell out of sight/reach. this stupid, nonsensical mechanic is at odds with the game's puzzle and level design and adds a layer of annoyance and frustration that could have been so easily avoided, making its inclusion all the more absurd.

that said, the game is tons of fun, so unique, so unlike anything else out there, so worth fighting through all of its clumsiness and sticking with it just to experience the sheer joy of coming up with the most outrageous and bizarre solutions to a seemingly simple problem. it deserves all the 10s or 9s - and sadly it deserves the 7s as well.
 
batbeg said:
It worries me to see something like this. Do they really not get the reference to the Japanese version of Super Mario Galaxy?
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It's not even from Super Mario Galaxy - it's at least as old as Mario Sunshine.

Eurogamer are just being deliberately obtuse.
 
celebi23 said:
Damn, just entered "neogaf" for the hell of it & sure enough, the wonderful NeoGAF logo popped onto my screen :lol This game is amazing!

edit: damn, I interacted with it & some guy popped out of it :lol
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Holy shit, you weren't kidding!
 
After more play time (I've beaten two level now, both the action and puzzle) and I can describe more frustrating control issues for EXTREMELY STRAIGHTFORWARD tasks.

I used spring shoes to perform high jump to get on a ledge, Maxwell jumps high, but won't move forward no matter what. I got pissed off and tried something else. I tried mattress, and it has a similar function as spring shoes. I was able to do it. I don't even know why. I can't even explain why I couldn't reach the same platform after 2 minutes of jumping with spring shoes, yet a mattress works better.

I tried using a shovel to dig a straight forward path, suddenly, the Maxwell stops responding for a few second for no reason. He was only halfway through digging. After a few more taps, he resumes digging.

On the plus side, I think this game really delivered the promise. I know not everything will be in the game, but what's there works brilliantly. I don't even care what's left out or how little I've played, this game delivers it's ambitions 100%. I was able to solve puzzles using the most retarded objects I can think of. Ever scored a soccer goal using an elevator?

BTW, what am I suppose to do in the 5th Cell office? I used a teleporter, and got teleported there. There's no hint or goal. I got pissed off and murdered the entire staff, but still nothing.
 
There's no problem with the controls, they are just not what I thought they'd be, which is why I couldn't do shit at first :p

Just like someone pointed out, you don't "control" maxwell like in a platformer or an action game, you give him instructions/orders.

"go there, do this".
After all they had to find a control scheme that would fit any kind of interaction with any kind of object, so I guess the more abstract the best it is.

And if you want to start glueing complex stuff together, just move the camera to somewhere he isn't (this one seemed pretty obvious to me considering the small DS screen, maxwell takes quite a lot of space anyway).

Edit : Didn't see what my post would end up under :p
Yes there are some glitchy moments. I had quite a bit of trouble with the jetpack at first, but now everything's fine (or so it seems).
Clearly not bringing down the game so far to me, but I haven't played much.

jasonng said:
Holy shit, you weren't kidding!
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Surprised he didn't try to ride it... =)
 
amazon dropping off my copy at work in less then 3 hours...anyway about the controls, this is a puzzle game is it not...after reading a few "control issue" posts i thought this was a side scrolling platformer for a minute...
 
abstract alien said:
Is there anyone in here that isn't having any issues with the controls.
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*raises hand sheepishly*

Unicorn said:
They aren't atrocious. Just wonky at first. The Agro comparison from SotC I think is very fitting.
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Thank you! I'm glad I'm not alone here.

Actually, this and Braid are making me want to replay SotC for a number of reasons. ^_^

jarosh said:
the biggest quirk, the most inane, unnecessary, most annoying "feature" by far is the camera's insistence on re-centering on maxwell every few seconds. WHY? WHY is this in the game?
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Unfortunately, I must agree. After playing a bit more, I do not understand this "feature" at all. Sometimes I just want to kick back and watch an elaborate fight from far away. Could at least a button hold freeze the camera? :(

This bugs me a lot more than the controls, actually. I can't justify it.

...still, GOTY :D
 
Man that Eurogamer review is disheartening.

"Scribblenauts is not that great. In fact, much of this game is a mess. The puzzles vary between uninspired and simple and frustratingly obscure and fiddly, rarely finding the correct middle ground. The controls are nothing short of appalling. And there's nothing holding any of it together."

"It is beyond infuriating. It's possibly the most wildly stupid design decision of all time. The d-pad is also assigned to moving the camera - something easily done by dragging objects to the side of the screen. If they had Max's controls on the d-pad, this game would be transformed. Inexplicably, a beautiful thing is made hateful so very, very frequently"


Oh well, I at least appreciate the honesty in it. I guess even if I can't do all the puzzles because of the controls I'll still have fun doing crazy shit on the title screen. Not to mention the $15 TRU giftcard :D
 
batbeg said:
It worries me to see something like this. Do they really not get the reference to the Japanese version of Super Mario Galaxy?
Click to expand...

It's not just that. "____ GET" is common Japanese, and can be found in umpteen games and tv shows. You'd think that SOMEONE at the copy desk would get the reference.
 
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