Scribblenauts is easily the best example to date of creativity within a game environment, giving players the tools that are only limited by their own imagination.
Earlier this month, Wednesday 12th to be exact, saw the release of Scribblenauts Remix on iOS devices, thats the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. The original Scribblenauts is now two years old, with this new platform release the world of endless creative gameplay is now open to a wider audience. Scribblenauts is easily the best example to date of creativity within a game environment, giving players the tools that are only limited by their own imagination. Before its original release in the autumn of 2009 Scribblenauts had created a huge buzz on the gaming scene, winning many game of the show awards at its E3 debut. The promise of gameplay that had unlimited potential caused much excitement, and the hype around its release on the Nintendo DS was extraordinary. The premise of Scribblenauts is that the player can type in any word into the games onscreen keyboard and it will appear on the screen. Players must use these creations to complete each level; a jetpack, lion or a potato can all come in handy. It was the scale of the game that really caught the imagination of the gaming community as every word was in the game. Upon its release the game received largely favourable reviews, with critics and gamers impressed with the games extraordinaire content catalogue. The main problem that gamers found where the poor controls, with developers 5th Cell opting for a touch screen only controls that where configured in an unfriendly fashion. Just over a year after the release of the original Super Scribblenauts got its release again on the Nintendo DS. The sequel was a vast improvement on the without making huge changes to the style of play. The controls where addressed, physics improved and the addition of adjectives added a whole new way to thinking about things to create. The game did very well with critics and gamers, but was perhaps the game that fans had expected a year earlier. Scribblenauts really is only limited by the players imagination, you can spend your time riding a giant flying rainbow dolphin around with a laser pistol or fighting blue pirates with an angry hatter. It is possible to have a great deal of fun with Scribblenauts Remix before you even start the levels of the game, the practise level allows the player to create what ever they like, to see if its possible and to see who the creations interact. A good example to the interactions within the game is that; if you create God (a white haired and bearded man) and then create an atheist, God will disappear in a puff of smoke. Aside from Scribblenauts the Internet phenomenon that is Minecraft is another creative game that has caught on with many gamers. With its charmingly blocky pixel world, Minecraft allows players to build anything they desire from the block enviroment. The game has proved popular with many players setting themselves building projects, just to see what will happen. From giant guitars to giant temples Minecraft players are more than happy to play a game with no goals or levels, just the ability to create. The only problem with the building within Minecraft is that it is time consuming as players must construct block-by-block and this does not appeal to most gamers. There have been many attempts through the years to construct a gameplay experience in which the player can get creative, but most of these have been disregarded by all except for the most dedicated of gamers. The main problem with most creative scenarios in games, is that they are very time consuming. Level editors are the main form of creative output within games and most of these require huge time investments. Memories of level editors within which games as Tony Hawks Pro Skater and Tomb Raider bring back thought of half finished wastes of time that nobody else with ever see. More recent level editors have greatly improved, such as Little Big Planet,Halo and Gary's Mod also in the modern gaming environment, level creators can upload online there work and watch others enjoy them. Other editors such have Garys Mod have proved fans, with many videos featuring custom scenes or scenarios circulating through the gaming community. Scribblenauts Remix is available on the Apple App store for £2.99, although this is more that most games on the store, it is well worth it due to the extraordinary value within the game. It genuinely feels like the game has more content and potential than any other iPhone game.
