Talk:Scribblenauts (video game)

Release Date?
So, the release date in the article appears to say "September 15th", but is there any actual proof of this? Where are we actually getting that information? There doesn't appear to be a source. 125.238.149.149 (talk) 23:42, 4 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Quickly looked it up. It seems Gamespot is convinced that it's September 15th, as is Amazon . I'm not very good at citing, so I won't put the sources in, but there they are. MeTheGameMakingGuy (talk) 11:36, 6 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Websites that sell games, give a 'paceholder' date of when they think it will com out, its not an offical date by the devoloper.→ 0 4 1 7 4 4  15:24, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment confirmed the release date as September 15 2009. If you look under the video, the release date is shown to be "AVAILABLE 9.15.2009". Thus, this will be reflected in the article unless of course the official site decides to change it (as is common in the video game world). That site has been cited in the article. Kalidascorp (talk) 01:08, 13 July 2009 (UTC)

Well, unfortunatly, Europe now has an October release. This has been confirmed through a new trailer from Europe and from a 5th Cell employee on Twitter. I'm currently looking for a "reliable" source. I'll change the date, and I'll add the source soon. Kalidascorp (talk) 14:39, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Word List?
Perhaps Wikipedia could attempt to compile a list of confirmed words in Scribblenauts - 5th Cell have stated many of the words in interviews, after all. MeTheGameMakingGuy (talk) 02:25, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

Library, tailor, nutria, ebelskiver pan, pantsuit are confirmed. --70.188.108.127 (talk) 02:11, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

As are night vision goggles, rope, crowbar, spaceshuttle, salad, Medusa, helicopter, bulldozer, car, Santa, cake mix, cake mixer, zombie... the list goes on. (these are from a wide variety different sources: the new Writing Trailer, the Debut Trailer, the interviews with IGN, MTV and Joystiq, etc.) Now I come to think of it, there's probably more words than can conceivably be categorised, even on Wikipedia. :P MeTheGameMakingGuy (talk) 04:08, 18 May 2009 (UTC)
 * I appreciate the interest, but it really wouldn't have a place on an encyclopedic article. - The New Age Retro Hippie used Ruler! Now, he can figure out the length of things easily. 09:21, 18 May 2009 (UTC)
 * From what I've read, it might be quicker to list the words that aren't in it —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.171.192.148 (talk) 07:56, 6 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Indeed, it might! However, most of these are left out due to being inappropriate for some audiences, thus rendering that list... kind of scary. Most of the others are copyrighted, and you could come up with an infinite number of copyrighted nouns... MeTheGameMakingGuy (talk) 08:41, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I was playing with this game yesterday, and tried to stump it, and was surprised that despite the number of fairly obscure musical instruments available, "bagpipes" was not an available option. Also notably missing was "frisbee", which I found out in the midst of simply playing the game. Could it be a copyright issue? BBrucker2 (talk) 18:47, 4 December 2009 (UTC)
 * No, frisbee is most likely under flying disc. -- Yowuza yadderhouse |meh 18:52, 4 December 2009 (UTC)
 * "Bagpipe" (singular) was there, although it was odd that it didn't recognize the plural; watching someone else play it, I was struck with how easily it picked up on various faulty spellings of "pterodactyl". Something that seems to be purposefully excluded is any mention of drugs or alcohol: I tried to give someone a bottle of champagne to no avail. BBrucker2 (talk) 23:06, 11 December 2009 (UTC)

Why are we using that particular screenshot?
It's from the original trailer, we can see in new videos/screenshots that the user display has changed considerably since then —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.234.62.131 (talk) 00:01, 14 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Kind of dickish to say, but Thank you for your suggestion. When you believe an article needs improvement, please feel free to make those changes. Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit almost any article by simply following the  link at the top. The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold in updating pages. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes—they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills.  New contributors are always welcome. You don't even need to log in (although there are many reasons why you might want to).. I'm not sure if IPs can upload images, but I suggest you get an account on Wikipedia to do so. - The New Age Retro Hippie used Ruler! Now, he can figure out the length of things easily. 06:03, 14 June 2009 (UTC)
 * A new picture would be nice, indeed. I'd recommend this one . Additionally, the fantastic art of Post 217 needs to be included somehow. For some reason, Wikipedia won't let me upload files. :( MeTheGameMakingGuy (talk) 12:12, 6 July 2009 (UTC)
 * I've used the gameplay screenshot you gave us. It reflects the newest version of the game interface. However, someone may want to look over my work, since this is the first time I've messed with images - Rather than add a new image into Wikipedia, I "updated" the old one. I might have missed a detail when referencing the image. Kalidascorp (talk) 22:58, 13 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Maybe after getting your face virtually stoved in by wiki elitists for "spoiling" their perfect and holy creation for the eleventh time you learn to not even bother. I'd like to include that the international version only include language differences and not cultural differens: like

Creating God + Athiest = Athiest runs off screaming. Yeah Fine for USA version. UK version would cause God to explode in a puff of logic. Also apparently Americans know what a pogo stick is but not a space hopper, so there is no space hopper. Could go on for ages, but like I said, wiki elitists, usa elitists, general value of an encyclopedic reference for a childs game that we'll have forgotten in a years time - zero. Why even bother? Even this comment will have the fanboiz foaming at their cycle shorts.81.134.131.2 (talk) 11:47, 2 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Why is all this relevant to the conversation? You can't just come in and start talking on about how elitist and unfair we are, this is a constructive conversation.→ 0 4 1 7 4 4  03:32, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

Post development/impression links here!
Not saying you shouldn't add it yourself, but if you have no time, or want to save it for later, post it here. Just add to this list! - The New Age Retro Hippie used Ruler! Now, he can figure out the length of things easily. 08:52, 17 June 2009 (UTC)


 * 1)

Criticism?
Has there been any criticism for them claiming that you can do "anything", even though it's technically impossible to let you do anything? --65.30.72.135 (talk) 03:59, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

Not really, since most people have the common sense to know that when they say "anything," they really mean "mostly anything." 174.88.69.127 (talk) 18:47, 1 July 2009 (UTC)


 * New Criticism is popping up complaining about some physics glitches. At this point, there are no reputable reviews about the physics, but it will be something to look for in the future. Kalidascorp (talk) 20:45, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Major reviews haven't had any problem with the "anything" aspect. However, the comments sections on these reviews are generally spammed with "the object database will be extremely limited" complaints. At least, they were until E3 rolled around, and people actually got to play the game. Everyone's realised that "anything" is a fairly accurate description of the database now. MeTheGameMakingGuy (talk) 08:14, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

At this point, there have been enough articles on some of the flaws of Scribblenauts that I think a criticism sections should be started, at least to begin work on it. However, since the game is yet to be released, I'm wondering if this would be appropriate. We can always add information to the correct places after release, especially if some of the problems are corrected. Joystiq Podcast, Kotaku Level Attempts, and a few others I've lost track of mention such problems. (Many sources are videos at this moment.) Kalidascorp (talk) 20:54, 5 August 2009 (UTC)


 * The types of criticism now are now more directed at the mechanics and behavior problems in the game, things that, once the game is officially out, will undoubtably show up in those reviews or will be fixed in the final release. It is best to wait on those types of points until we're talking about the game's final build to include.  (Contrary to this, the fact that the press doubted the ability of 5th Cell to create a game that had the 10,000 word vocab and has been proven wrong, isn't going to change - we're not suddenly going to only have a 5,000 word vocab at the end of the day in the final build, so this positive press is fine to include). --M ASEM  (t) 21:25, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

What about criticism on the negative stereotypes that the game presents? It represents a "Republican" as a greedy person, a "Virgin" as a gamer, etc. 216.136.4.136 (talk) 19:47, 16 September 2009 (UTC)


 * That needs reliable sources. Which I've not seen in the existing reviews to date. --M ASEM  (t) 20:13, 16 September 2009 (UTC)
 * What's more, you're not likely to find reliable sources for that. "Democrats" are portrayed the same way. It actually just treats them both as "politician". (and, somehow, I think it's unlikely that a proper review will criticize likening a republican or democrat to a politician)
 * What's more likely to show up in coming reviews are the bugs; particularly with the full moon, since that was one of the things they used to spread awareness (full moons were supposed to turn "villain"s to werewolves, but instead turns villains and werewolves into regular humans). So that is what'll probably show up soon (and should be included if it's from a reliable source). 209.90.133.29 (talk) 00:15, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Long Page?
This seems to be the longest page for a completely unreleased game I've seen on Wikipedia. It's crazy long. Not that it's a bad thing, but have we perhaps repeated info or something? I can't figure out how an unreleased game, even one with as much hype and info as this one, can have such a long page. Heck, it's longer than the article for Zombie, which has most certainly been released! Kinda. MeTheGameMakingGuy (talk) 08:20, 26 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Seems fine from here. A lot's been written about it, so we have plenty of material to quote. --McGeddon (talk) 09:43, 26 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Oh, right - the incredible hype train results in incredible levels of sources to cite. Cool. MeTheGameMakingGuy (talk) 10:57, 29 July 2009 (UTC)
 * That's exactly how it works. People want to hear about it; previewers post as much as they can about it. Demand and supply. Kalidascorp (talk) 20:32, 5 August 2009 (UTC)
 * As big of a fan of this game that I am, I do think that this article goes into far too much detail about all the minutiae involving development and prerelease hype. However, I feel that once the game is released, we can remove some of the more trivial information with a more detailed analysis of the gameplay, as well as reviews of the final build. In other words, the article will be the same length, but broader in its coverage. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.189.249.13 (talk) 22:52, 7 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I see no reason to cut it out. Post 217 has lasted quite a long time as an Internet meme; and its E3 reception is historical, being the first handheld game to be this well-received at E3. The only thing I think that could be removed is the ESRB comment info, which seems tacked on; it pretty much came and went. And the NeoGAF influence is quite strong, and as such should be included. - The New Age Retro Hippie used Ruler! Now, he can figure out the length of things easily. 00:31, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

What changes should be made?
As you know, Scribblenauts is to be released soon. At least, officially.

The game will be released at Nintendo World Store in New York (I believe) on the 13th. What's more, some stores have broken street release dates and many people are playing the game as I write this. So, changes can probably start immediately.

Cutting out the fat (such as the ESRB stuff) is definitely one thing to do. A reorganization of much of the information will probably be required since much of it was tacked on as information was given. Obviously, a full-blown reception section is on the to-do list as well. (There's a lot in Reception as of now...)

List any other concerns for others to complete or start making changes as you deem appropriate. Kalidascorp (talk) 01:55, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Sleeper hit?
What exactly determines a sleeper hit? According to the page, it's a work that gains unexpected success or recognition. Personally, I was expecting it. Whose expectations are we working off? MeTheGameMakingGuy (talk) 11:29, 16 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Well, I'd guess that most people were waiting to drool over new Halo, COD, GOW, and the 'AAA' titles from well-known developers for full-blown consoles. Everyone has those on their list and those places had HUGE booths. Scribblenauts, on the other hand, was made by a lesser-known 5th Cell (Who, up to this point, only had Drawn To Life as a major accomplishment) and had a very small booth. (One or two demo stands?) Even though it was small, people still flocked to it. It was also relatively unknown before E3. (We are talking about being a sleeper hit at E3, just to clarify.) Kalidascorp (talk) 02:26, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

multiple unique solutions
what does that even mean?! It makes my head asplode. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.61.153.246 (talk) 13:05, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

It means that not only is there more than one solution, but some of them are unique.


 * It means that every level doesn't have a set way you can solve it. As long as what you spawn and what you do accomplishes the task at hand, you win. Thus, there are probably thousands of different ways to solve each puzzle. - Kalidascorp (talk) 02:28, 18 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Part of the game is actually going back and finding different solutions to the problem. They call it 'genius' and 'prodigy' levels.

Leak
Slaczka has recently came out and said that the 22,000 word count is based off of the leaked version of the game, and there are more words in the retail version. Maybe this should be added? I was going to let a more seasoned editor add it, since I'm not the best writer. http://www.vg247.com/2009/09/15/pfft-22802-words-scribblenauts-has-more-than-that/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.241.0.6 (talk) 14:18, 16 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I've already got mention of the leaked workd count and the rebuttal to that claim. --M ASEM (t) 14:30, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Reception
The scores reflected in the Reception section suggest that the game has received favorable scores (averages in the eighties) but two-thirds of the prose in that section is dedicated to the game's faults - this seems like an unfairly weighted presentation of the game. Some guy (talk) 03:36, 18 September 2009 (UTC)


 * If you read through the reviews, most of them are fluffy - they talk about their experience, praise the game - though do not call out anything - and then tear into the game's faults. Given that there was a lot of expectations with the game, and with the present pre-release coverage, I believe this is reasonably fair - none of the reviews really go why the game is great beyond that it's great and all that, but can itemize their complaints well enough. --M ASEM (t) 04:18, 18 September 2009 (UTC)
 * The article as it stands gives undue weight to the game's negative aspects in the reception section. You seem to be personally giving undue weight as well, if you don't think the reviews go into why the game is great. The IGN review, for example, praises the behavior attached to each item and the way they interact together, praises the "handy and well implemented" tutorial, praises the game aspects of it (i.e. what makes it more than a sandbox) and the depth/thought provocation of the puzzles, and calls it "one of the top titles for the DS platform", which (like the score) indicates that the prose in the game's reception section shouldn't focus primarily on the game's faults. The 1UP review describes the game as a "legitimate, challenging puzzle game" with the levels "smartly split up". The Eurogamer review describes the "The point at which it becomes really incredible is when you start telling your own stories" (on the other hand, they described the tutorial as "agonizing"). As it is, the postive aspects of the reception section mostly focus on the "summon anything" and "novelty" aspects of the game, which may indeed be its strongest points, but this is disregarding many other positive comments. Some guy (talk) 00:11, 19 September 2009 (UTC)
 * So I take it that this post can be summed up as "Masem runs an anti-Scribblenauts cabal"? - The New Age Retro Hippie used Ruler! Now, he can figure out the length of things easily. 00:27, 19 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I love the game, but again, I'm having a hard time finding good positive points to hang my hat on. Yes, there's probably a few more, but remember, we already have a lot of positive press going into the game prior to pre-release, so most reviews confirm that the game works as expected but fails at controls and some other points.  --M ASEM  (t) 01:06, 19 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Hippie: Ha. Ha. You're so funny. Ha. Ha.... Ha. Masem, fine, I'll work the things I just cited into the article tomorrow. You won't remove them, right? Some guy (talk) 06:22, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

That "controversy" is beautiful
I like that we have a section for a shamelessly-manufactured controversy by Kotaku (The cited article shows how well they took the ball that they created and ran with it until they could run no more, and they seem to be the only ones who have commented on it) that basically amounts to "The makers of Scribblenauts apologize that languages other than English exist", but does the paragraph have to sound so desperate? It could use some restructuring to be less "there", I think. Also, the paragraph shows clear anti-American bias. 198.7.245.75 (talk) 16:35, 31 January 2010 (UTC) Why?--Mamaluigisover9000 (talk) 23:11, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

merger
should we merge or should we not TheBestGuyHi 21:21, 8 August 2011 (UTC) and to visit your page click here
 *  Tentative oppose I am not very familiar with video game articles so I am taking my examples from other articles. Both Animal Paradise and Animal Paradise Wild have their own articles Although, I am not sure these are notable and have nominated them for deletion  Avatar: The Last Airbender (video game) and Avatar: The Last Airbender – Into the Inferno have their own articles.  Super Scribblenauts appears to meet the requirements of Notability (video games).  I am going to post this question at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Video games and see what some editors who are more familiar with the topic think.  Ryan Vesey  Review me!  22:52, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Oppose. The only element in which the two subjects might overlap is gameplay, and even that's iffy. The development and reception of both games was well covered in the press, meaning that a merge would hamper future improvement. JimmyBlackwing (talk) 23:35, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Oppose. Super Scribblenauts is a stub, but being a stub is not a reason to merge. Meanwhile, the main article is already quite long, and at this rate, its sequel would be far too big. - New Age Retro Hippie (talk) (contributions) 04:44, 9 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Oppose. If Super was a remake, or did not have enough significant coverage to merit a standalone article, a merger would make sense. That's not the case here. Marasmusine (talk) 07:02, 9 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I have removed the merge tags from both articles. Consensus seems to have clearly developed against a merge and discussion has ended.  Ryan Vesey  Review me!  04:04, 14 August 2011 (UTC)

"Rooster Hats"
The official name is "Rooster Helmet" It's even used in-game. Maxwell the scribblenaut (talk) 00:28, 31 March 2012 (UTC)

Development of Scribblenauts?
What would everyone involved in this article think if we created a separate article to house this game's meaty development section, promotion and pre-release reception? - New Age Retro Hippie (talk) (contributions) 20:50, 3 September 2014 (UTC)
 * There's no size issues and there's far too little to justify a separate development article. --M ASEM (t) 23:43, 3 September 2014 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Scribblenauts (series) which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 14:37, 13 May 2021 (UTC)