Stacking (computer game)

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Stacking
Studio Double Fine Productions
Publisher THQ , Nordic Games
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 PlayStation 3

United StatesUnited StatesFebruary 8, 2011 February 9, 2011
EuropeEurope

Xbox 360
February 9, 2011

Windows
March 6, 2012

Mac OS, Linux

March 7, 2013
platform PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360 , Windows , Mac OS , Linux
Game engine Buddha
genre Adventure
Game mode Single player
control Gamepad , mouse & keyboard
medium Download
language German English

Stacking is an adventure / puzzle computer game by the US development studio Double Fine Productions in collaboration with the computer game publisher THQ . Like Double Fine's previous title Costume Quest , it is a smaller production based on an idea that arose during the development phase of Brütal Legend . It was released on February 11, 2011 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game consoles . A version for Windows was released on March 6, 2012, a Linux and Mac OS version in May 2013.

The game idea is based on the nested Russian Matryoshka dolls and comes from Double Fines Art Director Lee Petty, who saw in the dolls a possibility to replace the usual user interface of an adventure game. The player controls a puppet of the smallest type, Charlie Blackmore, who tries to free his older siblings from forced labor. He can slip into larger dolls and use their skills to solve various puzzles. In contrast to common aventures, the game also relies on different possible solutions and special tasks apart from the main story.

action

The action takes place during industrialization . A vicious industrial entrepreneur named The Baron makes children work. The Blackmore family, whose father mysteriously disappears after being employed in a factory of the baron, is heavily indebted, which is why all children are forced to work for the baron on payment. Only the smallest, Charlie, is excluded from it. But the baron is playing a wrong game and forcing the children into slave-like working conditions from which there is no escape. A letter with a cry for help reaches the mother. With his ability to get on with other dolls and use their special abilities, Charlie sets out to free his siblings, stop the baron, and stop child labor forever.

Gameplay

Matryoshka dolls like this one served as inspiration and template for the characters in the game.

The player controls Charlie Blackmore, who has the smallest doll size within the Matryoshka model. His goal is to reunite his family, who are forced to work in his company by the evil industrialist baron. Charlie has the ability to hop into other dolls and thus control them. As with Matryoshk, he can only hop into the next larger doll, but he can repeat this with each figure and so ultimately take over every larger figure via these intermediate figures. To be able to take over a doll, he has to approach it from behind. If she turns to him, a takeover is not possible. The player can jump out of a figure at any time, for example to take over other figures instead. Certain unique puppets have special abilities (opening doors, hovering, etc.) that the player can use to solve puzzles within the game. Hopping out and in and changing characters is therefore one of the main tasks during the game. Later puzzles also require the combination of the skills of several puppets.

For the various tasks, the player has several solutions to choose from, one of which is sufficient to advance in the game. If he finds them all, however, he receives smaller rewards in the game. To lure some figures out of a locked lounge, for example, he can either secretly enter through the ventilation shaft with the help of a craftsman or let another character puff into the ventilation, whereupon the occupants leave the room due to the stench. There are also rewards for solving side missions, tracking down unique dolls, finding and stacking a set of figures that belong together, and using certain skills. In addition to the successes and trophies of the console providers, rewards in the form of dioramas that Charlie's tramp friend Levi created for him are unlocked.

development

Concept development

Stacking is the second game from Double Fine after Costume Quest , which was developed on an idea from the in-house "Amnesia Fortnight" event during the development of the action adventure Brütal Legend . Studio owner Tim Schafer used the Fortnight at a time when the completion and release of this major project was in the balance. He divided the workforce into four teams, which were supposed to develop prototypes for new, significantly smaller game projects over a period of two weeks. The original idea came from Lee Petty, the art director for Brütal Legend , who also took over the project management. Petty wanted to create a contemporary adventure game that would retain common features such as characters and narratives, but break up the otherwise common point-and-click interface of these games. After watching his daughter play with matryoshka dolls , he realized that the dolls themselves could equally represent the characters, inventory, and action words. Petty and Schafer later suggested that the use of dolls, a common toy, would help make the game appealing to casual gamers, as they would quickly understand the principle of stacking and taking apart, while continuing to appeal to experienced gamers with more in-depth game mechanics could. The idea of ​​using these dolls also paid off later in production, as the basic structure of a doll model created in the 3D engine could be modified for over one hundred different types of dolls with little effort. Schafer helped Petty write the plot and design some puzzles. The total budget for the game was estimated at $ 2 million, according to Schafer.

Basic considerations

The game has a central point of contact, the Royal Train Station, and four other levels , which the player gradually accesses via the train station as the game progresses. Each level was designed with a number of puzzles that the player can tackle in any order, while the size of the levels should remain as small and clear as possible so that the players do not get lost. Most of the puzzles have been given several possible solutions. Petty said he wanted to appeal to both the casual gamers who might just be looking for one solution to get ahead and the more passionate gamers who would likely spend more time uncovering all the possible solutions. This was also promoted by the fact that the player could still move freely through the previously completed areas to complete all puzzles, even after the main story was completed. The puzzles and other challenges were designed so that they could be completed in small windows of time, which should give players more freedom to play the game at their own pace. Petty wanted to make sure that the player had enough time to think about solving the puzzles or to explore the surroundings in the style of the old adventure games, while still maintaining the feeling that the surroundings were lively and animated. The levels themselves were visually by using a design mixes from the time of the Great Depression and the Victorian era created, whereby common household items such as marbles and safety pins were involved, an inspiration by the interest in dioramas created and miniature stages. The game itself presents its cutscenes similar to those in silent films , with text panels inserted between the animations on which the dialogues are reproduced. The scenes are presented as if they were being staged on a theater stage.

marketing

As part of the marketing strategy, Double Fine offered a set of Matryoshka characters modeled after the game's characters. The original edition was sold out in less than 24 hours. In April 2011, THQ released a download extension called The Lost Hobo King (Engl .: The Lost Hobo King ). The add-on included new dolls and a new level. In it, Charlie Levi's uncle Rufus is supposed to help find a crown that would make Rufus king of the tramps of the Kingdom of Camelfoot.

The trademark rights to Stacking , like those of Costume Quest, were owned by publisher THQ when it was broken up in early 2013 after bankruptcy. They were taken over by the Swedish publisher Nordic Games after an auction . In November 2013, Double Fine and Nordic Games signed a contract, according to which Double Fine got the publishing rights back for both games, while Nordic Games in return won the contract for the distribution of retail versions of the two games and the action adventure Psychonauts for Windows and Mac OS X. received in spring 2014.

reception

Meta-ratings
Database Rating
GameRankings 86.02%
Metacritic 84/100
reviews
publication Rating
1UP A.
Eurogamer (UK) 8/10
Game Informer 8.5 / 10
GameSpot 8.0 / 10
IGN 8.5 / 10

Stacking received good reviews and was praised for its charming appearance, humorous narrative and easily accessible gameplay. Most reviewers pointed to the short game time of simply following the plot without searching for alternative solutions and bonus objectives, and that it might be considered too short for a $ 15 game. However, if you value the exact exploration and solution of all puzzles, stacking is worth the price, without being too long or too repetitive. Chad Sepieha of The Globe and Mail described the game as " a great example of what a $ 15 digitally distributed game can be ", while Justin Haywald said it was " a great example of what a $ 15 digitally distributed game could be" von 1UP.com liked the fact that stacking “ condenses a fun experience into several great hours rather than overextending itself ” (German: “compresses a fun experience into a few outstanding hours instead of artificially inflating itself ”).

The game's core mechanics were rated as very accessible, partly because of its charming looks. The controls are sufficiently simple to teach them to a casual gamer, and the game contains enough hints so that the gamer is barely prevented from making progress. The provision of several solutions for the various puzzles was praised: as Jeff Marchiafava of Game Informer noted, the provision of solutions helps “ [to solve] one of the most common problems with the [adventure game] genre ” (German: “with the solution one of the most common problems in the adventure genre ”), namely that gamers would not have to guess a specific train of thought programmed by the developers. According to Carolyn Petit from Gamespot, the multiple solution paths continue to offer an opportunity to encourage players to search for all possible solutions, because finding all solutions is “ logical and rewarding to work out ” (German: “Logical and a satisfactory search”). Christian Donlan from Eurogamer viewed the design as one that “ actively encourages a second play-through and an addled imagination ”. Many test reports came to the conclusion that the majority of the puzzles were too easy because they could be solved with only one doll until shortly before the end, which is also an ill-balanced increase in the level of challenge. Especially towards the end of the game, the player can combine the special abilities of certain dolls when they are stacked on top of each other, a game function that could have been much more interesting to explore earlier. The additional collections and hi-jinks objectives were said to be helpful in extending the game beyond the main narrative and provided opportunities for experimentation with the various puppet skills in order to find solutions to the main puzzles. Some testers reported problems with the game camera in tight spaces and other minor technical issues that did not affect the overall picture.

The storyline and artwork of Stacking were particularly highlighted. Steve Boxer from the British The Guardian called the artistic design “ utterly delightful ” (German: “extremely delightful”) and “ sumptuous ” (German: “splendid”). Donlan found the game world to be a “wonderfully designed place” and a successful union “ [of] the echoing grandeur of 1930s architecture and sooty technology with the home-made ingenuity of LittleBigPlanet ” (German: “the echoing splendor of 1930s architecture and the sooty technology with the handcrafted ingenuity of LittleBigPlanet ”). The testers attested to the game that it succeeded in integrating a serious topic such as the global economic crisis and child labor into a humorous setting. Kristine Steimer from IGN affirmed that the " witty dialogue and goofy animations amplify the fact that this game is not actually socialist propaganda " (German: "the witty dialogues and silly animations affirmed the fact that it is ultimately not about socialist propaganda") .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Randy Nelson: Stacking pops onto PSN Feb. 8, XBLA Feb. 9 ( English ) In: Joystiq . January 19, 2011. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 19, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  2. ↑ Stacking coming to PC ( English ) Double Fine . December 19, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  3. ↑ Stacking ( English ) Linux game database . May 8, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  4. ↑ a b Please allow me to introduce you to… Charlie Blackmore ( English ) Double Fine . November 23, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  5. ↑ a b c d Will Herring: First Look: Stacking ( English ) In: GamePro . December 24, 2010. Archived from the original on December 1, 2011. Retrieved on January 14, 2011.
  6. ↑ Kristine Steimer: The Skinny on Double Fine's Next Game ( English ) In: IGN . November 23, 2010. Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 23, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / xboxlive.ign.com
  7. ^ A b c John Funk: Hands-On: Double Fine's Stacking ( English ) The Escapist . January 19, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  8. ↑ Stephany Nunneley: Stacking to include "Hijinx" mode, all sorts of bodily functions ( English ) In: VG247 . January 26, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  9. ↑ Jem Alexander: 'Stacking' is Double Fine's next game ( English ) In: Official Xbox Magazine . November 24, 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  10. ↑ a b c d e Double Fine's Lee Petty Shares His Vision For Stacking ( English ) Sony Computer Entertainment . January 14, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  11. ↑ a b c d Christian Nutt: Schafer Admits Fantasy Of Flatulence On Youth ( English ) Gamasutra . February 11, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  12. ↑ Patrick Klepek: $ 1.6 Million and Counting ( English ) In: Giant Bomb . February 13, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  13. ↑ Cory Doctorow: Whimsical, fantastical matrioshke ( English ) In: Boing Boing . February 1, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  14. ^ Johnny Cullen: Stacking DLC ​​in development, confirms THQ ( English ) In: VG247 . March 2, 2011. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  15. ↑ Stacking Add-On Coming from THQ ( English ) In: IGN . THQ . March 18, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  16. ↑ Stephany Nunneley: Nordic Games hands back rights to Costume Quest and Stacking to Double Fine ( English ) VG247 . November 26, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  17. ↑ Stacking for Xbox 360 ( English ) In: GameRankings . February 8, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  18. ↑ Stacking (x360) ( English ) In: Metacritic . February 9, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
  19. ↑ a b c d e f Jeff Marchiafava: Stacking ( English ) In: Game Informer . February 8, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  20. ↑ a b c d e f Carolyn Petit: Stacking ( English ) In: Gamespot . February 8, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  21. ↑ a b c Justin Haywald: Stacking Review ( English ) In: 1UP.com . February 8, 2011. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 8, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.1up.com
  22. ↑ a b c d e Kristine Steimer: Stacking Review ( English ) In: IGN . February 8, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  23. ↑ a b c d e Christian Donlan: Stacking ( English ) In: Eurogamer . February 9, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
  24. ↑ a b Chad Sapieha: Double Fine's latest production stacks up nicely ( English ) In: The Globe and Mail . February 11, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  25. ↑ Ebenezer Samuel: Stacking ( English ) In: New York Daily News . February 13, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  26. ↑ Steve Boxer: Stacking - review ( English ) In: The Guardian . February 8, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2011.