Wiggles

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wiggles
Wiggles Logo.png
Studio SEK GmbH
Publisher Innonics
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 EU: September 2001
NA: March 2002
platform Windows
genre Economic simulation
Game mode Single player
control Mouse and keyboard)
system advantages
preconditions		 Pentium II 350 MHz CPU
128 MB RAM
32 MB graphics card
DirectX 8.0
8 × CD-ROM drive
medium CD-ROM
language German
Age rating
USK released from 12
PEGI recommended for ages 12+
information 3D side view, ironically based on an ant farm

Wiggles is a building strategy game for Windows that was published in September 2001 by the publisher Innonics . The developer of the game is SEK GmbH , Berlin ; The scriptwriter is Derek Meister .

Gameplay

The player takes control of a clan of dwarves in Wiggles . He receives an order from Odin to recapture his runaway "puppy", the Fenriswolf . For this purpose, the dwarfs have to dig deeper and deeper from the surface of the earth through a total of four extensive levels. Within the main campaign, in which the player has to search for the scattered links in Fenris' chain, 24 side missions are available to him, the fulfillment of which is profitable, but not necessary.

The game principle combines various game elements of other building strategy games with role-playing and adventure elements. In addition to building functioning goods cycles for supplying the dwarves with food, tools and leisure activities, exploring the huge levels and solving various quests are important game content, with the wiggles going through numerous epochs in human history, from the Stone Age to a futuristic age.

A special feature of the game is the weird humor , which satirizes the often exaggerated belittling graphics and "clean" atmosphere of other strategy games like The Settlers . The wiggles curse, drink, smoke marijuana , raise cute hamsters to work and feed, and even have sex to expand the clan . This ironic atmosphere is also supported by the caricature-like 3D graphics .

The wiggles

Five factions ( clans ) are available. While the Wiggles clan are the balanced all-rounders, the other peoples receive bonuses and penalties on certain gains in experience:

clan Bonus / malus
Voodoo (peacer) Food x1.3 / wood x1.1 / battle x0.9
Knocker Stones x1.2 / metal x1.1
Brain Energy x1.2 / service x1.1
Vampire Combat x1.2 / food x0.8

The wiggles that are employed at the same time in the course of the game have a wealth of properties and needs that must be observed during the course of the game. For this purpose, nine different character types have also been created to which every wiggle can belong. The ironically named types (e.g. "cruel" and "delicious") determine certain tendencies in terms of ability development and health. The player can assign their own names to the individual dwarfs.

The state of mind arises from workload, hunger, tiredness and leisure time fun. If a wiggle is unsatisfied, he stops work and goes on strike, he interrupts his work in order to go to sleep on the spot. The mood is given in the form of statistics, but also body posture and facial expressions clearly indicate how fit and exuberant the wiggle is.

The working time of each wiggle can be set individually on a clock interface. On the one hand, this is important in order to constantly do the many jobs, and on the other hand, lovers form among the dwarfs over time, who only grow together and reproduce if they can spend their free time together.

Role-play elements are also implemented to a large extent in the video game. Depending on the activity, the dwarfs experience a wide variety of gains in experience. So it is advisable to train specialists and to use solid dwarfs for fighting (four types of fighting), digging, cooking, woodwork or blacksmithing. A well-trained tunnel digger works three to four times faster than a layman. The total number of skill points is initially limited to 100, but increases in the course of the generations by 20 points, whereby the outstanding specializations of the parents are partly inherited. The relationships can be traced in their own family trees. Finding books and distributing found rings sensibly also helps with specialization.

Each wiggle has six slots to transport items and artifacts. However, these can be expanded by carrying baskets, which, however, are at the expense of the speed of movement.

In total, there are over 100 work and leisure activities that the wiggles pursue (sometimes independently), including dancing and playing with a hacky sack .

Buildings and production facilities

There are over 30 production facilities available to the player, which he can build with the help of a total of seven different resources. First, however, he must gradually research this in a sophisticated tech tree and process objects in preceding buildings in order to obtain suitable starting material for the next level (wooden boards, metal bars, etc.). The orders are placed in the building menu and then initiated independently by a nearby wiggle that is currently working. Alternatively, you can assign individual dwarfs to the buildings, which is advisable with regard to their skills and specialization resulting from the work there.

The clan goes through different epochs, the constructions become more advanced, more resistant and bigger. The initial ladders are made of wood, later they can be replaced by metallic and even elevator constructions. In order to place the more modern and efficient buildings, larger caves must be dug and, for example, electricity must be made available. The latter are initially created with captured or bred hamsters that are placed in a hamster wheel; later also by hydro & coal power plants.

struggle

With competing clans you inevitably get into conflicts over space and resources. In order to be able to decide for yourself, it is advisable to train individual wiggles in combat. You gain this experience while exploring the world, because the passages and caves are full of opposing creatures such as spiders, trolls, lava monsters and others. In addition to various martial arts (Kung-fu, Taekwon Do, etc.), various classes of close-range and long-range weapons are available, which can be produced in different stages of development. In addition, unique rings, helmets, armor and weapons can be found and used all over the world. Depending on the weapon and type of attack, there are individual gains in experience. Training in your own base using straw exercise dummies is also possible.

Game mechanics

The three-dimensional camera can be zoomed in several steps and, with closer steps, swiveled in any direction. It is also possible to enlarge or reduce the size of the minimap.

In addition to the campaign and a free game, a sandbox mode is also available. In order to be able to use your own maps in the free game mode, the developers offered a corresponding level editor for download.

Reviews

The reviews of the game were extremely positive. The graphics, based on an engine specially developed for the game by SEK, were described as rich in detail and colorful, the soundtrack and the soundtrack as credible and atmospheric. The sophisticated economic system was also praised.

“To cut a long story short: For construction fans and those who like humor in games, this title is an absolute must. 'Hands off!' is the name of the game for absolute anti-strategists and avowed affliction blowers. "

- gameswelt.de

"With Wiggles, SEK has really achieved a small masterpiece."

- 4players.de

The main reason given for the game's low commercial success is the extremely high hardware requirements that are necessary to ensure smooth gaming on high graphics settings. These exceed the specified minimum requirements several times over, which is primarily related to the level size, but also to the many details.

Tester rating
Games world 89%
Gamestar 85+ gold award
spieletipps.de 90
game tips reader rating 86
PC action 90
PC Games 89% + surprise of the year
star 5/5
b2play.net Game of the month
4players.de 83%
Bravo Screenfun Note 1-

Development team

The following employees of the Berlin SEK GmbH were responsible for the development (selection):

producer Marc Möhring
Head of Development Klaus Starke
Concept and planning Thomas Langhanki, Carolin Batke, Carsten Orthband, Ingo Neumann
Head of programming Carsten Orthbandt
programming Andrej Treskow, Axel Hylla, David Salz

Planned continuation

Just a few months after the title was published, the publisher Innonics expressed an interest in funding a sequel. This decision would be made dependent on the economic success of the game. Since this did not materialize, the plans were put on hold for the time being. In 2007, due to the moderate commercial success of ParaWorld , SEK GmbH was dissolved and the plans finally ended.

Trivia

As part of the marketing of the game, the publisher started a web scavenger hunt . Interested parties had to register on the Innonics homepage and then look for "torn out" Wiggles on its partner pages. The prizes for the marketing campaign were ten entertainment packages from the condom manufacturer Durex .

The publisher Infogrames arranged for the game to be published in the BILD-HIT-GAMES series in 2002 . The copies of the game sold were faulty and not installable due to a copy protection implemented by the developers. SEK GmbH had not been informed of the release beforehand and could therefore not modify it in advance. The developers distanced themselves from any complicity. In this context, they spoke of “avoidable problems” and advised buyers concerned to contact Infogrames in order to obtain an error-free version.

In North America the game appeared under the title Diggles: The Myth of Fenris , in Russia under the name Gnomy.

When the development team found out about a nude patch that a fan had programmed, they added a much more compact and fluid version to it.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.gameswelt.de/wiggles
  2. ↑ SEK Game Development Combine. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Wiggles: Wiggles. October 12, 2001, accessed on December 22, 2019 (German).
  4. ↑ The different Wiggle clans - Wiggles Forum. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  5. ↑ The different Wiggle clans - Wiggles Forum. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  6. ↑ SEK Game Development Combine. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Wiggles - dwarf names. February 2, 2003, accessed December 22, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Wiggles: Wiggles. October 12, 2001, accessed on December 22, 2019 (German).
  9. ↑ Wiggles - Test, Strategy - 4Players.de. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Wiggles. November 1, 2001, accessed December 22, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Wiggles: Wiggles. October 12, 2001, accessed on December 22, 2019 (German).
  12. ↑ Wiggles. November 1, 2001, accessed December 22, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Wiggles: Wiggles. October 12, 2001, accessed on December 22, 2019 (German).
  14. ↑ SEK Game Development Combine. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Wiggles - techtree. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Wiggles - Test, Strategy - 4Players.de. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Wiggles - Tips & Tricks. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Wiggles - Tips & Tricks. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Wiggles - techtree. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Wiggles: Wiggles. October 12, 2001, accessed on December 22, 2019 (German).
  21. ↑ SEK Game Development Combine. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Get the Wiggles Level Editor: Exclusive download ... December 5, 2001, accessed on December 22, 2019 (German).
  23. ↑ Wiggles: Wiggles. October 12, 2001, accessed on December 22, 2019 (German).
  24. ↑ Wiggles - Test, Strategy - 4Players.de. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  25. ↑ https://www.gameswelt.de/wiggles/test/wiggles,3266,2
  26. ↑ https://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht_fazit/PC-CDROM/Test/Fazit_WANY/PC-CDROM/1126/747/Wiggles.html
  27. ↑ Wiggles - Test, Strategy - 4Players.de. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  28. ↑ Wiggles: Wiggles. October 12, 2001, accessed on December 22, 2019 (German).
  29. ↑ Wiggles Test: Scoring. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  30. ↑ Wiggles. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  31. ↑ Wiggles. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  32. ↑ SEK Game Development Combine. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  33. ↑ SEK Game Development Combine. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  34. ↑ SEK Game Development Combine. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  35. ↑ SEK Game Development Combine. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  36. ^ Dörthe Otto, David Salz: Wiggles manual . Ed .: SEK-ost. Berlin 2001, p. 21-22 .
  37. ↑ Wiggles 2 planned. June 15, 2001, accessed January 7, 2020 .
  38. ↑ Fabian Walden: Sunflowers about Paraworld and the end of SEK Ost. In: Eurogamer.de. January 23, 2007, accessed January 7, 2020 .
  39. ↑ Wiggles - competition at Innonics: Innonics invites you to a scavenger hunt ... November 27, 2001, accessed on December 22, 2019 (German).
  40. ^ Rudolf Hanl: Wiggles Cooking Studio. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .
  41. ↑ Wiggles - faulty versions. December 17, 2002, accessed December 22, 2019 .
  42. ↑ Diggles: The Myth of Fenris - Review - Allgame. November 15, 2014, accessed December 22, 2019 .
  43. ^ Rudolf Hanl: Wiggles Cooking Studio. Retrieved December 22, 2019 .