Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth

Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth , alternative title The Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the Schnibble , is a point-and-click adventure developed by the French company Coktel Vision from 1995.

action

prehistory

After a devastating nuclear war broke out on earth , most of the survivors withdrew deep into the earth's interior because of the radioactive contamination. While they lived there for several centuries, a race of mutants , the Buzuks , developed on the surface of the earth . These humanoid beings, recognizable by their striped tails, long noses and pointed ears, lived largely in harmony with their environment and were an extremely peaceful people who had locked evil in a magical vessel, the Schprotznog. The people were led by a sultan and his seven-member council of wise men.

When people returned to the surface, they discovered the Buzuks, attacked them, and defeated them. They built the city of Vlurxtrznbnaxl on the hill at whose feet the Buzuks had lived. Sultan and wise men were ousted , and instead a republic was established with a president at its head, at whose side the Obersack acted as advisor. The Buzuks were condemned to do menial jobs, or even enslaved. In the course of time the state developed into an autocratic system with an exuberant bureaucracy and a financial administration that taxed pretty much everything but the air you breathe.

The game

The game begins with the attack on a human scientist, Professor Azimuth, in his house. Before he is kidnapped, he manages to put a headphone-like device on his young son Woodruff and hide it in a box. Through this apparatus, he grows into a young man in a very short time, who then sets out to search for his father's kidnappers, as well as the one who destroyed Woodruff's Teddy during the robbery . The only word on his mind at this point is Schnibble .

The player must now control this woodruff. The first task is to find someone who can teach him to read. It begins in the lowest areas of the city, which are home to the simple population and where the entertainment districts are also located. Woodruff gradually opened up further parts of the city until he finally reached the top level with high society . On the way there, he has to get back the lost so-called power syllables for the seven wise men, who are partly unmotivated, partly disoriented or have simply disappeared, so that they can return to their old function. A side effect is that Woodruff can use the syllables himself to acquire certain special powers with the help of a formula editor. For example, he can develop superhuman strength, expose the tricks of a shell player or travel into the past. During a trip to the long-lost decisive battle, he can save the life of a Buzuk warrior. He can later father a descendant, one of whom finally, in the present, teaches Woodruff the ability to levitate .

In the tower of a prison he finally meets his father, who is not that unhappy with the situation, since he can continue his research there in peace. Woodruff learns that he is, in fact, Azimuth's adopted son. His actual parents were a mixed Buzuk-people couple who were expelled from the city because mixed marriages were not tolerated.

Woodruff also comes into contact with the host of a television show, with which he promptly falls in love. He finds out that this is the upper bag's mistress. However, this ratio is not the best, as the upper sack has changed a lot over the years. The reason for this was, as it turns out, that he got his hands on the original Schprotznog and opened it. Evil then took possession of the upper sack and was able to do its mischief again.

The wise men make a new Schprotznog for Woodruff. Woodruff finally succeeds in locking evil back into them. The Obersack is eliminated, the President turns out to be a robot controlled by him, and Woodruff becomes the new ruler. He vows to ensure that people and Buzuks will work together justly and happily in the future.

Game principle and technology

The game includes around forty locations that can be visited. Control with the mouse is simple: things that can be interacted with are activated with a click of the mouse and can then be used with other objects or people. Of recurring importance are in particular the "Tobozon", which can be used to communicate with different locations and which roughly corresponds to a modern smartphone , the "Meteozon" clock as a local weather forecast and the "Transportozon", with which locations that have been visited can be directly controlled . What is striking is the constant occurrence of syllables , be it as a basis for reactivating the wise and for the development of one's own special skills, be it instead of numbers, as keyboard input, for example with Tobozon or as a security code for doors.

Production notes

The game was developed for Windows 3.x , on newer Windows versions and other systems it can be played with ScummVM . In North America it appeared under the name The Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the Schnibble . In 2001 there was a new edition in Germany, combined with Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist , another adventure game.

The eponymous Schnibble is a MacGuffin : he gets things going, but quickly fades into the background and plays no role in solving the game. Whether it is an object or a mystical concept remains unsolved, nor does anyone see it. A sect that worships the Schnibble turns out to be a group installed by Obersack, the purpose of which is to employ potential resisters so that they do not turn against the ruling system. Similarities in the presentation to Hare Krishna are unmistakable.

reception

Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth received mostly positive reviews. However, the selection of the German speakers was rated as not particularly successful on several occasions. The game comes from the same people who had previously developed the Gobliiins series, so the game management, the weird graphics and the extraordinary humor are similar. This was repeatedly highlighted positively by the reviewers. Nevertheless, the sales figures remained well below expectations.

PC Games : "Anyone who longs for a technically excellent adventure and, on the other hand, does not want to do without tricky puzzles and depth of game, is in the right place with this game."
Power Play : "But the wait was generally worth it."
PC Joker : "Because the controls have also been kept extremely simple, the hunt for the Schnibble is also and especially well suited for younger adventurers. And laughter is soooo healthy!"
PC Player : "... the average gamer will appreciate the relatively logical tasks. The ease of use reinforces the positive impression." "Thanks to the charm bonus, a predominantly refreshing program from the Coktel kitchen"
Play Time : "... quite a unique mixture of adventure and thinking game"

literature

Thomas Borovskis: Test report by PC Games magazine , issue 3/19, p. 94ff. Rating 89%
Manfred Duy: Test report by PC Joker magazine , issue 3/95, p. 4. Evaluation: 72%
Heinrich Lenhardt , Florian Stangl : Test report from the PC-Player magazine, issue 3/95, p. 62ff. Digital copy of the whole issue , rar file, 50.7 MB. Rating: 73%
Petra Maueröder : Play Time test report , issue 4/95, p. 46ff. Digital version of the entire issue , rar file, 54.8 MB. Rating 87%

Web links

Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth at MobyGames (English)
Woodruff fan page
Alternative and unused scenes at The Cutting Room Floor

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Peter Schwindt: Woodruff & the Schnibble of Azimuth . In: Power Play . March 1995, p. 50.

[PP-1] Peter Schwindt: Woodruff & the Schnibble of Azimuth . In: Power Play . March 1995, p. 50.