Idleness is when an NPC or any other 'living' thing on Scribblenauts or Super Scribblenauts is left alone, it will walk around for a bit and then perform an 'Idle gesture' i.e. scratching their nose or yawning. It is most interesting to note that the Doppleganger's 'idle dance' in Scribblenauts involved his limbs disconnecting from his body.
Known 'Idle Gestures' include:
- Yawning: most NPCs, also looks like they are scratching their nose.
- Roaring: beasts or monsters. Coupled with this is whatever sound plays for that particular beast.
- Pacing: when an NPC has nothing to do, it will pace left and right between idle gestures. Note that if a ledge is near a character they will sometimes walk off it during pacing.
- Animal Calls: Animals will stretch and moo, bark, grunt or perform whatever call they have. (i.e. cows will moo, etc)
- Different Gestures: Theoretically, an NPC has only one gesture. However, they will perform different ones depending on mood. For example, a 'hungry man' will pat his belly or a scared person will 'jump' in fear and yell.
Glitches
- Sometimes a chracter will get 'stuck' in the middle of a Gesture. They will then 'snap' back to their original postition.
- Oddly, in Super Scribblenauts the adjective 'idle' removes all idle gestures and pacing from an NPC.