Scribblenauts

This article is a featured article on the Scribblenauts Wiki!

This page is about the video game; for the series, see here; and for the object, see here.

Scribblenauts
Write Anything. Solve Everything.
Developer(s)	5th Cell
Publisher(s)	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Konami (Japan)
Release date(s)	North America: September 15, 2009 Australia: September 30, 2009 Europe: October 9, 2009 Japan: January 27, 2011
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS Nintendo 3DS (backwards compatibility)
Genre(s)	Emergent Puzzle Action Platform
Mode(s)	Single-player, online level sharing
Rating(s)	ACB: PG CERO: A ESRB: E10+ PEGI: 12 DJCTQ: L

Scribblenauts is an action puzzle game developed by 5th Cell and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the Nintendo DS. It was released in 2009 for all regions except Japan, which later received it in 2011 as Flash Puzzle: Maxwell's Mysterious Notebook, published instead by Konami.

The game grants the player the ability to summon any object and use them to solve puzzles. An estimated 20,000 items are available in the game, and they can be spawned by typing them in Maxwell's Notebook via the keyboard or writing it out.

History

While developing their second DS game, Lock's Quest, indie developers 5TH Cell began exploring ideas for a casual game that could appeal to a wider demographic than what they had made previously. The concept of what eventually became Scribblenauts was conceived around mid-2007, and was inspired by the Mad Libs word game and a dream 5TH Cell's CEO/co-founder, Jeremiah Slaczka, had. The Mad Libs idea, titled Once Upon a Time, involved writing sentences on the touchscreen of the DS that would play out on the top screen; however, Slaczka felt the idea wasn't fleshed out enough for a full game, as gameplay might be tedious and players were likely to only use certain keywords. His dream involved solving puzzles in an Aztec temple, which he thought was another interesting idea but still not enough for a game, particularly noting the lack of a hook and low replayability after puzzles were completed. He later decided to combine both ideas for a puzzle game with writing elements.

Early gameplay concepts involved playing as an astronaut and traveling through space to help the inhabitants of various planets, with the astronaut character writing things in a notebook. Originally titled Wordplay, the name was quickly replaced, as it was deemed generic and lame. Scribblenauts, a made-up word combining “scribble” and “astronaut,” was chosen instead. as a temporary placeholder. The development team liked the name and decided to keep it after discovering that the term had virtually no Google search results, as its uniqueness could help the game stand out. Scribblenauts was developed alongside the DS version of Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter and entered beta testing around May 2009, with reportedly half of 5TH Cell's staff working on the game. Scribblenauts was developed without a publisher in mind as 5TH Cell's previous publishing partner, THQ, started experiencing some money issues around the time, which eventually led to their bankruptcy in 2012, and Jeremiah Slaczka didn't feel confident continuing with the company because of it. Additionally, 5TH Cell wanted an IP that wasn't publisher funded so they could have more control over development. Slaczka said pitching Scribblenauts was hard because of it's ambitious concept. Unlike other games that could rely on a single level, they had to show off the game's large dictionary right away in their pitch. 5TH Cell entered negotiations to find a publisher in the summer of 2008 and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (now known as Warner Bros. Games) was confirmed in May 2009. with Konami handling the Japanese version in 2011. Most of the publishers 5TH Cell negotiated with early on felt that the concept was too ambitious and couldn’t be done. After being presented with an early prototype containing only a few levels and around five objects available to spawn, they passed. 5TH Cell completed around 80% of the game before returning to those companies to pitch it again.

When choosing a publisher, 5TH Cell had several criteria in mind. They wanted an established company that would invest in marketing, support the game at retail, and help promote and build the brand. Additionally, they also wanted a company with a lighter release schedule so Scribblenauts could stand out. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment was ultimately chosen because the president at the time, Martin Tremblay, showed particular interest in the title, giving Slaczka confidence that they would give the game the marketing push it needed. Another key factor in their decision was Warner Bros.' connections to the movie and TV industries. However, it became clear early on that the concept of the series wouldn't work outside the medium of video games, so an adaptation was never attempted.

Scribblenauts was first announced as an IGN world exclusive in an interview with Jeremiah Slaczka in December 2008, showcasing the first publicly available screenshots and trailer. In July 2009, shortly after a very successful E3 showcase the following month, the release date was confirmed for September.

Scribblenauts was released in North America on September 15, 2009, with a launch party at the Nintendo World Store in New York City. Alongside buying a copy of the game, customers could try out a demo and get signed posters and Starite cupcakes. A Maxwell cake was also featured at the event. Players who pre-ordered the game at Gamestop in the United States and EB Games in Canada received a replica of Maxwell's Rooster Helmet.

Scribblenauts was released in Japan on January 27, 2011, as Flash Puzzle: Maxwell's Mysterious Notebook. This version was published by Konami instead of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, and as a result, several Konami characters were included as a bonus.

Scribblenauts was re-released in 2013 alongside its sequel, Super Scribblenauts, in a compilation titled Scribblenauts Collection, featuring updated controls and minor bug fixes.

On May 20, 2014, the ability to share custom levels online became unavailable following the shutdown of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Engine

Scribblenauts was developed using a custom in-house engine called Objectnaut, created by technical director Marius Fahlbusch. Within Objectnaut, each object was assigned properties like physical characteristics, AI behavior, and interaction abilities. Five team members spent six months researching dictionaries and encyclopedias to build a large object database, which was then organized into a data hierarchy. This allowed for unique properties for objects that may have similar meanings, such as "lion," "tiger," and "leopard," while others, like "croissant" and "danish," were given slight differences. To avoid creating an "uber character" capable of solving every level, the team balanced the abilities of the objects. The game was meticulously designed, with developers working word-by-word on each item, sometimes adjusting for slight differences in objects like cheeses or machines. However, testing every interaction proved impossible due to the large number of combinations, leading the team to focus on fine-tuning item properties for about 80% of development. Without the Objectnaut engine, the developers would have had to manually assign properties to every individual object, with Joe Tringali jokingly suggesting the game wouldn't have released until around 2015 at the earliest if that had been the case.

Every object in the game is represented by artwork drawn by Edison Yan. 5th Cell experimented with around 20 different art styles before settling on the one used in the game. They chose the final style because it was appealing and simple to design. Objects are rendered in 3D and displayed on a 2D plane. This was done to simplify development, as many objects could share animations. According to Slaczka, the team had to design each AI object by hand, including how it moves, what it likes and dislikes, its health, and other traits.

Gameplay

Screenshot of Scribblenauts. The top screen displays an image of the level and various indicators. The bottom screen shows Maxwell, using a helicopter and rope to rescue an injured woman during one of the puzzle levels.

The main character, Maxwell, has a notebook that can spawn almost anything typed. The only limitations are ethnic, vulgar (with one unintentional exception), copyrighted (with some exceptions in the Japanese version), or ESRB-restricted words. In Maxwell's notebook, players have the option to either type words using a keyboard or write the letters individually with the touchscreen, mimicking writing in an actual notebook. Players move Maxwell with the stylus and the camera with the D-pad and A B X Y buttons. The main gameplay mode, Challenge Mode, has 240 levels and Starites, collectable star-like objects, split evenly between action and puzzle levels. Puzzle levels require certain objects or a certain number of objects to be made in order to make the Starite appear. Action levels have the Starite already spawned and require players to figure out a way to get Maxwell to it. After completing a level, Maxwell receives Ollars, the game's currency. Maxwell can use these Ollars to buy music, avatars and new areas. Exclusive to this entry is the par system, which, similar to golf, challenges players to complete levels with as few objects as possible in exchange for more Ollars. It was disliked by fans and was subsequently removed in the sequel, Super Scribblenauts.

After levels are completed for the first time, players are given the chance to replay them in Advanced Mode to get additional Ollars as well as a gold star on the level select screen for any given world. In this mode, players are challenged with completing the level three times in a row while being forced to use different solutions each time.

Custom Levels

Another gameplay mode in Scribblenauts is the ability to create custom levels. The player takes the layout of a level from the Challenge Mode, then creates objects and the Starite. Objects can be programmed to interact in a way with another object (i.e 'This object eats...). Players used to be able to share their levels with other DS systems both locally and online; however, as of May 2014, the online sharing function became unavailable due to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service being shut down.

Reception

Scribblenauts received generally positive reviews. Prior to release, it became the first handheld game in history to win "Best of Show" awards for E3 from any gaming media outlets. IGN gave the game an 8.7/10, praising the unique ideas but criticized the controls. Nintendo Power gave the game a 9/10, saying the pure innovation exceeded the problems. The game is the first of its kind and has won numerous awards, such as "Best New Idea" by Nintendo Power and "Outstanding Achievement in Portable Game Design" by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.

Strategy Guide

Main article: Scribblenauts: Prima Official Game Guide

A strategy guidebook published by Prima Games was released alongside the game in September 2009. The book includes solutions for each level, a guide for unlocking merits and more.

Gallery

Box art

North America

Europe

Without text

Japan

Cartridge

DS menu icon

Screenshots

Main menu

Main Menu (Japanese)

Videos

Scribblenaughts Everything Trailer

Scribblenauts - DS Trailer

Scribblenauts TV Commercial

SCRIBBLENAUTS Trailer

Instruction Manual

Note: These images are from the North American version. The manual may differ between regions.

Front and back covers

Health and safety information

End user license agreement

Miscellaneous

Logo concept art

Box art concept art

Japanese logo

Trivia

• On the cover, the notebook has a 5th Cell logo on it, rather than the in-game one being a Starite on it.
• An unused script for level instructions found in the files suggests that levels were planned that would have removed the ability to use Maxwell's notebook. None of the accompanying levels have been found, possibly suggesting the idea was scrapped before any were designed.
• The idea of DSi-exclusive features was briefly considered but there wasn't enough development time to add any.
• Nintendo Power considered Scribblenauts to be the best invention in the history of mankind since automobiles in 1886.
• The Ollar Store was originally going to contain some additional words for purchase. When they got scrapped, the North American manual was never updated to remove the references to them.
  • Instead of being removed, the button that would have loaded that section of the store was made invisible and clicking on it freezes the game.
• In October 2009, a special Halloween-themed level was exclusively released to attendees of the London Dungeon on October 31st. This was the only time the level has ever been publicly released and it was only available from noon to 3 p.m. This level is now lost media.
  • This level is technically the only DLC the series ever received
• At PAX one year, Warner Bros. gave out ten exclusive white DSi systems with Scribblenauts art drawn on them.
  • While little is known about this, a comment in The Art of 5TH Cell book suggests that the DSi systems may have been prizes as part of a contest.
• During early development, it was believed that Scribblenauts would be 5TH Cell's last DS game before transitioning to console development. This turned out not to be the case, as sequels to both Drawn to Life and Scribblenauts were released for the system in 2009 and 2010.
• While initially developed in English, Scribblenauts was translated into French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Italian, Dutch, British English, Danish, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and Japanese.
• Originally, Maxwell's notebook wasn't going to have a keyboard, with players having to write letters with the touchscreen. The keyboard was added as a tool for developers to test objects while the letter recognition system was still being developed. However, developers realized that it was more efficient and made typing words much faster, so they changed it to be the default writing method.
• During development, 5TH Cell was aware that movement with the touchscreen was imprecise and finicky, but they didn't have time to add D-pad controls. According to Joe Tringali, it would have taken around three to four weeks to add it in and if they had realized this sooner, they likely would have cut certain features, such as Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection support, to make time.
• During the pre-release period of the game, it became a trend on NeoGAF to create fan art of licensed characters in the game's art style. Several of the artists behind these drawings were later contacted to work on Super Scribblenauts.

Videos games by 5th Cell
Drawn to Life series	Drawn to Life • The Next Chapter
Scribblenauts series	Scribblenauts • Super • Remix • Unlimited • Unmasked
Other games	Lock's Quest • Run Roo Run • Hybrid