Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy!

Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy!
Developer(s)Alasdair Beckett-King
Composer(s)Mark Lovegrove
SeriesNelly Cootalot
EngineAdventure Game Studio
Platform(s)Windows
ReleaseMarch 6, 2007
Genre(s)Point-and-click adventure
Mode(s)single-player

Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! is a point-and-click adventure game by British developer Alasdair Beckett. It was created as an indie game using the Adventure Game Studio game engine and released for free on the Internet on March 6, 2007.[1] The game has been translated into Spanish, French, German and Polish.

Overview

[edit]
A screenshot of the game, with Nelly on the left

Spoonbeaks Ahoy! was created by Beckett as a gift for his girlfriend, and the pirate protagonist Nelly Cootalot is modelled after her.[2] In the fictional, insular Barony of Meeth, the player investigates the disappearance of a fleet of spoonbeaks (the game's term for spoonbills).[3] A few minigames must be completed to reach the ending, including deciphering a coded message and winning a "hook a duck" carnival game.[4]

The game's ending scene alludes to a potential sequel,[4] which development was officially announced by Beckett in September 2008.[5] The second game is called Nelly Cootalot II: The Fowl Fleet. It was crowdfunded via Kickstarter and released in March 2016 commercially.[6][7]

Reception

[edit]

The game was praised for its story, music and humorous setting, though a few puzzles were considered difficult.[2][4][8] While reviewers felt the game was inspired by Monkey Island series for its setting and dialogues, they acknowledge the originality of its art style and play experience.[4][9] It was rated 80 out of 100 by the magazine PC Format.[10]

The game won five AGS Awards in 2007, namely "Best Game Created with AGS", "Best Gameplay", "Best Dialogue Writing", "Best Player Character", and "Best Character Art".[11] It was also named one of the 20 "Best Freeware Adventure Games" of 2007 by Think Services' IndieGames.com.[12]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! for PC". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  2. ^ a b "Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy!". PC Gamer. Future Publishing. April 2008. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  3. ^ Luke Plunkett (2007-09-14). "Nelly Cootaloot Is A Hoot". Kotaku. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  4. ^ a b c d Luke Jensen (2008-07-19). "Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  5. ^ Alasdair Beckett (2008-09-21). "Nelly Cootalot II - Tech Demo". Chris Jones. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  6. ^ "Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet! (Retro Pirate Adventure)". Retrieved 2013-06-09.
  7. ^ "Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet wird ausgeliefert". 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  8. ^ Ernie P. Barin. "Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy". Abandonia Reloaded. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  9. ^ spoonbeaks-ahoy on Rock, Paper, Shotgun (2007)
  10. ^ "Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  11. ^ Andrew MacCormack (2008-02-18). "Woah, Nelly! AGS Awards results announced". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  12. ^ "Best freeware adventure games 2007". IndieGames.com. 2008-01-19. p. 11. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nelly_Cootalot:_Spoonbeaks_Ahoy!&oldid=1250884862"