Nanobots

[yarooze]

Very nice game!

Since I'm not the best puzzle-solver and need more time (plus solution) to complete the game  :, I like the graphics and music!

[sergiocornaga]

One Easter egg down. 

[Ali]

Lovely game, thankyou!

The premise reminded me a little of Infocom's Suspended, but this was much easier to get into and just downright fun.

I haven't played that game, but Nanobots did remind me of puzzle adventures like Lemmings, Abe's Oddysee and a bit of Creatures in terms of gameplay.

I'd love to see future games in this vein, particularly with the addition of a little AI. It would be even more fun if the robots wandered about having arguments when unattended, or could be left completing tasks while the player did something else.

EDIT: I forgot to say that I enjoyed the game's humour. My girlfriend and I usually read out dialogue with AGS games, and do funny voices. I though Strongbot's lines were very funny and I laughed a lot at the name 'Professor Killfun'.

[Kweepa]

The premise reminded me a little of Infocom's Suspended, but this was much easier to get into and just downright fun.

I haven't played that game

It's a game where you switch control between 6 robots, each with a distinct skill, and they have to work together. The similarities end there though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspended

[Nostradamus]

Awesome game. I love the situation, the interactions, the puzzles, the humor, the graphics. This needs a sequel and a long one. Or it could be an episodic game.
Congratulations on a greatly done original in AGS game.

To me it seems also inspired by the Gobliiins series.

[paolo]

EDIT: Oops, sorry - I posted this in the wrong thread.

[olafmoriarty]

My first impression of the game was "awesome". That impression never faded.

Frankly, a game can have the greatest puzzles and the most innovative atmosphere in the world, and still it won't be a good game if one misses the most important aspect any ludological narrative should have: Personalities. A good game needs at least one character with a strong personality so that the player can relate to them. And you've got SIX of them.

My favorite AGS game of the year, and I hope it gets tons of awards when that day arrives. And I agree with what many have said before me: This game screams "origin story", and a sequel would be very appropriate here.

Looking forward to your next project!

[Kinoko]

Hey, I've just started playing this - very nice! I'm really enjoying the atmosphere of the game, and how colourful it is. The music is really lovely too.

I've just run into a little bug I thought I'd mention. I've really just started and I've only done a couple of things. I tried to get Brainbot to analyze the red/green button thing on the left wall, and the text appears for only a fraction of a second.

EDIT: But it didn't do it again when I reopened the game, so who knows!

EDIT: I just finished the game. It was really well done!

Spoiler

For starters, any game with rainbow as a theme is going to get a thumbs up from me. I liked that it was all contained within more-or-less one room. The nanobots had very cute little characters and enjoyed the puzzles. I liked being able to finish a game because it's short enough and not obtuse-enough that I can solve all (but one!) of the puzzles just by thinking about it.

The puzzle I had to look up hints for was the gumball thing. I was so sure I had to catch it that it didn't occur to me to consider doing something else.

Nice touch on the ending too! I had fun playing that little mini-game.

[close]

[The Ivy]

I am behind with my thank yous!

@Makeout Patrol, thanks very much! P.S. Your forum name is ingenious. I get a kick out of it every time I see it.

@glennpfc, aww, thank you! And while you may not see the Nanobots themselves, you might get to see some of their cousins in the next few months...

@Ultra Magnus, I'm glad you like sassy female robots as much as I do. And while the mini-game took me some extra work, I think it was worth it.

@BlackDragon1200, d'oh! I made that mistake in Spooks as well (there's one puzzle where you need to find a reddish book on a black and white bookshelf). I'll definitely keep it in mind for my next commercial venture.

@SergioConaga, woo, I'm glad you thought it was "innovative." And if you're still looking for those Easter Eggs, check out the end of this post (by the way, which one did you find?).

@Stupot, I'm going to assume "cracking" is a good thing.

@Leon, d'oh! Err...maybe typos count as Easter Eggs?

@Alarconte, wow, I'm glad you liked the Nanobots concept so much. You'll be happy to know I'm not finished with it yet. :-,

@KuroShiro, okay, but you might have to be patient.

@SteveMcCrea, hmm, I had never heard of that game before but the similarities are eerie. I wonder if I can download it somewhere? Heck, that's what the internet is good for...

@yarooze, thanks! I'm in total agreement about the soundtrack. I don't know how Chris manages to make everything he composes so catchy, but he certainly does.

@Ali, thank you so much! I loved the humour in Nelly Cootalot as well, and although I'm sure I've told you that before, it's very much worth repeating. And I think "Captain Rehab" was a lot more subtle than "Professor Killfun." I guess that's what we get for being so enamoured with puns?

And I might take you up on that AI idea...hmmmm...

Anyway, seriously, thanks for all the kind words.  Are you working on anything new?

@Nostradamus, I've actually never played Gobliins, although it seems to come up a lot so I might have to. Actually, I haven't played a lot of the old adventure games that people think I get my inspiration from; some people compared Spooks to Grim Fandango, but I never played more than five minutes of the demo :/. I'm a lousy adventurer, I guess!

@olafmoriarty, I like your name and everything you had to say. I'm very much about fun characters; that's what makes my games more like comedies than dramas. I hope I'm never called upon to write anything serious, because I'm not sure I could do it.

@Kinoko, thanks muchly (on behalf of my team, too). Yeah, I guess doing a game in grayscale made me sort of snap in the opposite direction for this game. Hopefully it'll even out in my next project(s). Glad you liked the mini-game too; once I had the idea I couldn't release the game without it. 


To everyone else: all the Nanobots Easter Eggs are listed here. Might be fun to try on a rainy day; it sure beats productivity.  

[olafmoriarty]

all the Nanobots Easter Eggs are listed here. Might be fun to try on a rainy day; it sure beats productivity.  

Sweet! Didn't test them all and I don't think I got all of them to work, but the Hotbot one was awesome.

[mouthuvmine]

Blast! I knew I'd miss something great in the absence on an internet connection! Downloading, downloading, downloading...

[gypsysnail]

Hey hey hey!!! I HAD to come here to say what a fantastic game nanobots was!!!! I LOVED it! Normally I may play a great game but not compliment so much about it, but I felt nanobots is very deserving of compliments and real acclaim! The graphics, story plot, puzzles and characters, the whole game play is just SO good! I am not yet finished. Stuck somewhere. I consider a game to be very very good if I get stuck for a long time in a game. So well done Ivy and Vince!

There is something else I nearly forgot to mention.... Ivy have you seriously considered making this game into a commercial series? I think you should... I know I am wanting more.... and I want to see more of these adorable characters doing many more things in more games. Seriously think about it.... Also I want to run by you - the future prospect of making your characters into life-like toys, hard plastic/metal models, soft toys, and any kind of memorabllia, and oh yes the electrical type too!!! Remote controlled nanobots. I know I really would love to have them all in my house walking around .

glennpfc - I am with you on this, I played so many old games from Sierra and nanobots brought those exciting memories and feelings back right into it, and I just could not leave the game alone. Definitely better than today's games (apart from Runaway adventure 1 and 2 which I would say is an exception for its quality of adventure gaming, and Neighbours From Hell 1 and 2 as well). I have also added that I'd love to see Ivy make more of nanobots games.

olafmoriarty - I agree with you! Personality is one of the most important aspects in a game. I fell in love with the nanobots right away.

Again thank you for such a great game! Nanobots is the BEST game of the year!!!!! For me at least (and by the looks, for many others ) Both of you Ivy and Vince are very talented!

[Pet Terry]

I finally got round to play this. What can I say that hasn't been said yet? The game looks pretty, it has nice art and plenty of animations. The music and sound are also good, the background music was so catchy that it didn't get repetitive even though most of the time it was just that one tune playing. The idea is very nice and very well executed. I did get stuck a couple of times and thought some of the puzzles could have been made differently though, but nothing too serious. I had fun playing it, and that's what matters.

Nice work, keep it up in the future, the Ivy and team!

[loontje]

I played this game and I liked it a lot. Ivy did a great job as usual (I'm starting to recognize her style by now) and the game is very funny and cute.

[Chrille]

I love those robots. A great, charming game although sometimes it was unclear what I was supposed to do next. Impressive coding too! A great job by all involved.

[steep777]

this is be cool 8)

[Jared]

Hmm, I know this is an old thread now, but as seemingly one of the critical people on the forum feels the need to say - it rocks!

When I read about this game I thought to myself "There's no way it could be that good". I thought the same about Nelly Cootalot. I really need to stop thinking that..

[gypsysnail]

I think also one of the other reasons I really love Ivy's games is I understand her concepts and style of story telling. I have a pretty wacky imagination and humour like she does - but of course hers is unique to mine, everyone has their own style, just understanding thats on the same wavelength. Nanobots is by far my very favourite game this year and probably always will be too along with some other ags games Ive played and any coming in the future. Rock on nanobots!!!!!

[blueskirt]

I finally had the chance to play Nanobots this afternoon and I wish more adventure games could be like that. I can't wait for your commercial project which Dave Gilbert described as being in the same vein or spirit in term of gameplay. Keep up the good work!

[Huw Dawson]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I've discovered a dead end...

Spoiler

Put glitter in rack. Get another bot to pick up glitter. You no longer have any glitter, and it is therefore impossible to finish the game.

[close]

- Huw