Scooby-Doo First Frights Game
Rocki Stenger
Scooby-Doo! First Frights is a 3-D adventure video game released on Nintendo DS, Playstation 2, PC and Wii, developed by Torus Games and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in North America on September 22, 2009, then followed in Australia and Europe on October 9, although the PC version didn't reach Europe until 2011. It was followed by Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Swamp.
Up until this game, Torus had produced mostly technically-driven rapid development games across most platforms. Scooby-Doo! First Frights was our first story and content-driven game, and this presented a new school of thought into the team. This wasn't just about the tech anymore -- it was about the game and the interweaving of the story through character-driven moments, combat, and achievements. It required much more thought to design and the application of design to our current technology, including the way we make games.
From audio to QA, design and art, every day presented new lessons. We studied from those successes in games released and held faith in the stability of systems already in place. For the team new to this genre and way of thought (content over tech), the challenges we faced have become tools for the future. We didn't execute the development of Scooby-Doo! perfectly, but we did so soundly for our first story-driven co-op game.
"Clank" was brought on board for the first time in Scooby-Doo! First Frights with barely a hiccup. From swinging bridges to destructible objects and chandeliers, a dynamic, breathing world was brought to life.
Having the time again, a separate team and schedule for the vertical slice build would run parallel to the pre-production team. This would have ensured that the time and resources required for the development of the game were available and more efficiently utilized for what they're there for in the first place -- planning, so that when it came down to the actual development, the path of production would be much clearer, with rework at a minimum.
When there's so much work to do, one of the first reactions is to throw more hands into the mix thinking that this will lighten the load. Not so for Scooby-Doo! First Frights First Frights. Rather, we found that increasing the number of people on the team to aid the workload inhibited the project, and placed great strain on the lines of communication. And it wasn't the larger, more obvious issues that placed pressure on the development schedule, but rather the culmination of micro issues.
- Abandoned Mine: Beneath Keystone Castle in Episode 4.
- Adaptational Badass: Mystery Inc. went from non-combatants in the original series to combatants in this video game, especially Daphne, who goes from Damsel in Distress to a Kick Chick.
- Amusement Park of Doom: The main setting of Episode 2.
- Big Fancy Castle: Keystone Castle in Episode 4.
- Circus of Fear: The main setting of Episode 2.
- Construction Zone Calamity: Featured briefly in Episode 2.
- Corrupted Character Copy: Tim Toiler from Episode 2 can best be described as an evil Willy Wonka who makes toys instead of candy, particularly resembling how Willy Wonka is portrayed in Nestle's Wonka candy commercials.
- *Cough* Snark *Cough*: In Episode 4, Costington has a habit of coughing before making remarks at the expense of Baron Von Richenstoof, Scooby, and Shaggy.
- Creepy Circus Music: In Episode 2.
- Creepy Doll: The Rag Dolls in Episode 2.
- Dagwood Sandwich: The "hot dogs" which Shaggy and Scooby make during Episode 2. They hardly even resemble hot dogs due to the amount of toppings (and the fact that they are topped with bread rather than buns).
- Dem Bones: Animated skeletons appear as enemies in Episode 1.
- Down the Drain: Some parts of Episode 2 are set in the sewers beneath the circus.
- Episodic Game: The game is set in 4 episodes.
- Final Boss: The Witch Queen is the final boss fought in the game due to being the boss of the fourth and final episode.
- Fish People: In Episode 3.
- Flying Broomstick: Used by the witches in Episode 1.
- Four-Legged Insect: For some reason, spiders only have 6 legs.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Episode 2 has the gang encounter Numbers, a boy who invents gadgets to try and track down the one behind the toy army at the carnival.
- Giant Spider: Encountered in Episode 4.
- The Grim Reaper: The Gliding Ghouls in Episode 2 are reminiscent of the Grim Reaper.
- Haunted Castle: Keystone Castle in Episode 4.
- Humongous Mecha: The bosses of Episode 2 and 3 - a giant Toy Robot and a giant mechanical lobster, respectively.
- Invisibility: The Black Musketeers in Episode 1.
- Kick Chick: Daphne fights by kicking.
- Killer Teddy Bear: Enemies in Episode 2.
- Laugh Track: The fourth Scooby-Doo game to feature the use of a laugh track.
- Lethal Lava Land: Deep underneath Keystone Castle in Episode 4.
- Lighthouse Point: In Episode 3.
- Living Toys: Seen in Episode 2, with the Rag Dolls and Toy Soldiers.
- Losing Your Head: The Shakespearean Ghosts in Episode 1 carry their heads in their hands.
- The Lost Woods: In Episode 4.
- Monster Clown: The Killer Klowns in Episode 2.
- The Musketeer: The Black Musketeers in Episode 1.
- Mythology Gag: Daphne's karate outfit is highly reminiscent of the one she wore in Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword, which also came out in 2009.
- Nightmarish Factory: The Toy Factory in Episode 2.
- Our Gargoyles Rock: Some of the gargoyles in Episode 4 come to life and attack the player.
- Port Town: Rocky Bay in Episode 3.
- Precocious Crush: Teenage Daphne has a crush on adult Seth Angler in Episode 3.
- Real After All: The Witch Queen is implied to actually be a genuine supernatural threat and not just a criminal in a costume, as no explanation is given for her powers and her suspected true identity Lady Azarni is hinted to be long deceased.
- School Setting Simulation: St. Louis High School in Episode 1.
- Ship Level: The Ghost Ship in Episode 3.
- Shout-Out: Several.
- The Phantom of the High School Musical is an obvious play on The Phantom of the Opera and High School Musical.
- Once Tim Toiler is revealed to be The Toyman, he gives his full name as "Tim 'The Toyman' Toiler".
- The reason why they travel to the carnival at all is to practice for the eating contest by getting "Dagwood Dogs"note In reality, Dagwood Dogs are another name for corn dogs, but they only ever eat regular hot dogs..
- Fred's knight costume has a helmet just like the iconic one worn by Ned Kelly.
- Sinister Scythe: Wielded by the Gliding Ghouls in Episode 2.
- Throw the Book at Them: Velma's fighting style, literally.
- Toy Time: The Toy Factory in Episode 2.
- Villain Song: The first phase of the boss fight against the Phantom in Episode 1 has the Phantom sing to Mystery, Inc. about how they'll get in trouble for trying to thwart him.
- Wham Line: At the end of Case 4 (and the game itself) the gang explains to Baron Von Richenstoof about how it was his sister Lady Azarni who was behind the plot to keep all the gold stored in the mine underneath the castle to herself and wonder at how she managed to pull tricks of casting lightning and teleporting, followed by the Baron dropping this line, painting things in a very different light:Baron Von Richenstoof: I beg your pardon, but what sister? I don't have a sister. [...] Nobody lives in the castle but me and the servants. And I am an only child.
- Wicked Witch: Enemies in Episode 1.
There's a steady increase in difficulty from the first level to the last. It doesn't rise too steeply, but the end of the game is far more challenging than the beginning. The two player cooperative mode makes playing with a friend easy to do.
In Scooby-Doo! First Frights, the complement to the upcoming live-action and CGI Warner Bros. DVD release Scooby Doo: The Mystery Begins, players take on the role of young Scooby-Doo and teenage versions of the newly formed Mystery, Inc. crew to solve their very first cases. Scooby-Doo! First Frights is intended for Scooby-Doo fans of all ages. Fans will be able to explore spooky environments as Scooby, Shaggy or any of the super-cool teen Mystery, Inc. team. The action-adventure game features co-op play allowing two members of Mystery, Inc. to work together to solve puzzles, combat enemies, and collect clues before unmasking each episodes mysterious villain - all while gaining prestige as world famous sleuths! Once players have solved the mystery, they can return to completed levels in Explore mode with any unlocked character, costumed character or villain to access new areas. With ghosts and ghouls around every corner, high school has never sounded so fun!
Mopping up the rest then, we have virtually nothing of interest on the GBA out of a total of 12 releases (we'd say Silent Scope and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 are the stand-out releases), and the PlayStation one welcomes, um, Droopy, and the first of the soon-to-be-onslaught of Yu-Gi-Oh! games, Forbidden Memories.