Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy!
{{Short description|2007 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| image = Nelly Cootalot - Spoonbeaks Ahoy! Logo.png
| caption =
| developer = Alasdair Beckett-King
| composer = Mark Lovegrove
| series = Nelly Cootalot
| engine = Adventure Game Studio
| released = March 6, 2007
| genre = Point-and-click adventure
| modes = single-player
| platforms = Windows
}}
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.{{cite web | url=http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/nellycootalotspoonbeaksahoy/index.html | title=Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! for PC | access-date=2008-10-07 | author= | date= | publisher=GameSpot}} The game has been translated into Spanish, French, German and Polish.
Overview
Image:Nelly Cootalot Spoonbeaks Ahoy.png
Spoonbeaks Ahoy! was created by Beckett as a gift for his girlfriend, and the pirate protagonist Nelly Cootalot is modelled after her.{{Cite news | date=April 2008 | title=Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! | periodical=PC Gamer | publisher=Future Publishing | url=http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/nellypcgamer.gif | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210551/http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/nellypcgamer.gif | url-status=dead | archive-date=2016-03-03 | access-date=2008-10-07 }} In the fictional, insular Barony of Meeth, the player investigates the disappearance of a fleet of spoonbeaks (the game's term for spoonbills).{{cite web | url=http://kotaku.com/gaming/niche-genre/nelly-cootaloot-is-a-hoot-299810.php | title=Nelly Cootaloot Is A Hoot | access-date=2008-10-07 | author=Luke Plunkett | date=2007-09-14 | publisher=Kotaku}} A few minigames must be completed to reach the ending, including deciphering a coded message and winning a "hook a duck" carnival game.{{cite web | url=http://www.adventuregamers.com/article/id,885 | title=Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy | access-date=2008-10-07 | author=Luke Jensen | date=2008-07-19 | publisher=Adventure Gamers}}
The game's ending scene alludes to a potential sequel, which development was officially announced by Beckett in September 2008.{{cite web | url=http://www.bigbluecup.com/yabb/index.php?topic=35624.0 | title=Nelly Cootalot II - Tech Demo | access-date=2008-10-07 | author=Alasdair Beckett | date=2008-09-21 | publisher=Chris Jones}} The second game is called Nelly Cootalot II: The Fowl Fleet. It was crowdfunded via Kickstarter and released in March 2016 commercially.{{cite web | url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/315061806/nelly-cootalot-the-fowl-fleet-retro-pirate-adventu?ref=card | title=Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet! (Retro Pirate Adventure) | access-date=2013-06-09}}{{cite web | url=http://www.application-systems.de/nellycootalot/news.html#739222032016 | title=Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet wird ausgeliefert | date=2016-03-22 | access-date=2016-03-25}}
Reception
The game was praised for its story, music and humorous setting, though a few puzzles were considered difficult.{{cite web | url=http://reloaded.org/download/Nelly-Cootalot-Spoonbeaks-Ahoy/332/ | title=Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy | access-date=2008-10-07 | author=Ernie P. Barin | date= | publisher=Abandonia Reloaded}} 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.[https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2007/09/19/spoonbeaks-ahoy/ spoonbeaks-ahoy] on Rock, Paper, Shotgun (2007) It was rated 80 out of 100 by the magazine PC Format.{{cite web | url=http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/939165.asp | title=Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! Reviews | access-date=2008-10-07 | author= | date= | publisher=GameRankings}}
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".{{cite web | url=http://www.adventuregamers.com/newsitem.php?id=1616 | title=Woah, Nelly! AGS Awards results announced | access-date=2008-10-07 | author=Andrew MacCormack | date=2008-02-18 | publisher=Adventure Gamers}} It was also named one of the 20 "Best Freeware Adventure Games" of 2007 by Think Services' IndieGames.com.{{cite web | url=http://www.indiegames.com/blog/articles/index.php?c=ad&y=2007&gid=11 | title=Best freeware adventure games 2007 | access-date=2008-10-07 | author= | date=2008-01-19 | publisher=IndieGames.com | page=11}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.nellycootalot.com/}}
- [http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/860/ Game entry] on the Adventure Game Studio database
- [http://nelly.kawagames.com/ Official 1.6 Spanish version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606073723/http://nelly.kawagames.com/ |date=2011-06-06 }}
Category:Adventure Game Studio games
Category:Point-and-click adventure games
Category:Video games about pirates
Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom