Gridders

Last updated
Gridders
3DO Gridders cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Tetragon
Publisher(s) The 3DO Company
Producer(s) Mark Skaggs
Designer(s) Jim Von Ehr
Artist(s) Don Williams
Joey Bryant
Matt Bigham
Composer(s) Doug Benson
Platform(s) 3DO
Release
  • NA: August–September 1994
  • JP: November 18, 1994
  • EU: 1994
Genre(s) Puzzle
Mode(s) Single-player

Gridders is a 1994 puzzle video game developed by Tetragon and published by The 3DO Company for the 3DO. It was also included as a pack-in game for the 3DO Blaster, an add-on produced and designed by Creative Labs to allow Microsoft Windows to play 3DO games. The game follows Zack, a worker for the Gridder Corporation run by Lazarus R. Trench, and his dog companion Fidex entering the factory in order to reach a mysterious secret within its basement. The player acts as Zack and must explore 36 floors, navigating squares and collecting pyramid keys by solving puzzles, while avoiding Gridder blocks and obstacles.

Contents

Gridders was the creation of Tetragon, a Texas-based game developer founded in 1993 by Mark Skaggs, known for leading the team that created the Facebook game FarmVille at Zynga. It was produced by Skaggs and designed by Jim Von Ehr, with Joey Bryant serving as lead artist, while the music was scored by Doug Benson. The game was met with mixed reception from critics, some of which reviewed it as an import title. Tetragon would go on to port Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller for the 3DO and develop NanoTek Warrior for the PlayStation.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot. 3DOIM Gridders.jpg
Gameplay screenshot.

Gridders is a three-dimensional puzzle game reminiscent of Klax . [1] [2] [3] [4] It takes place in the year 2049, where depletion of finite natural resources by humans led the Earth to an ecological disaster. The United World Council enlisted aid of the Gridders Corporation run by Lazarus R. Trench, who fiercely protects a proprietary technology from manufacturing automatons dubbed Gridders used in his factory and refuses to open their operations to any government or institution. As the Gridders grew more sophisticated and efficient, the company's working payroll was reduced from 1550 workers to one 20-year old called Zack. One day, Zack arrived to work and found a written note signed by a person named "Sandra", stating that a secret is hidden within the depths of the factory. [1] [2] [3]

Acting as Zack, who is joined by his dog companion Fidex, the player must explore 36 floors to reach the mysterious secret within the basement of the Gridders Corporation. The player navigates squares in order to collect green pyramid keys required to complete each level by solving puzzles, while avoiding Gridder blocks that can instantly crush Zack. Each floor becomes increasingly difficult and complex as the player progresses further, introducing additional obstacles such as trap doors, elevator squares, and diversion squares that are also key to solve a level. [1] [2] [3] [4] Zack can collect items that are either beneficial or harmful to the player. [2] The player can also change between two different camera perspectives during gameplay. [2] Every sixth level is a bonus round where Zack must lit a pattern of squares and get "non-dud" Gridder blocks land on them in order to become blue diamonds, which are worth extra points. [2]

Development and release

Gridders was created by Tetragon, a Texas-based video game developer founded in 1993 by Mark Skaggs, an American game producer and executive known for leading the team that created the Facebook game FarmVille at Zynga. [5] It was produced by Skaggs and designed by Jim Von Ehr. [6] [7] Joey Bryant served as the game's lead artist, creating all the animations for the main character and cutscenes as traditional cel animation. [8] Alongside Bryant, Don Williams and Matt Bigham were also responsible for the artwork. [7] [6] The music was scored by Doug Benson. [7] [6] Gridders was first published for the 3DO in North America between August and September 1994, then in Japan on November 18, and later that year in Europe by The 3DO Company. [1] [9] [10] [11] It was also included as a pack-in game for the 3DO Blaster, an add-on produced and designed by Creative Labs that allow compatible Windows-based PCs to play 3DO titles. [12] Tetragon would later work for GameTek in porting the PC game Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller to the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, [8] as well as Virgin Interactive with NanoTek Warrior for the PlayStation, [13] before the company was shut down four years later. [5]

Reception

Gridders was met with mixed reception from critics, [6] [17] some of which reviewed it as an import title. [16] VideoGames 's Jeffrey Adam Young commended its graphics for making use of the 3DO hardware with the three-dimensional space and smooth transition between viewpoints. Adam Young also found the sound to be decent, and its gameplay accessible but addictive and challenging, but stated that the plot was not essential for a puzzle game. [19] Electronic Gaming Monthly 's five reviewers regarded it as one of the better titles for the platform, highlighting its difficulty in later levels and cinematics, stating that "Fans of puzzle games like Tetris and Pac-Attack will definitely take to this game." [14] GamePro 's Earth Angel saw its "realistic" 3D visuals as the main draw and a first for puzzle games, while giving a positive remark to the audio. Angel commented that Zack was easy to control, and the gameplay easy to understand but complex and difficult in the more complicated levels. [1]

An editor for Génération 4 felt that the game was very repetitive and annoying despite its original concept. [15] 3DO Magazine 's Stuart Wynne praised the graphical engine, CD music and sound effects, commending Tetragon for attempting to produce a new style of game. Regardless, Wynne wrote that "despite all its efforts ... this is another puzzler unlikely to break out of its ghetto making for that classic puzzler finishing line: it's okay and if you like this sort of thing, you'll probably like this." [9] Entertainment Weekly 's Bob Strauss commended the visuals and "unique" perspective, but found it less addictive and harder to understand compared to Tetris, writing that "Gridders is a perfect example of how the fledgling system has become overly impressed while forgetting altogether about impressing consumers." [18]

Related Research Articles

<i>Yoshis Cookie</i> 1992 video game

Yoshi's Cookie is a 1992 tile-matching puzzle video game developed by Tose and published by Nintendo for the NES and Game Boy platforms in 1992. A Super NES version was released the following year, developed and published by Bullet-Proof Software.

<i>Soccer Kid</i> 1993 video game

Soccer Kid is a 1993 side-scrolling platform game developed and published by Krisalis Software in Europe for the Amiga. The player assumes the role of the titular main protagonist who travels across several countries around the world to repair the World Cup by retrieving pieces that were scattered by the alien pirate Scab, the main antagonist who failed to steal and add it to his trophy collection in a robbery attempt. Its gameplay mainly consists of platforming and exploration elements, with a main single-button or two-button configuration, depending on the controls setup.

Crystal Dynamics, Inc. is an American video game developer based in San Mateo, California. The studio is best known for its games in the Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain, and Gex series.

<i>Wheel of Fortune</i> video games Video game series

Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, premiering in 1975 with a syndicated version airing in 1983. Since 1986, the syndicated version has been adapted into various video games spanning numerous hardware generations. Most versions released in the 20th century were published by GameTek, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1998.

<i>Jurassic Park Interactive</i> 1994 video game

Jurassic Park Interactive is an action video game based on the 1993 movie Jurassic Park. It was released in North America on May 10, 1994 exclusively for 3DO by Universal Interactive Studios. Jurassic Park Interactive was the first video game released by Universal Interactive Studios.

<i>Demolition Man</i> (video game) 1994 video game

Demolition Man is a pair of action video games based on the film of the same name. Acclaim Entertainment published the 16-bit version, which features run and gun gameplay, for the Super NES, Sega Genesis and Sega CD. Virgin Interactive released a completely different game for the 3DO that combined several distinct gameplay styles. In both games, the player controls John Spartan, the main character from the film, as he attempts to find and defeat his nemesis, Simon Phoenix.

<i>Creature Shock</i> 1994 video game

Creature Shock is a 1994 sci-fi game released for MS-DOS and 3DO. It was developed by Argonaut Software and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment. The game was later ported to the CD-i, Sega Saturn and PlayStation video game systems.

<i>Burning Soldier</i> 1994 video game

Burning Soldier is a 1994 rail shooter video game developed by Genki and originally published by Panasonic and Pack-In-Video in North America, Japan and Europe exclusively on 3DO. The first title created by Genki for the 3DO platform, the game is set in a futuristic Solar System in 2095 where a war against humanity erupts with the arrival of the Kaisertian alien race, as players assume the role of an Earth Defense Force fighter pilot taking control of the mecha-style Strike space fighter craft in an effort to overthrow the invaders and end the conflict. Its gameplay mainly consists of shooting mixed alongside full motion video with sprite-based enemies imposed on them using a main two-button configuration.

<i>Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Slayer</i> 1994 video game

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Slayer is a fantasy first-person, dungeon crawl / action role-playing game based on the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. The game was developed by Lion Entertainment and published by Strategic Simulations in 1994 for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. A Japanese version titled Lost Dungeon (ロストダンジョン) was published by T&E Soft the following year.

<i>Escape from Monster Manor</i> 1993 video game

Escape from Monster Manor is a first-person shooter video game developed by Studio 3DO and published by Electronic Arts exclusively for the 3DO.

<i>Attack of the Mutant Penguins</i> 1995 video game

Attack of the Mutant Penguins is a action-strategy video game developed by Sunrise Games and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar in Europe on December 1995, and North America on March 15, 1996. A port titled Mutant Penguins was released in 1996 by GameTek for MS-DOS. The plot follows Bernard and Rodney, intergalactic heroes defending earth against alien invaders disguised as penguins. The player must dispatch the alien penguins before they reach a doomsday weapon, in the form of a weighing scale. Earth also has real penguins, who help the player by fighting the aliens and counteracting their weight on the scale.

<i>Sokobond</i> 2013 video game

Sokobond is a puzzle video game created by Alan Hazelden and Harry Lee. Gameplay involves moving atoms around 2D grids to form chemical compounds. The game was released on Linux, OS X, and Windows in August 2013. It was later released for Nintendo Switch in September 2021, and iOS and Android in May 2022. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics.

Mark Skaggs is an American video game producer and executive. Skaggs is known for leading the team that created the Facebook game FarmVille for Zynga, leading the team that created CityVille. He served as Executive Producer and product lead for the PC real-time strategy games Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, Command & Conquer: Generals, and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth.

<i>PaTaank</i> 1994 video game

PaTaank is a 1994 video game developed by PF.Magic for the 3DO.

<i>Ultraman Powered</i> (video game) 1994 video game

Ultraman Powered is a fighting game developed by Tose and published by Bandai for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. The player takes on the role of the extraterrestrial superhero Ultraman Powered, tasked with protecting the Earth from destructive aliens and monsters. Gameplay primarily consists of one-on-one battles where the player must deplete an adversary's health meter using both basic and special fighting techniques. The game also contains 3D rail shooter sections and a two-player versus option.

<i>Tripd</i> 1994 video game

Trip'd is a puzzle video game developed by Japanese studio Warp for 3DO. Using the falling block puzzle format, Trip'd presents the player with triads of colored, tile-shaped eggs that gradually descend the screen to stack up on the bottom. The objective is to connect four or more matching eggs to eliminate them from the play field. Creatures called Deow'Nz can be formed and destroyed to create various effects depending on the number of players.

<i>Scramble Cobra</i> 1995 video game

Scramble Cobra is a 1995 video game developed by Genki/Pack-In-Video and published by Panasonic, released on 3DO.

<i>Vid Grid</i> 1994 video game

Vid Grid is a tile-matching full motion video puzzle game originally developed by Geffen Records and published by Jasmine Multimedia Publishing for Windows on September 13, 1994. It was later ported to the Atari Jaguar CD by High Voltage Software in 1995, where it was included along with Blue Lightning as one of the pack-in games for the peripheral when it launched. It is the first entry in the series of the same name.

<i>Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon</i> 2021 video game

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon is a roguelike puzzle game co-developed by Vine and Yacht Club Games, and published by Yacht Club Games. A spin-off of the platform game Shovel Knight, the player takes control of the namesake adventurer as he becomes trapped within a magical artifact, the Pocket Dungeon, and is forced to fight his way out while battling other knights who befell the same fate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Data Interactive</span> Former American video game developer and publisher

Art Data Interactive was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1993, associated with its 3DO port of Doom, which was met with negative reception. The company became inactive by 1997, and defunct as a business in 1999.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Angel, Earth (September 1994). "ProReview: Gridders". GamePro . No. 62. IDG. p. 104. Archived from the original on 2022-11-12. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gridders (Instruction manual) (North American ed.). Tetragon. 1994.
  3. 1 2 3 "Software Express: グリッダーズ". 3DO Magazine. No. 4. Tokuma Shoten Intermedia. November 1994. p. 89.
  4. 1 2 "グリッダーズ". Special Information 3DO Magazine. March 1995. p. 125.
  5. 1 2 Nutt, Christian (July 30, 2009). "Zynga's Skaggs On Social Games' Developer Appeal". Game Developer . Informa. Archived from the original on 2022-05-17. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Yates, Laurie (October 1994). "CD-ROM: Gridders - Where in the Grid is Sandra What's-Her-Mame?". Electronic Games . No. 59. Decker Publications. p. 114.
  7. 1 2 3 Tetragon (August–September 1994). Gridders (3DO Interactive Multiplayer). The 3DO Company. Level/area: Gridders Development Team.
  8. 1 2 "Joey Bryant". LinkedIn . 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-11-12. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  9. 1 2 3 Wynne, Stuart (December 1994). "Reviews: Gridders - Puzzlers are renowned for their dire presentation and unimaginative visuals, a cliche Tetragon aim to smash with help from the 3DO system's powerhouse chipset". 3DO Magazine . No. 1. Paragon Publishing. p. 59.
  10. ↑ Pegoraro, Rob (August 31, 1994). "SEQUELS, RETREADS AND SOMETHING NEW CALLED GRIDDERS". The Washington Post . Nash Holdings. Archived from the original on 2022-11-12. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  11. ↑ 尖端 3DO特輯保存版 [Cutting Edge 3DO Special Preservation Edition]. Video Game Fun Books. Vol. 4 (First ed.). Advanced Publishing. May 1995. p. 81.
  12. ↑ "News: Snippets". 3DO Magazine . No. 2. Paragon Publishing. February 1995. p. 7.
  13. ↑ "Half-Life: Team". Sierra Studios. 1999. Archived from the original on 1999-10-09. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  14. 1 2 Semrad, Ed; Carpenter, Danyon; Manuel, Al; Williams, Ken; Weigand, Mike (September 1994). "Review Crew: Major Mike's Game Roundup - Gridders". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 62. Sendai Publishing. p. 38.
  15. 1 2 "Tests Express... - Gridders". Génération 4  [ fr ] (in French). No. 69. Pressimage. September 1994. p. 78.
  16. 1 2 "Overseas - Import: Gridders". MAN!AC  [ de ] (in German). No. 12. Cybermedia. October 1994. p. 39.
  17. 1 2 Gaksch, Martin (October 1995). "Spiele-Tests: Gridders". MAN!AC  [ de ] (in German). No. 24. Cybermedia. p. 70. (Transcription by MANIAC.de. Archived 2021-04-10 at the Wayback Machine ).
  18. 1 2 Strauss, Bob (December 16, 1994). "Digital Review: Gridders". Entertainment Weekly . No. 253. Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  19. 1 2 Young, Jeffrey Adam (August 1994). "Reviews: Gridders". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine . No. 67. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 74.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.