Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! | |
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Developer(s) | Alasdair Beckett-King |
Composer(s) | Mark Lovegrove |
Series | Nelly Cootalot |
Engine | Adventure Game Studio |
Platform(s) | Windows |
Release | March 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-King. 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.
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]
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]