Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy!

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Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy!
Nelly Cootalot - Spoonbeaks Ahoy! Logo.png
Developer(s) Alasdair Beckett-King
Composer(s) Mark Lovegrove
SeriesNelly Cootalot
Engine Adventure Game Studio
Platform(s) Windows
ReleaseMarch 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.

Contents

Overview

A screenshot of the game, with Nelly on the left Nelly Cootalot Spoonbeaks Ahoy.png
A screenshot of the game, with Nelly on the left

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]

Reception

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]

References

  1. "Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! for PC". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  2. 1 2 "Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy!". PC Gamer . Future Publishing. April 2008. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  3. Luke Plunkett (2007-09-14). "Nelly Cootaloot Is A Hoot". Kotaku . Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Luke Jensen (2008-07-19). "Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  5. Alasdair Beckett (2008-09-21). "Nelly Cootalot II - Tech Demo". Chris Jones. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  6. "Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet! (Retro Pirate Adventure)" . Retrieved 2013-06-09.
  7. "Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet wird ausgeliefert". 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  8. Ernie P. Barin. "Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy". Abandonia Reloaded . Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  9. spoonbeaks-ahoy on Rock, Paper, Shotgun (2007)
  10. "Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! Reviews". GameRankings . Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  11. Andrew MacCormack (2008-02-18). "Woah, Nelly! AGS Awards results announced". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  12. "Best freeware adventure games 2007". IndieGames.com. 2008-01-19. p. 11. Archived from the original on 2008-09-26. Retrieved 2008-10-07.