Stacking (video game)
Encyclopedia
Stacking is an adventure/puzzle video game developed by Double Fine Productions
and published by THQ
; like Double Fine's previous Costume Quest
, it is a smaller title created during the development period of Brütal Legend
, and was released in February 2011 for the Xbox Live Arcade
and PlayStation Network stores.
The game is based on the Russian stacking matryoshka doll
s, an idea coined by Double Fine's art director, Lee Petty, who saw the dolls as a means to replace the standard player interface used in graphical adventure games. The player controls the smallest doll, Charlie Blackmore, who has the ability to stack and unstack into larger dolls and use their abilities to solve puzzles to allow Charlie to free his older siblings and put an end to child labor enforced by the antagonist, the Baron. Puzzles within the game have multiple solutions, and include additional puzzles and challenges that allow the player to explore the game's world outside of the main story.
Stacking was well-received by critics and praised for its alluring appearance, humorous story, and accessible gameplay for casual players.
The various challenges for each mission contain multiple solutions, with rewards offered for finding all of them. For example; in a challenge where the player must clear out a lounge of rich people, players can either sneak in a poorly dressed man into the party, or have another character flatulate into an air vent to clear everyone out. There are also rewards for completing side missions, discovering unique dolls, finding and stacking a matching set of dolls and performing "Hi-jinks" with certain dolls. Along with achievements and trophies, rewards can be viewed via dioramas constructed by Charlie's hobo friend, Levi.
Stacking is the second game, following Costume Quest
, to come from Double Fine that was initially created during an "Amnesia Fortnight" event during Brütal Legend
s development period. Tim Schafer had used the Fortnight during a time where the fate of Brütal Legends publication was unclear, dividing the company into four teams to prototype smaller games. The game's creator and project lead is Lee Petty, who had been the art director for Brütal Legend. Petty had wanted to create a contemporary adventure game
, maintaining the characters and stories while reinventing the normal point-and-click interface used for such games. After observing his daughter playing with matryoshka doll
s, he realized that the dolls themselves could be the characters, the inventory, and the action verbs at the same time. Petty and Schafer later reflected that the use of dolls, a common toy, would help to make the game appealing to the casual player, as they would quickly understand the mechanics of stacking and unstacking, while still having an allure for hardcore players with deeper gameplay mechanics. The idea of using these dolls would later be of benefit in production, as the basic structure of the doll model in the game's engine could easily be reused for the more than one hundred unique dolls within the game. Schafer assisted in helping Petty to write the game's story and to design some of the puzzles.
The game contains a central hub level
, the Royal Train Station, and four additional levels that the player travels to through the Train Station. Each level was designed with a number of puzzles that allowed the player to approach in any order, while keeping the level size small and uncomplicated to prevent the player from becoming lost. Most of the puzzles have been designed with multiple solutions; Petty stated they wanted to cater to both the casual player, who may only want to find one of the solutions to progress in the game, and the more dedicated player, who would likely spend time to discover all of the intended solutions. This was furthered by allowing the player to freely roam through previously-completed areas to complete all the puzzles, including after completing the main story. The puzzles and challenges were designed to be able to be completed in short segments, giving the player more freedom to play it at their own pace. Petty wanted to make sure the player had time to contemplate the puzzles or explore the environment in a manner of older adventure games, though still assured that his environments felt alive and animated. The levels themselves are designed using a mix of the Great Depression
and Victorian era
designs, using virtual household items such as marbles and safety pins, an inspiration that came from interest in dioramas and miniature stages. The game itself presents cutscenes with dialog in the fashion of early silent film
s, where a text plaque is shown to show the dialog after it is acted out and scene takes place on a theater stage.
As part of the game's promotion, Double Fine offered a set of matryoshka dolls based on characters in the game; the initial run was sold out in less than 24 hrs. THQ released a downloadable content
. The first add-on, "The Lost Hobo King", has been released in April 2011, and includes new dolls and a new stage to explore. It focuses on Charlie helping Levi's uncle Rufus to find the crown to become the king of hobos in the town of Camelfoot.
stated that the game is "a great example of what a $15 digitally distributed game can be", while Justin Haywald of 1UP.com
found strong preference for the way that Stacking "condenses a fun experience into several great hours rather than overextending itself".
The game's core gameplay was considered to be very accessible, in part due to its alluring visuals. The controls were considered simple enough to be easily taught to a casual player, and provides enough hints so that the player rarely will be stuck to progress in the game. The use of multiple solutions to solve various challenges was praised; as stated by Jeff Marchiafava of Game Informer
, providing multiple solutions helps to "[solve] one of the most common problems with the [adventure game] genre" as players do not have to guess at one specific line of thought programmed by the developers. The multiple solutions also provide a means of enticing players to seek out all solutions, as finding the solutions can be "logical and rewarding to work out", according to Gamespot
's Carolyn Petit. Christian Donlan of Eurogamer
considered this design one that "actively encourages a second play-through and an addled imagination". Many reviews noted that most of the puzzles were somewhat simple, solved with the use of only one doll only until late in the game, making for some awkward pacing in the game. In particular, late in the game, players can combine the special abilities of certain dolls when stacked, a gameplay feature that would have been more interesting to explore earlier in the title. The added collection and Hi-Jinks goals were found to help with extending the game beyond the core story and provide ways of experimenting with the dolls to find solutions for the main puzzles. Some reviewers commented on a few issues with the game's camera in tight places and some other small technical issues, but felt these did not mar the overall experience.
Stackings story and artwork were highlights of the game. The Guardian
s Steve Boxer found the game's art to be "utterly delightful" and "sumptuous". Donlan considered the game's world a "wonderfully crafted place" that was able to combine "the echoing grandeur of 1930s architecture and sooty technology with the home-made ingenuity of LittleBigPlanet
". Reviewers noted that the game is able to take serious issues such as the Great Depression and child labor, and turn them into a humorous backdrop. Kristine Steimer of IGN
affirmed that the "witty dialogue and goofy animations amplify the fact that this game is not actually socialist propaganda".
Double Fine Productions
Double Fine Productions is an American video game developer founded in July 2000 by Tim Schafer after his departure from LucasArts. He started Double Fine with Programmers David Dixon and Jonathan Menzies in what was once a clog shop in San Francisco...
and published by THQ
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
; like Double Fine's previous Costume Quest
Costume Quest
Costume Quest is an adventure role-playing video game developed by Double Fine Productions and published by THQ. In the game, the player controls a child that is trick-or-treating with their twin on Halloween night when they encounter a monster that kidnaps the sibling...
, it is a smaller title created during the development period of Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend is an action-adventure/real-time strategy game created by Double Fine Productions and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America and Europe...
, and was released in February 2011 for the Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
and PlayStation Network stores.
The game is based on the Russian stacking matryoshka doll
Matryoshka doll
A matryoshka doll is a Russian nesting doll which is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other. The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter at Abramtsevo...
s, an idea coined by Double Fine's art director, Lee Petty, who saw the dolls as a means to replace the standard player interface used in graphical adventure games. The player controls the smallest doll, Charlie Blackmore, who has the ability to stack and unstack into larger dolls and use their abilities to solve puzzles to allow Charlie to free his older siblings and put an end to child labor enforced by the antagonist, the Baron. Puzzles within the game have multiple solutions, and include additional puzzles and challenges that allow the player to explore the game's world outside of the main story.
Stacking was well-received by critics and praised for its alluring appearance, humorous story, and accessible gameplay for casual players.
Plot
The story is set during the industrial age, where an evil industrialist named The Baron is forcing children to work. The Blackmore family, whose father mysteriously disappears, comes into debt, with the whole family forced into work to pay it off, with the exception of the smallest Blackmore, Charlie. Soon, Charlie learns that his family is being forced to work as slaves with no chance of escape. Using his ability to hop into and control other dolls and use their unique abilities, it is up to Charlie to rescue his family, stop The Baron and put an end to child labour once and for all.Gameplay
The player controls the smallest doll, Charlie Blackmore, who is attempting to reunite his family that is being forced to work for an evil industrialist named The Baron. Charlie is able to jump inside dolls that are one size larger than him and control them, as long as the larger doll is facing away from him. If the player already controls a stack of dolls, that stack can jump into a one-size-larger doll as well. The player can also unstack the dolls at any time in order to enter dolls smaller than his current stack. Certain unique dolls, outside of Charlie, have their own special abilities—such as the ability to unlock doors, float to higher locations, or lure other dolls around, which can be used by the outermost doll. Thus, the player must stack and unstack the set of dolls possessed by Charlie to solve puzzles throughout the game. Later puzzles may require the use of multiple dolls to combine their skills.The various challenges for each mission contain multiple solutions, with rewards offered for finding all of them. For example; in a challenge where the player must clear out a lounge of rich people, players can either sneak in a poorly dressed man into the party, or have another character flatulate into an air vent to clear everyone out. There are also rewards for completing side missions, discovering unique dolls, finding and stacking a matching set of dolls and performing "Hi-jinks" with certain dolls. Along with achievements and trophies, rewards can be viewed via dioramas constructed by Charlie's hobo friend, Levi.
Development
Costume Quest
Costume Quest is an adventure role-playing video game developed by Double Fine Productions and published by THQ. In the game, the player controls a child that is trick-or-treating with their twin on Halloween night when they encounter a monster that kidnaps the sibling...
, to come from Double Fine that was initially created during an "Amnesia Fortnight" event during Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend is an action-adventure/real-time strategy game created by Double Fine Productions and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America and Europe...
s development period. Tim Schafer had used the Fortnight during a time where the fate of Brütal Legends publication was unclear, dividing the company into four teams to prototype smaller games. The game's creator and project lead is Lee Petty, who had been the art director for Brütal Legend. Petty had wanted to create a contemporary adventure game
Graphic adventure game
A graphic adventure game is a form of adventure game. They are distinct from text adventures. Whereas a player must actively observe using commands such as "look" in a text-based adventure, graphic adventures revolutionized gameplay by making use of natural human perception...
, maintaining the characters and stories while reinventing the normal point-and-click interface used for such games. After observing his daughter playing with matryoshka doll
Matryoshka doll
A matryoshka doll is a Russian nesting doll which is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other. The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter at Abramtsevo...
s, he realized that the dolls themselves could be the characters, the inventory, and the action verbs at the same time. Petty and Schafer later reflected that the use of dolls, a common toy, would help to make the game appealing to the casual player, as they would quickly understand the mechanics of stacking and unstacking, while still having an allure for hardcore players with deeper gameplay mechanics. The idea of using these dolls would later be of benefit in production, as the basic structure of the doll model in the game's engine could easily be reused for the more than one hundred unique dolls within the game. Schafer assisted in helping Petty to write the game's story and to design some of the puzzles.
The game contains a central hub level
Level (video gaming)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
, the Royal Train Station, and four additional levels that the player travels to through the Train Station. Each level was designed with a number of puzzles that allowed the player to approach in any order, while keeping the level size small and uncomplicated to prevent the player from becoming lost. Most of the puzzles have been designed with multiple solutions; Petty stated they wanted to cater to both the casual player, who may only want to find one of the solutions to progress in the game, and the more dedicated player, who would likely spend time to discover all of the intended solutions. This was furthered by allowing the player to freely roam through previously-completed areas to complete all the puzzles, including after completing the main story. The puzzles and challenges were designed to be able to be completed in short segments, giving the player more freedom to play it at their own pace. Petty wanted to make sure the player had time to contemplate the puzzles or explore the environment in a manner of older adventure games, though still assured that his environments felt alive and animated. The levels themselves are designed using a mix of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
designs, using virtual household items such as marbles and safety pins, an inspiration that came from interest in dioramas and miniature stages. The game itself presents cutscenes with dialog in the fashion of early silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s, where a text plaque is shown to show the dialog after it is acted out and scene takes place on a theater stage.
As part of the game's promotion, Double Fine offered a set of matryoshka dolls based on characters in the game; the initial run was sold out in less than 24 hrs. THQ released a downloadable content
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
. The first add-on, "The Lost Hobo King", has been released in April 2011, and includes new dolls and a new stage to explore. It focuses on Charlie helping Levi's uncle Rufus to find the crown to become the king of hobos in the town of Camelfoot.
Reception
Stacking has received largely positive critical appraisal. Most reviewers commented on the short length of the game if one simply progressed through the story without exploring any of the alternate solutions or side puzzles, and may be considered too short a game for the $15 price. Many felt that with the full exploration possible within the game, Stacking is well-worth the price without becoming too long or repetitive; Chad Sepieha of The Globe and MailThe Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
stated that the game is "a great example of what a $15 digitally distributed game can be", while Justin Haywald of 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
found strong preference for the way that Stacking "condenses a fun experience into several great hours rather than overextending itself".
The game's core gameplay was considered to be very accessible, in part due to its alluring visuals. The controls were considered simple enough to be easily taught to a casual player, and provides enough hints so that the player rarely will be stuck to progress in the game. The use of multiple solutions to solve various challenges was praised; as stated by Jeff Marchiafava of Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
, providing multiple solutions helps to "[solve] one of the most common problems with the [adventure game] genre" as players do not have to guess at one specific line of thought programmed by the developers. The multiple solutions also provide a means of enticing players to seek out all solutions, as finding the solutions can be "logical and rewarding to work out", according to Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Carolyn Petit. Christian Donlan of Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
considered this design one that "actively encourages a second play-through and an addled imagination". Many reviews noted that most of the puzzles were somewhat simple, solved with the use of only one doll only until late in the game, making for some awkward pacing in the game. In particular, late in the game, players can combine the special abilities of certain dolls when stacked, a gameplay feature that would have been more interesting to explore earlier in the title. The added collection and Hi-Jinks goals were found to help with extending the game beyond the core story and provide ways of experimenting with the dolls to find solutions for the main puzzles. Some reviewers commented on a few issues with the game's camera in tight places and some other small technical issues, but felt these did not mar the overall experience.
Stackings story and artwork were highlights of the game. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Steve Boxer found the game's art to be "utterly delightful" and "sumptuous". Donlan considered the game's world a "wonderfully crafted place" that was able to combine "the echoing grandeur of 1930s architecture and sooty technology with the home-made ingenuity of LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet, commonly abbreviated LBP, is a puzzle platformer video game, based on user-generated content, for the PlayStation 3 first announced on 7 March 2007, by Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California...
". Reviewers noted that the game is able to take serious issues such as the Great Depression and child labor, and turn them into a humorous backdrop. Kristine Steimer of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
affirmed that the "witty dialogue and goofy animations amplify the fact that this game is not actually socialist propaganda".