Game Classification

WordUp Skunk Studios, Skunk Studios, 2002  

Informations Analyses Serious Gaming
 

Classification

VIDEO GAME

Keywords

Market

This title is used by the following domains:
  • Entertainment

Audience

This title targets the following audience:
Age : 12 to 16 years old / 17 to 25 years old
General Public

Gameplay

The gameplay of this title is Game-based
(designed with stated goals)

The core of gameplay is defined by the rules below:

Similar games


WordUp In WordUp, the player's task is to create words using the letters on your play-field. The longer the word is, the more points the player gets. Unlike in a Scrabble game, all the letters have the same fixed value: 250 per any three-letter-word, plus 250 for each additional letter.

At the beginning of a game, players are presented with a 6x6 letter playfield, combining letters to form words horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Once a valid word has been formed, the WordUp button will highlight. When the word is sent, it will disappear and the letters used will be replaced by new random letters. The player must combine words worth a certain amount of points per level; if successful, the player proceeds to the next level.

The game offers three different game modes: Arcade, Strategy, and Vanilla. The Strategy mode offers unlimited time for each level, while introducing power-ups and hazards. Arcade mode is played against the clock, which is reset at the beginning of each stage. If the player fails to reach the required amount of points within the time limit, the game is over.

The following power-ups are included in the game: multipliers (2x, 3x, and 5x; will multiply the points obtained from creating a word), random vowels (A, E, I, O, U, Y; the power-up will cycle through each of these), random consonants (L, M, N, R, S, T; will also cycle), and wild tiles (works as a wildcard/joker). The multipliers appear in the top horizontal row and will then sink down, one row every few seconds, and eventually disappear unless the player picks them up. For the cycling power-ups, the player must rapidly stop the cycle with a mouse click to select a desired letter.

In addition to the power-ups, there are also hazards in the game. The following hazards are included: firecrackers (will destroy the eight direct adjacent tiles), bombs (will destroy the 24 direct adjacent tiles), TNT (will destroy the entire playfield), and walls (will hinder the player to create words).

The Vanilla mode is the same as Strategy, with the exception of a unique item that will, after clicking on it, rotate all eight adjacent tiles 45° counterclockwise (one tile to the left). [source:mobygames]

Distribution : Retail - Commercial
Platform(s) : iPhone / iPod Touch - Macintosh - PC (Windows)

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