Scribblenauts gets publisher, Warner Brothers be thy name

3:20 PM on 05.01.2009   |   Jim Sterling

5 comments

5TH Cell's intriguing draw-a-thon Scribblenauts has itself a publisher, and that publisher is Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Scribblenauts, in case you did not know, is a DS title from the makers of the brilliant Lock's Quest, where players will be able to write any word that comes to mind and bring that word to life so puzzles may be solved.

"In Scribblenauts, the player uses the Nintendo DS touch-screen to help his character, Maxwell, acquire the starite in each level by solving a series of puzzles," explains Warner Bros. " The twist is, in order to solve the puzzle, the player uses the stylus and notepad to write down the word for any object that comes to mind in order to reach the goal. Every object behaves as it would in the real world, and the player can combine countless objects together to create completely new behaviors. Every level has more than one written object to use as a solution, opening up the game to unlimited replay."

It's a highly ambitious project, but I'm confident in 5TH Cell after the wonderful quality of its last title. Hopefully Warner Bros. does a far better job of promoting Scribblenauts than THQ did with Lock's Quest, a game which hardly anybody got to know about despite its greatness.

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has announced its exclusive agreement to acquire, publish and distribute Scribblenauts™, a revolutionary original IP for Nintendo DS™. Created and being developed by 5TH Cell, the game, available in fall 2009, will deliver a completely new, innovative gameplay experience. Scribblenauts offers a sandbox style game for all-age fun with two styles of gameplay and more than 200 levels.

“Scribblenauts is a fresh and inventive game offering players of all ages a chance to experiment and use their imagination in a really fun handheld gaming experience,” said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “5TH Cell has a tradition of developing high-quality, innovative games such as Drawn to Life and Lock's Quest, and we’re very pleased to work with them on Scribblenauts.”

“We’re excited to be working with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to bring Scribblenauts to a wide range of gamers, so they can play something they’ve never experienced anywhere else,” said Jeremiah Slaczka, Creative Director and Co-Owner of 5TH Cell. “Scribblenauts is our biggest DS title to date and the culmination of our design knowledge and past experience creating original games.”

In Scribblenauts, the player uses the Nintendo DS touch-screen to help his character, Maxwell, acquire the starite in each level by solving a series of puzzles. The twist is, in order to solve the puzzle, the player uses the stylus and notepad to write down the word for any object that comes to mind in order to reach the goal. Every object behaves as it would in the real world, and the player can combine countless objects together to create completely new behaviors. Every level has more than one written object to use as a solution, opening up the game to unlimited replay.

About Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, is a premier worldwide publisher, developer, licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive space across all current and future platforms, including console, handheld and PC-based gaming for both internal and third party game titles.

About 5TH Cell

5TH Cell Media, LLC is a leading independent developer of interactive entertainment software. Focused on original IP, 5TH Cell has established a track record of success on the Nintendo DS by providing a unique user experiences that cannot be found in other games. 5TH Cell's primary studio is currently located in Bellevue, Washington. For more information on 5TH Cell products, please visit www.5thcell.com.