Gnomes Vs. Fairies: A second opinion (Preview) - [INDIEGAMING]

In June, one of our staff members ran a preview of a game in development called Gnomes Vs. Fairies. That preview was not well received; it read more like a full review than an early preview and called out a number of flaws that could be fixed during the course of development. It was an unfortunate mistake on our part, and since I only skimmed that article lightly, I offered to look at a newer build of the game and present a second, fresh opinion.

Gnomes Vs. Fairies developer Dano Kablamo (Prismic Studios) is aiming to combine his favorite elements of The Legend of Zelda, specifically the original for NES, and Mario 64. Having played the game for a bit, the influences of both Zelda and Mario 64 are readily apparent. Movement is where Mario 64 comes into the picture, complete with skidding around if you try to reverse course when moving too quickly and boots that grant a Mario-style triple jump.Zelda's influence comes in where items, equipment, and progression are concerned.

There are multiple items slots for protective and offensive items as well as for auxilliary items, including bombs and a shield. Progression through levels requires picking up new items or using things found in the environment to modify the behaviors of items the player already has. That said, the game feels closer to the SNES and N64 Zelda games to me than to the original for NES. The original for NES threw players into a starting screen with a cave, in which was an old guy with a sword. The player was left to find everything on their own. Gnomes Vs. Fairies, perhaps as a result of also pulling from Mario 64 gives the players coin trails and occasionally signs as hints.

It's a neat blend that I'd like to see more of, though in its early state the controls and camera aren't polished enough to keep the game from being frustrating. The developer has created these neat floating islands made of rocks covered in cool swirls for the starting zone, but it's too easy to get knocked off by an enemy or slide yourself off doing an attack since there are few fences or anything to keep you from falling off while you're still getting accustomed to the controls. You need to capture fairies to keep them from spawning enemies endlessly, but they can fly off the edge where you can't go and they have to be captured using the net, which does zero damage to the monsters the fairies spawn.

These control, balance, and tutorial issues could be fixed over the course of development, though I'm not sure the developer intends to give himself enough time to do so. He's planning to start a Kickstarter aimed at enabling him to add more content (an original score composed by the developer himself and recorded by a full orchestra; better art and animations for the player character, bosses, and unique fairy enemies; illustrated cutscenes; and co-op and vs. multiplayer modes), but he plans to release the game in about six months. in his defense, over the past few days he's been quick to respond to my feedback (and the feedback of others, he says) about the controls and made some major improvements in a very short amount of time. Still, people interested in backing the Kickstarter should keep the amount of work and intended timeframe in mind.

All in all, Gnomes Vs. Fairies has a solid concept at its core. It simply remains to be seen how well Prismic Studios will execute it. The game's Kickstarter campaign is planned to begin on September 1st.

[Gnomes Vs. Fairies]

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