A Fun Licensed Game (seriously)

There have been many ways that big businesses have used video games to advertise their products. While some turn to placing ads, logos and even the products themselves in a game, another famous way of advertising with games are licensed games. Most licensed games are based on television shows, movies and books. They are usually targeted towards casual gamers and their main selling point is that they are based on a popular TV show, movie or book (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheProblemWithLicensedGames). While many gamers, especially more hardcore gamers, view them as having little substance, some franchises have made it into a profitable marketing strategy. In addition, some of these licensed games have found an audience with all kinds of gamers and effectively market their intended product. One that I think has done this was one of my favorite games as a child: Rugrats: The Search for Reptar.

Rugrats: The Search for Reptar, as the name implies is a 1998 licensed game based on the hit Nickelodeon animated series Rugrats. The player goes through several levels (based on episodes of the series) and mini-games collecting puzzle pieces that will eventually form the fictional monster of the series, Reptar. Even at that age, I was well aware of the poorness in quality that is found in many licensed games, as I had owned a couple of them myself. However, the Rugrats game was different in its originality and witty dialogue (the voice actors from the show worked on the game as well) as well as its storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed this game, despite its simple gameplay. Even as I was reading and watching reviews of the game, the critics could not help but praise it for its enjoyable gameplay and script, with the National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers citing it as one of the best licensed games they have played (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ye3iVQq5AE).

In his book, Ian Bogost has mentioned Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban game as an example of well-developed licensed games, stating that it demonstrates the procedural rhetoric of teamwork. He states that despite the main characters all having their own individual flaws, together as a group they are able to overcome challenges within the game, undermining the lead role that Harry Potter has over Ron and Hermione. I believe in a way, procedural rhetoric is found in Search for Reptar as well, as the game puts the player in wacky situations only toddlers can find themselves in, engaging the player in these fun challenges and promoting the carefree nature of youth. As a result, I believe it has brought many people to the show itself, as it was intended to do. The game has accomplished the rare goal of promoting the show it was based on, as well as being a quality game that people can still play, years after it was developed.