Google Designs Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Game

roseofbattle

News Room Contributor
Apr 18, 2011
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Google Designs Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Game

Google's Doctor Who doodle is the largest doodle it's made.

Tomorrow the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special airs as a look back on the eleven doctors so far. Just in time for this anniversary is a special doodle [https://www.google.co.uk/] Google put together - a game in which you navigate through time as the Doctor.

Google's doodles are special logos Google makes for holidays, birthdays of famous people, and major events. Matthew Cruickshank has been making doodles for Google for over a year, and he notes that this Doctor Who doodle is the first game he's designed. When visiting the Google homepage, visitors are greeted with an animation of the eleven doctors. When clicking on this and the redesigned Google logo, a Dalek, one of the Doctor's antagonists, scurries across the screen, and you're prompted to select one of the doctors. You then travel through different areas by clicking on the ground to walk. The goal is to collect the letters spelling out Google, and it doesn't take long to do so. If you let the Doctor be caught by one of his goes, he will regenerate.

Cruickshank is one of five people who made the "Whodle," as it's known inside Google. "It was about four months ago that an employee here who's a massive Doctor Who fan added it to our list of potential doodles," Cruickshank said. "We looked through it and realized this was something special, a chance to really celebrate a national institution."

The BBC helped the team by providing sound effects from the show. "I think they were maybe expecting a static doodle, or perhaps something that moved or animated, and we actually said, well, we'd really like to try a multi-level platform game."

The doodle will only be up temporarily, so check it out before it's gone. The Doctor Who 50th anniversary episode "The Day of the Doctor" premieres tomorrow on BBC.

Source: The Guardian [https://www.google.co.uk/]


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Apr 17, 2009
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I was doing alright until that Weeping Angel turned up in the graveyard level. The granitey git pinned me inside the little fenced area the letter is found in
 

Diablo1099_v1legacy

Doom needs Yoghurt, Badly
Dec 12, 2009
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Pallindromemordnillap said:
I was doing alright until that Weeping Angel turned up in the graveyard level. The granitey git pinned me inside the little fenced area the letter is found in
You too, huh? Just I wasn't sure if I was supposed to look at him or not as he kept moving around.

OT: At first, I thought the Doctor select would also be tied to the difficulty setting.
1st Doctor had 9 Forms/lives, 2 Doctor had 8 Forms/Lives.
While it wasn't the case, it'd be a cool idea.
 

CpT_x_Killsteal

Elite Member
Jun 21, 2012
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I really love how Google does these things. Idk why, but there's something endearing about a company that actually acknowledges the world outside their product. (This of course is also a form of advertising, but one that no one can hate!)

Captcha: Carry on. It's Keep Buggering On!
 

Proverbial Jon

Not evil, just mildly malevolent
Nov 10, 2009
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I was really surprised by this, especially by how fun and challenging it is, for a Google doodle at least.

I love the regeneration mechanic instead of instant death. I finished the game on Sylvester McCoy who incidentally happens to be my favourite. Great going Google!
 

Sonic Doctor

Time Lord / Whack-A-Newbie!
Jan 9, 2010
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Yup, I got stuck on the Weeping Angel part as well. That thing in a "blink" of an eye, tore through Doctors 4 through 9, but then Tennant somehow easily ran to the TARDIS with no troubles.
 

Somethingfake

New member
Oct 22, 2008
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""I think they were maybe expecting a static doodle, or perhaps something that moved or animated, and we actually said, well, we'd really like to try a multi-level platform game.""

Is that the beeb talking there or google? Little hard to figure out.
 

FalloutJack

Bah weep grah nah neep ninny bom
Nov 20, 2008
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freakydan said:
Lots of fun. At least it's better than Eternity Clock.
Your mileage may vary.

OT: I managed to get it all, although death occurred due largely to the angel and control hazards. Diagonal-orientation games are difficult to get the hang of.