Work Shop (Game Boy)

[fcgamer | 4,719]

I received a Game Boy homebrew game about a month ago, titled Work Shop. I haven't had time yet to play it properly, but i popped it in yesterday and saw that Work Shop is a Christmas-themed game! I felt so giddy when hearing the music and seeing the graphics, felt almost the same way as I did when I popped Pokemon in for the first time back in seventh grade. 

I'm really excited to play through this one; I might make this week for me, and just spend the evening giving this game the proper playthrough it deserves. Has anyone else played it? Nothing like enjoying a Christmas-themed game when it's hot as hell outside.

[Scrobins | 1,719]

Who's the developer?

[RH | 4,895]

Also, is it a Pokemon hack?  A christmas GB game does sound cool, though!

[fcgamer | 4,719]

6 hours ago, Scrobins said:

Who's the developer?

Supari Team, or something like that. It's neat, the carts shells are marked inside with a happy face, well at least mine is.

[fcgamer | 4,719]

6 hours ago, RH said:

Also, is it a Pokemon hack?  A christmas GB game does sound cool, though!

No, it's an original game. I don't think it has anything to do with Pokemon, rather I just felt really giddy from what I did play, sort like how I felt when I first played Pokemon. It might be the Christmas theme that's doing it, I collected a gift and talked with some bunnies before going into a toy workshop.

[Gloves | 11,761]

7 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

No, it's an original game. I don't think it has anything to do with Pokemon, rather I just felt really giddy from what I did play, sort like how I felt when I first played Pokemon. It might be the Christmas theme that's doing it, I collected a gift and talked with some bunnies before going into a toy workshop.

Christmas music gets me every time, I just suddenly feel the joy.

[Tanooki | 4,930]

Wow that's pretty impressive especially if it's fresh and not a hack.  Did you get any idea what to expect or at least what the story is going into it?

[erac | 78]

@Tanooki I guess you've missed the flood of GB Studio? It's a maker that released huge amounts of newbie devs just like Nesmaker.

[RH | 4,895]

7 hours ago, erac said:

@Tanooki I guess you've missed the flood of GB Studio? It's a maker that released huge amounts of newbie devs just like Nesmaker.

 

Except GB Studio is free (and not a bad thing, IMHO.)  I'm all for lowering the barrier to entry.  You might get a rush of sub-par items, but if it expands genuine interest in the gaming hobby for systems like this AND a few gems come out of it, I'm all for projects like this.

Now, if someone will just make me a Game Gear Studio! (Actually, I think IIRC, there's a plug-in or something like that for GB Studio that was at least in beta/alpha at one point... I better look into that!)

[Tanooki | 4,930]

No I'm aware of it, had a feeling it was possible as it seemed almost like a pokemon style template which it is capable of.

GB Studio is fantastic for all it can pull off and continues to do and grow into.

[fcgamer | 4,719]

Okay, so curiosity got the best of me and I sat down and played through Work Shop tonight. What a neat game this is! 

As suggested by the title screen, the game starts off in the courtyard of (Santa's?) workshop. There's a bunch of surveillance bunnies running around the place, and when you make it inside the main building, after talking with the receptionist, who thinks you're just there to unclog the drains, it becomes apparent that your goal is to save Christmas.

One must travel around the land to complete tasks and help people, so that things are in order for Christmas day. For example, the protagonist must track down the missing star and give it to the one person, so that they can put it on top of the Christmas tree. Another time, the protagonist learns that Frosty the Snowman's nose has been stolen by a bunch of ruthless kids, and that their mother is going to use it as part of dinner! 

Completing each of these tasks will result in the main character receiving a present. Other tasks such as borrowing a pair of skates and skating on the pond will also result in gifts, and a couple can also be found in the amazing maze. At one point the protagonist is even pulling levers to run the conveyor belts, since the worker is just too darn lazy to do so!

I'm not going to lie about it, the game is not particularly long and can easily be completed in about forty minutes to an hour the first time through, when relaxing and just taking everything in; subsequent playthroughs will be much faster, once you discover all of the solutions to the puzzles and are familiar with the layout.

There were so many times when I found myself laughing when playing the game, due to some of the silly situations and references. Thomas the singing trout makes an appearance, for example, what a blast from the past them singing fish! Those were big one Christmas season when my family went down to Maryland to go Christmas shopping at some of the larger shopping malls. The music is nice too (sounds much better in person than the recording on the video). There's a ton of classic Christmas tunes to be heard, and the whole atmosphere just puts me in the mood for Christmas.

I'm definitely going to add this to my routine to be played annually at Christmas time. The whole thing is done perfectly for this, even the length - long enough to have fun and escape for a bit, but short enough that it's compatible with busy schedules. Fun stuff.

 

[Scrobins | 1,719]

Any purchase information?

[fcgamer | 4,719]

18 minutes ago, Scrobins said:

Any purchase information?

No idea, I got mine from a lady friend in the UK as part of a trade. I think the game was developed there.

[Scrobins | 1,719]

I can’t find any trace of it elsewhere online, and if it’s generally available for purchase I’d love to promote it with a link on my thread.