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Kula World

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"Roll Away" redirects here. For the Back Door Slam album, see Roll Away (album). For Toshiba's futuristic computer, see roll-away computer.
Kula World
Developer(s)Game Design Sweden AB
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Stefan Persson
Jens Rudberg
Jesper Rudberg
Johannes Söderqvist
Programmer(s)Stefan Persson
Jens Rudberg
Jesper Rudberg
Artist(s)Johannes Söderqvist
Composer(s)Twice a Man
Platform(s)PlayStation, Android
Release
10 July 1998
  • PlayStation
    • EU: 10 July 1998
    • NA: 27 November 1998[1]
    • JP: 27 May 1999
    Android
    5 May 2011
Genre(s)Platform, puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Kula World (titled Roll Away in North America and KulaQuest (クーラクエスト, KūraKuesuto) in Japan) is a 3D platform puzzle video game developed by Game Design Sweden AB for the Sony PlayStation, which places the player in control of a Kula beach ball. The main objective of the game is to collect keys which unlock the level exits, as well as coins and jewels along the way. The game makes use of alternating physics, changing the direction of gravity as the ball moves.

Gameplay

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Various elements and obstacles are introduced as one moves on to new levels, which means that the complexity and level of puzzle solving required gradually increases as the game progresses. The game involves making ingenious use of the various types of platforms and surrounding objects, from moving platforms and transporters to bouncing platforms and jumping pills.

Bonus levels can be unlocked by gathering five fruits (one available in each stage). If one enters a bonus level, the word "BONUS" appears. Completing the bonus stage requires one to 'activate' all the cubes on all platforms by rolling over them. The bonus stages also become more complex as the game progresses.

Points are awarded when the player collects keys, treasures, and fruits and also when they complete levels. Points are deducted if the Kula ball is spiked, captured, melted, burnt by a laser, falls/slides off or simply runs out of time, all of which require the player to restart the level - providing the score has not fallen below zero, in which case, the game ends.

A two-player mode is available, with two variations of the game. A time trial and a version called "copycat". In the time trial the players take turns to determine who can complete each stage in the quickest time possible. The "copycat" version is a kind of memory tester. It involves one player starting off making two moves, and the next player then copies those moves and adds two of their own. The first player then has to copy all of the moves so far and add two more moves at the end. This continues until one of the players makes a mistake, after which the opponent is awarded a point. A move constitutes either changing direction, moving forward or jumping (either on the spot/forwards or onto another platform).

Release

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The game was released in 1998. Additionally, playable demos of Kula World were shipped with PlayStation consoles sold in Europe that year on the "Demo One" disc.[2]

Reception

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Kula World received generally positive reviews from video game publications.[3] Edge praised the game for gradually introducing new challenges as the player advances through the stages, comparing the game's progression to a "good Nintendo title", but criticized the game's lack of replay value and the multiplayer mode for not offering split screen gameplay.[5] GamePro was critical to the game's import, saying that the players must always play the same worlds in the same order, greatly hindering replayability, and called the title more as a rental or trade-in.[15][b] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 29 out of 40.[8]

The game was nominated for the "Best Puzzle Game" award at the 1998 OPM Editors' Awards, which went to Devil Dice.[16]

Use in academia

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The game was used in a series of academic studies presented at the European Conference on Games Based Learning from 2016 to 2019, examining effective gamification in a corporate context. The game was selected for the studies because of its score mechanics; with attention drawn to its presentation of line graphs for player score over time, score incentives, risks/rewards, and cult online following around achieving high scores long after release.[17][18][19]

Notes

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  1. ^ In Electronic Gaming Monthly's review of the import, one critic gave it 7.5/10, another gave it 6.5/10, and the rest gave it each a score of 7/10.
  2. ^ GamePro gave the import three 4/5 scores for graphics, sound, and control, and 3/5 for fun factor.

References

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  1. ^ GameSpot staff (25 November 1998). "Now Shipping [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 5 March 2000. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Demo pals - Demo One".
  3. ^ a b "Roll Away for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  4. ^ Gregor Menasian (9 February 1999). "Roll Away". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on 15 August 2000. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b Edge staff (July 1998). "Kula World". Edge. No. 60. Future Publishing. p. 94. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  6. ^ Shawn Smith; Dean Hager; Dan Hsu; Ken "Sushi-X" Williams (October 1998). "Kula World [Import]" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 111. Ziff Davis. p. 263. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  7. ^ Dan Whitehead (28 January 2008). "PSN Roundup (Kula World)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  8. ^ a b "クーラクエスト [PS]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Kula World [Import]". Game Informer. No. 65. FuncoLand. September 1998. Archived from the original on 13 September 1999. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  10. ^ Joe Fielder (30 December 1998). "Rollaway [sic] Review". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  11. ^ Douglass C. Perry (9 December 1998). "Roll Away". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Roll Away". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Vol. 2, no. 2. Ziff Davis. November 1998.
  13. ^ "Roll Away". PSM. No. 15. Imagine Media. November 1998. p. 48. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  14. ^ James Bottorff (1999). "Addictive 'Roll Away' a challenge". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on 28 November 1999. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  15. ^ Boba Fatt (October 1998). "Kula World [Import]". GamePro. No. 121. IDG Entertainment. p. 176. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  16. ^ "1998 OPM Editors' Awards (Best Puzzle Game)". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Vol. 2, no. 5. Ziff Davis. February 1999. p. 97. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  17. ^ Designing and Evaluating a Gamified Corporate eLearning Course (PDF). ACPI. 2019-10-03. p. 51. doi:10.34190/GBL.19.107 (inactive 1 November 2024). ISBN 978-1-912764-38-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  18. ^ "Toward a Framework for Effective Corporate Gamification". ACPI. 2017: 9. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  19. ^ Gaming in Corporate Learning Environments. ACPI. 2015. p. 10. doi:10.34190/GBL.19.107 (inactive 1 November 2024). ISBN 978-1-912764-38-9. ProQuest 1859715095.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
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