Herdy Gerdy
Encyclopedia
Herdy Gerdy is a video game for the PlayStation 2
console released in 2002. It was developed by Core Design
, and published by Eidos Interactive
. The game is a 3D, third person, strategy game that involves herding animals, navigating obstacles, and solving puzzles. The player has to collect a variety of herding tools, and there are alternate pathways to reach the end. Critically, the game was a modest success, receiving an aggregate score of 70% on Game Rankings
.
Herdy Gerdy's creatures are controlled by a complex but flawed artificial intelligence
. They are prone to getting stuck, sometimes irretrievably, on objects in the environment owing to a lack of adequate collision detection
.
It has a large environment (around 40 different areas) as well as 12 different fictional creatures to herd into their different pens. The game requires strategic thinking as some animals eat the others, some animals cannot jump, some cannot swim and each animal kind requires a separate herding technique.
The head-up display
is relatively simple: there are three colored displays at the top of the screen. To the left, the display shows the number of dead animals. The next, in the centre of the screen, represents those alive and free, and the display on the right shows those that have been captured. Herdy Gerdy is plagued by automatic camera problems. Although the game features manual camera control, when the view between Gerdy and the camera is obstructed control reverts to automatic often to the chagrin of the player.
At the bottom of the screen is a progress bar
with dots: each dot confirms that you have captured 5% of the animals in the level.
Finally, the map shows the player's position, animals, pens, rainbow buttons, and the gypsy at the end of the level.
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
console released in 2002. It was developed by Core Design
Core Design
Core Design was a British video game studio best known today for creating the popular Tomb Raider series.-History:Based in the city of Derby, England, Core Design was set up in 1988 by Chris Shrigley, Andy Green, Rob Toone, Terry Lloyd, Simon Phipps, Dave Pridmore, Jeremy Heath-Smith and Greg Holmes...
, and published by Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
. The game is a 3D, third person, strategy game that involves herding animals, navigating obstacles, and solving puzzles. The player has to collect a variety of herding tools, and there are alternate pathways to reach the end. Critically, the game was a modest success, receiving an aggregate score of 70% on Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
.
Plot
The game begins with Gerdy attempting to wake his sleeping father, Master Herder Gedryn, who is going to be late for the annual herding competition. It is soon revealed that Gerdy's dad has been placed under a spell by the evil wizard Sadorf. Gerdy is determined to save his dad and the magical island that they live on from Sadorf's evil rule.Gameplay
The game is best described as a virtual shepherd sim, with some adventure and platform elements. The player must herd enough creatures into their pens to unlock areas and new levels. However, the various creatures have certain reactions and skills; some swim while some drown, for example. The levels themselves are difficult to negotiate, with pirate ships, winding caverns, and ruins blocking Gerdy's path.Herdy Gerdy's creatures are controlled by a complex but flawed artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
. They are prone to getting stuck, sometimes irretrievably, on objects in the environment owing to a lack of adequate collision detection
Collision detection
Collision detection typically refers to the computational problem of detecting the intersection of two or more objects. While the topic is most often associated with its use in video games and other physical simulations, it also has applications in robotics...
.
It has a large environment (around 40 different areas) as well as 12 different fictional creatures to herd into their different pens. The game requires strategic thinking as some animals eat the others, some animals cannot jump, some cannot swim and each animal kind requires a separate herding technique.
The head-up display
Head-Up Display
A head-up display or heads-up display is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints...
is relatively simple: there are three colored displays at the top of the screen. To the left, the display shows the number of dead animals. The next, in the centre of the screen, represents those alive and free, and the display on the right shows those that have been captured. Herdy Gerdy is plagued by automatic camera problems. Although the game features manual camera control, when the view between Gerdy and the camera is obstructed control reverts to automatic often to the chagrin of the player.
At the bottom of the screen is a progress bar
Progress bar
A progress bar is a component in a graphical user interface used to convey the progress of a task, such as a download or file transfer. Often, the graphic is accompanied by a textual representation of the progress in a percent format....
with dots: each dot confirms that you have captured 5% of the animals in the level.
Finally, the map shows the player's position, animals, pens, rainbow buttons, and the gypsy at the end of the level.