
Objectnaut is the backbone of the
Scribblenauts. Developed in
house at
5th Cell, Objectnaut essentially gives every object in the entire game a set of attributes. This set is humongous but also simplifies adding objects to the game. The second page of this
2008 interview with IGN reveals more detail.
We're talking AI properties, physical properties, attraction and repulsion to other objects, weight, size, where it splits, can you pick it up, is it flammable or how do elements effect it…Let's look at an elephant, for example. It's an animal – a mammal – so we know that. It has organic flesh therefore, since every mammal has organic flesh. Now we don't have to write that in for every animal we make, the system just knows to attach that to anything we label "animal." We can then look at it and say "organic flesh can… well, it can be eaten, right?"
By breaking down every object in the game to nothing more than a set of attributes,
5th Cell has managed to make a game where the set pieces that they programmed but never anticipated. Some might think processing all of this data would mean the simple hardware of the DS would be taxed, however, this is where the simplistic art design comes in. By reducing all of the objects to 2D figures, with simplified animations, the DS is able to handle a wide variety of objects at once.
Most exciting of all, this system is easily expandable. Should
5th Cell choose to make a sequel (
Super Scribblenauts ) on a platform with more memory capacity like the Wii, then the increase in memory and processing power will mean even more objects on screen at once, and more detailed art and animations.