Fat Princess
Encyclopedia
Fat Princess is a downloadable video game for the PlayStation Network made by Titan Studios
and sold by Sony Computer Entertainment
. It was released in North America and Europe on July 30, 2009, and in Japan on December 25, 2009.
Fat Princess is primarily a multiplayer game for up to 32 players, with the basic goal of rescuing the Princess and bringing her back to the team's base. The players pick up and carry cakes to feed the Princess, which makes her heavier and harder for the enemy to carry back to their own castle. The game contains six character classes (Villager, Worker, Priest, Ranger, Mage, and Warrior) and three downloadable classes (Pirate, Ninja and Giant) each of which contributes to the team's task of capturing the princess in a unique way.
In Fat Princess, the player joins one of two opposing groups consisting of up to 16 characters each, with the goal of rescuing their team's princess from the other team's castle which is called "Rescue the Princess". To make their opponents' task more difficult, players can feed the captive princess cake slices. With each slice, she becomes heavier and harder to carry back to her respective castle. Over time, the effect of the cake wears off.
Players can change their character classes and abilities by picking up hats that are generated at their team's castle. Hats can also be found on the warzone where enemies have fallen. The game's six classes are the villager, priest, mage, warrior, ranger, and worker with three additional classes (pirate, ninja and giant) unlocked from DLC. Each class has its own unique set of abilities and skills. Villagers are fast and can stun enemies, knocking objects out of their hands. Priests can heal friends, and can withdraw life from enemies without killing them. Mages can use magic to set enemies aflame, to deal damage; or to freeze them making them vulnurable to attack by friends. Warriors can perform highly damaging attacks at close range, and can block arrows. Rangers can fire a bow or a gun at enemies. Workers can harvest wood and ore, can construct fortifications and siege equipment and can upgrade other classes hat machines. Upgrades provide alternative weapons or attacks to each class. Pirates can do both close range and missile attacks with high damage with a cutlass and pistol. Ninjas can perform close range and missile attacks, but can also turn invisible and infiltrate the enemy castle. Finally, Giants are able to stun enemies and perform the highest damaging attacks of any class; however, they are the only class who cannot carry resources, bombs, potions or the Princess.
On each map there are several trees and ore nodes that worker classes can use to obtain resources.
Other interactive objects are bombs, potions that turn players into chickens when thrown, and torches that most classes can use to ignite their weapons to do additional damage.
There were several supporting reports dealing with the game's release date before it was confirmed for release on July 30, 2009. While some sources presently indicate the game should be ready by "late August", it was later revealed by the SCEE PlayStation Store
team that, while the game will have a simultaneous local release, its release window could only be told as "[at] some point this century".
from 30 July 2009 to 10 September 2009, Sony launched a new event in PlayStation Home, which involved the player embarking on a "very special confectionery quest." The event was called "Fat Princess: Quest for Cake". In this quest the users had to hunt down eight pieces of cake locked in cages and when they managed to do this successfully they were rewarded with a "Fat Princess: Throne" for their personal apartment. This event was being held in the European and North American versions of PlayStation Home in a specially decorated PlayStation Events Space. The spaces used were Events Landing and The Gallery. The event was also held in the Asian version of Home but began on 27 August 2009 and ended on 10 September 2009. An interesting note about this event is that the redesigning of the Events Landing and The Gallery spaces and the event were done by nDreams
, the company behind the world's first console-based alternate reality game
, Xi
, which was also based in Home.
added support for same-screen co-op, clan tags and password-protected private games.
based on 54 reviews. GameRankings averaged a score of 80.91% based on 41 reviews. IGN
gave the game a 9/10 score, praising the game's versatility and charm. GameTrailers
gave the title an 8.4/10 along with naming it the Best Downloadable Game of 2009. Some feminist groups criticized the game's premise, accusing it of promoting prejudice against obese cartoon characters.
Titan Studios
Titan Studios was an American video game developer founded in June 2008 by the core team previously working as DarkStar Industries. It includes former members with experience at Epic Games, Ubisoft, Blizzard Entertainment and Lionhead Studios...
and sold by Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
. It was released in North America and Europe on July 30, 2009, and in Japan on December 25, 2009.
Fat Princess is primarily a multiplayer game for up to 32 players, with the basic goal of rescuing the Princess and bringing her back to the team's base. The players pick up and carry cakes to feed the Princess, which makes her heavier and harder for the enemy to carry back to their own castle. The game contains six character classes (Villager, Worker, Priest, Ranger, Mage, and Warrior) and three downloadable classes (Pirate, Ninja and Giant) each of which contributes to the team's task of capturing the princess in a unique way.
Gameplay
Players can change their character classes and abilities by picking up hats that are generated at their team's castle. Hats can also be found on the warzone where enemies have fallen. The game's six classes are the villager, priest, mage, warrior, ranger, and worker with three additional classes (pirate, ninja and giant) unlocked from DLC. Each class has its own unique set of abilities and skills. Villagers are fast and can stun enemies, knocking objects out of their hands. Priests can heal friends, and can withdraw life from enemies without killing them. Mages can use magic to set enemies aflame, to deal damage; or to freeze them making them vulnurable to attack by friends. Warriors can perform highly damaging attacks at close range, and can block arrows. Rangers can fire a bow or a gun at enemies. Workers can harvest wood and ore, can construct fortifications and siege equipment and can upgrade other classes hat machines. Upgrades provide alternative weapons or attacks to each class. Pirates can do both close range and missile attacks with high damage with a cutlass and pistol. Ninjas can perform close range and missile attacks, but can also turn invisible and infiltrate the enemy castle. Finally, Giants are able to stun enemies and perform the highest damaging attacks of any class; however, they are the only class who cannot carry resources, bombs, potions or the Princess.
On each map there are several trees and ore nodes that worker classes can use to obtain resources.
Other interactive objects are bombs, potions that turn players into chickens when thrown, and torches that most classes can use to ignite their weapons to do additional damage.
Development
A private beta for the game was held in June 2009.There were several supporting reports dealing with the game's release date before it was confirmed for release on July 30, 2009. While some sources presently indicate the game should be ready by "late August", it was later revealed by the SCEE PlayStation Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
team that, while the game will have a simultaneous local release, its release window could only be told as "[at] some point this century".
PlayStation Home
In PlayStation HomePlayStation Home
PlayStation Home is a virtual 3D social gaming network developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's London Studio for the PlayStation 3 on the PlayStation Network . It is available directly from the PlayStation 3 XrossMediaBar under PlayStation Network. Membership is free, and only requires a PSN...
from 30 July 2009 to 10 September 2009, Sony launched a new event in PlayStation Home, which involved the player embarking on a "very special confectionery quest." The event was called "Fat Princess: Quest for Cake". In this quest the users had to hunt down eight pieces of cake locked in cages and when they managed to do this successfully they were rewarded with a "Fat Princess: Throne" for their personal apartment. This event was being held in the European and North American versions of PlayStation Home in a specially decorated PlayStation Events Space. The spaces used were Events Landing and The Gallery. The event was also held in the Asian version of Home but began on 27 August 2009 and ended on 10 September 2009. An interesting note about this event is that the redesigning of the Events Landing and The Gallery spaces and the event were done by nDreams
NDreams
nDreams, Ltd. is a video game developing company located in Farnborough, Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The company was formed in August 2006 thanks to former SCi/Eidos creative director, Patrick O'Luanaigh. nDreams was listed in Develop magazine as one of the hot companies to look for in 2008...
, the company behind the world's first console-based alternate reality game
Alternate reality game
An alternate reality game is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions....
, Xi
Xi (alternate reality game)
Xi was the world's first console-based and virtual world-based alternate reality game.It was a one-time-only play, unfolding in real time, and only available on the PlayStation 3 through the social gaming network, PlayStation Home...
, which was also based in Home.
Fat Roles
On June 19, 2010 an add-on pack named "Fat Roles" was released, adding three new character classes: Pirate, Ninja and Giant. A free patch released alongside the DLCDownloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
added support for same-screen co-op, clan tags and password-protected private games.
Reception
Fat Princess has an aggregate score of 79 out of 100 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
based on 54 reviews. GameRankings averaged a score of 80.91% based on 41 reviews. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the game a 9/10 score, praising the game's versatility and charm. GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
gave the title an 8.4/10 along with naming it the Best Downloadable Game of 2009. Some feminist groups criticized the game's premise, accusing it of promoting prejudice against obese cartoon characters.