Line #15 VideoGame/GrannysGarden


1	[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grannysgarden.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:256:[[AndYourLittleDogToo And your little dog too!]]]]
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4	A 1983 EdutainmentGame by 4Mation for the Platform/BBCMicro, ''Granny's Garden'' was most commonly played in British primary schools up until the early 1990s. The BBC Micro is gone from the classroom, but 4Mation is still around, and so developed updated versions of the game for Windows and Platform/MacOS X to use. (There was also an updated version for the Platform/AcornArchimedes, the successor to the Platform/BBCMicro.)
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6	The story is very simple. You are visiting your grandmother whose garden contains a magic tree. Upon your finding it, the tree transports you to the Kingdom of the Mountains, where the king and queen have been locked away by a WickedWitch who kidnapped all of their children. It is up to the player, with the assistance of a magical raven, to return all six children to their family.
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8	----
9	!!This game provides examples of:
10	* AllThereInTheManual: Simple though it is, the backstory isn't explained in the game itself, only in the manual.
11	* ButThouMust: What is probably the game's main claim to notability is the following gloriously egregious use of this trope almost immediately after starting the game...and it is the first of many.
12	-->Can you see a cave?\
13	>No\
14	Yes you can.\
15	Do you want to go inside?\
16	>No\
17	Yes you do.
18	* EpisodicGame: The game is split into two parts.
19	* FetchQuest: In the last segment, the player is sent to fetch a stone from the hill, and water from the lake.
20	* FridgeLogic: {{Invoked}} -- the manual suggests "possible explanations for some of the mysteries of the program" as further discussion topics:
21	-->Why does Redhorn eat keys? Why don't the ants follow the worm down the hole? where does the green broomstick come from? how can an apple kill a snake? how can you get inside a snail's shell? [...] how was it possible to take the Witch's cake safely?
22	* GameOverMan: The Witch.
23	* GottaCatchThemAll: The player's task is to find six children.
24	* KarmaHoudini: Despite being the main antagonist, the witch never receives any kind of punishment for her actions
25	* NeverSayDie: When the evil witch catches you, she sends you back home. Mind you, this applies only to the player character; you can kill a snake by throwing an apple at it.
26	* PasswordSave: All of them are geographical themed (mountain, river, etc.).
27	* ParentalBonus: One version of the Acorn Archimedes version had a separate app to play the background music, due to technical difficulties getting the in-game music to work with older versions of [=RISC OS=]. The name of the app? !4Play.
28	* RainbowSpeak: "I am the King and Queen's [[blue:Blue]] Raven. I have [[purple:Magic]] Powers."
29	* ShoutOut: The opening sentence of the manual has three:
30	-->In children's literature there are numerous examples of "gateways to other worlds"; [[Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe wardrobes]], [[Series/DoctorWho police boxes]] and [[Literature/StigOfTheDump chalk pits]] being three such portals which, to the unknowing eye, are no more than what they appear to be.
31	* {{Symbolism}}: The player kills a snake with an apple; the allusion to the Garden of Eden story is deliberate, and intended as a jumping-off point for class discussion.
32	* TrialAndErrorGameplay: Sometimes you'll pick up an item, and it'll trigger a trap later.
33	* {{Tuckerization}}: Esther and Tom, the first two children you rescue, [[http://pixelatron.com/blog/grannys-garden-creator-interview/ are named after the author's own children]].
34	* UnwinnableByDesign: On the other hand, sometimes you'll decline to pick up an item and find you can't win without it.
35	* VideoGameDemake: The Windows version was released with updated graphics. Later, a 'Retro' Windows version was released that used the original BBC Micro graphics, for those with a nostalgic interest in the original game.
36	* ViolationOfCommonSense: At one point, a giant asks you whether you want him to eat you. You have to agree to progress.
37	* WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma: You'd think a [[Creator/TheBBC BBC]] educational title would be more careful to avoid things like "It's mouth is open wide."
38	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The introductory text talks about a king and queen who were locked away by the evil witch. They are never mentioned again.

Context VideoGame / GrannysGarden