Ollo in The Sunny Valley Fair is a Point-and-Click Edutainment Adventure Game produced by Hulabee Entertainment and published by Plaid Banana Entertainment in 2002. The game is marketed toward young children, much like the ones made by Humongous Entertainment. Unlike those games, however, Ollo was a standalone that did not expand into a series.
The game revolves around Ollo, a blue ball of clay living in the peaceful town of Sunny Valley. When the annual fair comes into town, Ollo helps his friend Rose grow a huge tomato for the gardening competition. Things go awry, however, when the tomato grows too large and rolls out of control into the valley. It’s up to Ollo to help his animal friends undo the damage and catch the tomato in time for the fair.
The gameplay features point-and-click puzzles and exploring. Players are encouraged to collect various items for progression and interact with Ollo’s various anthropomorphic animal friends, all in a glorious and visually unique Claymation art style.
The game is available on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux.
Ollo in The Sunny Valley Fair contains examples of:
- Animate Inanimate Object: Ollo may just be a ball of clay, but lives in a house and helps his friends.
- Animal Lover: Ollo seems to enjoy both the geese and the personified animals.
- Collection Sidequest: Doing certain activities in various scenes awards Ollo with marbles to collect in his inventory bag. The inventory menu even has a little physics-based marble drop game.
- Curse Cut Short: Not really a curse, but a little weird for a children’s game. Blimpy begins a joke starting with “pull my…” before being interrupted by the rolling tomato.
- Edutainment Game: The game teaches basic colors, shapes, phonics, and counting.
- Fetch Quest: Rose asks Ollo to bring her some items while she watches the garden in Chapter 2.
- Flat Character: It’s rather ironic that such a physically round character shows very little character development throughout the story. Though it is just a kids’ game after all.
- Forgetful Jones: Rose. The narrator points out how often she forgets where she put her watering can. She doesn’t even remember the name of the tomato she’s growing for the competition.
- Hairstyle Malfunction: Blimpo is embarrassed when his wig is lost, exposing his bald head.
- Insurmountable Waist-Height Fence: The path to the swamp area is blocked by… a small branch that looks easy to jump over or walk around.
- Likewise, Muriel Moose’s toolbox blocks the path at one point. One wonders why Ollo doesn’t just walk around it.
- In Which a Trope Is Described: While the chapters themselves do not have names, their intro cards contain images relevant to the plot. Chapter 1, where Ollo helps Lottie tie down some balloons, shows a balloon in the title card. Chapter 2, where we meet Rose in the garden, shows a sun.
- Locked Door: You run into these occasionally.
- Meaningful Name: Rose, Ollo’s friend, works in a garden.
- Narrator: Most children’s point-and-click games at the time featured one. This game features two: one for the storyline and one that describes certain objects, events, and activities when they are clicked on.
- No Fourth Wall: Ollo is looking directly at the player most of the time.
- No Mouth: The titular character is simply a ball of clay with large eyes.
- Not a Morning Person: As the narrator describes: “Ollo was sleeping peacefully, but now it was time for him to wake up. At first, Ollo didn’t want to get up…”.
- Opening Narration: “It was a sunny morning in Sunny Valley, which is how most mornings in Sunny Valley are.”
- Overly Long Name: Clyde Emerson William Edward Montague-Wallingford, the frog at the dunk tank. Luckily, he simply goes by “Prince Clyde.”
- The Quiet One: Ollo himself, not surprising considering he has No Mouth. The narrator speaks for him.
- Rule of Cute: Ollo, especially at the end where he’s wearing both first place ribbons.
- Speech-Impaired Animal: The roller coaster sheep occasionally rolls her vowels, much like a sheep’s *baaa*.
- Sugar Bowl: Averted surprisingly. While the clay environments are pretty colorful, many locations are toned-down and somewhat realistic.
- Trademark Favorite Food: “Rose tended to get very excited when she was talking about tomatoes…”.
- Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: Ollo’s reaction to first seeing the tomato, Red Thunder.
