Jolly Rover – Preview

Yar! Prepare to set sail down under with Aussie development company Brawsome. Captained by Andrew Goulding, the Jolly Rover expects to walk the plank sometime in mid 2010.

Having already sharpened his cutlass working as a contract programmer on Emerald City Confidential and Avenue Flo, Goulding (Scurvy Dog Andy to his shipmates) has gone the independent route with plans to distribute via casual web portals such as Big Fish, Steam and Greenhouse.

Jolly Rover is a 2D, swashbuckling point-and-click comedic adventure game in the tradition of the LucasArts and Sierra classics of yore. It follows the adventures of young “Gaius James Rover across three wild tropical islands as he attempts to fulfill his dream of starting a circus, hampered only by pirates, villains, voodoo, love and a considerable lack of loot”. While there will invariably be comparisons to (don’t say Monkey Island, don’t say Monkey Island, oh the hell with it…) Monkey Island, the Jolly Rover has a leg up on that timeless series as the characters are all dogs. Arf! I mean Arg!

The time projected to complete this voyage is 4-8 hours with incentives to replay the game again in order to collect optional items and unlock additional features such as a Captain’s Bio, concept art and director’s commentary. Marketed as an adventure game with casual elements; such as a one click interface and in-built hint and task-tracking system, there is also a heavy dependence on traditional adventure elements such as dialogue trees and inventory items. And with twenty-five animated and voiced characters, let’s hope that there is not a mutt in the bunch.

So batten down the hatches, raise the mizenmast and prepare to set sail with the canine swashbucklers of the Jolly Rover. Just take care to steer clear of (here it comes!) the poop deck.

Visit the Jolly Rover website for additional information and then read an interview at Tsumea with developer Andrew Goulding.