biology

Where's Waldo? (video game)

Where's Waldo? (video game) is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Where's Waldo? (video game) rather than just read about it. In short: Where's Waldo? is a hidden object game developed by Bethesda Softworks and published by THQ for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. It was the first video game loosely based on Martin Handford's 1987 book of the same name.

Key takeaways

Where's Waldo? (video game) belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Where's Waldo? (video game) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Where's Waldo? (video game) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Where's Waldo? is a hidden object game developed by Bethesda Softworks and published by THQ for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. It was the first video game loosely based on Martin Handford's 1987 book of the same name. Mostly similar to the books, players must help Waldo get to the Moon by finding him in each of the eight levels in the game. The game was panned by critics, who criticized the game for its graphics, which made it more difficult to find Waldo in each of the levels.

Gameplay

The player's goal is to help Waldo get to the Moon, by finding Waldo in various pictures in order to progress through the game. There are eight levels in the game. In the picture levels, the directional buttons control a magnifying glass and that must be placed over Waldo in order to "find" him and move to the next level and a new picture. In the easy and practice mode, the pictures are still images the size of the screen in the levels. In the Medium and Hard modes, the player has to scroll to the side to see the rest of the area, and Waldo will change color to make it more challenging to find him in the picture levels. In the Practice mode, there is no time limit, but only a select number of levels are open (the Train Station, Forest and Caves). The time limit for the other levels varies based on difficulty setting; on easy, the time limit is 16 minutes, on medium, 11 minutes, and on hard, 7 minutes and 40 seconds. If the player selects an incorrect location for Waldo, ten seconds is deducted from their time. Not all levels in the game have the same format of finding Waldo as in the other levels; in the cave level, the player must find Waldo in the dark. To help, Waldo will pop up briefly to give a clue as to where he is. In the subway level, the player must go through a maze and collect Waldo and his dropped glasses in order to exit the stage. The player must also avoid the Wizard Whitebeard, who can quickly subtract time if the player lands on his spot. In the final level, the player must match three pictures of Waldo in order to get him to the Moon.

Development Where's Waldo was programmed and designed by two Bethesda Softworks staff, Paul Coletta and Randy Linden, with the visuals done by Nancy Freeman. In an attempt to ease-up programming graphics using only character sets, Linden programmed a tool to draw bitmap graphics that would be converted into character sets that would be randomized every time the game was loaded up.

Reception

Responses towards the game from reviewers were negative. One of the most known criticisms of the game is the graphics; some of the pixelated objects in each of the game's levels had similar colors and stripes of Waldo's shirt and in some levels Waldo would even change color, which made it hard to find him. Cracked.com wrote that Where's Waldo has the worst graphics of any NES game. Nintendo World Report, in addition to calling the graphics "boring", criticized its short game length and absence of music in the stages, negatively labeling it as nothing more than a pixel art collection. ConsoleClassix.com said that, although fans of the book may enjoy the game a little, other players may get bored. In an issue of Game Informer, they have rated it a 1 out of 10, citing it as being "a game for those too lazy to turn a page". A reviewer of Yahoo Voices, who gave the game 0.5 out of 5 stars, even criticized the sound effects. The game was listed #12 on Seanbaby's "Worst Nintendo Games". In 1992, The Los Angeles Times wrote that Where's Waldo was one of "several hit games" published by THQ.

Sequel

One year later, a sequel, The Great Waldo Search, was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. It was based on Where's Wally? The Fantastic Journey, the third book of the Where's Wally? series. In 2009, a more modern remake of that sequel was developed by Ludia and published by Ubisoft on iOS, Microsoft Windows, Wii and the Nintendo DS. The remake especially takes advantage of superior pointer-based motion controls to easily locate search targets and supports versus multiplayer.

Notes

References

External links Where's Waldo? at MobyGames Where's Waldo? at GameFAQs

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Where's Waldo? (video game)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Where's Waldo? (video game) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Where's Waldo? (video game) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Where's Waldo? (video game) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Where's Waldo? (video game)

In research: Where's Waldo? (video game) appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Where's Waldo? (video game) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Where's Waldo? (video game) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1991 video games, Bethesda Softworks games, Hidden object games, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Where's Waldo? (video game) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Where's Waldo? (video game) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Where's Waldo? (video game) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Where's Waldo? (video game) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Where's Waldo? (video game) in simple terms?

Why does Where's Waldo? (video game) matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Where's Waldo? (video game)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Where's Waldo? (video game).