Some apps have names that make sense. Some of them, their name reads like someone just grabbed two random words out of the dictionary and put them together. And some apps fall into both these categories.
McGruff knows how to party on his days off.
Now here is a game I can get behind! That dog looks totally in-my-face. I hope he has a great name, and a positive message.
OMG! He is named Ollie and he recycles. That’s amazing, because my puggle, Mr. Fluffers, also likes to recycle. One time I accidentally threw a can of Diet Tab into the trash, and Mr. Fluffers barked at me until I pulled it out and put it in the recycling bin. Dogs are so smart.
In reality, Puppy Jumper is intended to appeal to parents who think games like Math Blaster and Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Trainer are pretty nifty, and that TV shows like Darkwing Duck are “pushing the envelope” for today’s sheltered 12-year-old. The visual evidence for this conclusion is compelling.
The boss at the end of this level is the Kool-Aid Man.
Ollie does not look like any kid I know (or any dog, for that matter). Particularly with his manner of dress. He looks like the person who dressed him thinks they know how kids like to look. Like they buy their kids’ clothes at the now-defunct Mervyn’s chain. To wit:
Where a kid can be a kid dressed by his mom.
The evidence is not just visual, either.
Does she also breast-feed this 10-year-old?
I’m sure that for some people, this is a fun game. You get to bounce your cartoon dog over some imaginary Aquafina bottles and beat your husband’s high score while waiting for the kids to finish up at Discovery Zone. What more do you want?
Or maybe I’m missing the point here. Maybe this isn’t a real game at all; maybe it’s an attempt to satirize all the stupid games floating around for the iPhone, stupid because there’s so little you can do for $1.99 a pop. Maybe I’m the one being punk’d.
Whenever Ollie's not on screen, all the other characters should be asking "Where's Ollie"?
Maybe?
