The Kiwi's Tale

Erik Hogan and Stephen Knightly

Inspired by "The New Zealand Story" by Taito

Created for the 2008 Retro Remakes competition

Version 2011.01

Controls

(Note: The keyboard controls are customisable).

Move, Swim: Cursor Keys for Player 1, WASD for Player 2. XBox 360 digital pad or left thumb stick.
Jump, Exit Vehicle: Z for Player 1, F for Player 2. XBox 360 Button A.
Shoot: X for Player 1, G for Player 2. XBox 360 Button B.
Menu: Escape. XBox 360 Button Start.

How to Play

Run, jump, swim and fly.
Rescue all the kiwis on each level.
Spell "AOTEAROA" or collect 50 New Zealand souvenirs for an extra life.
Hold your breath for 10 seconds underwater.
Fly on balloons, or steal a biplane or helicopter from your enemies.
Travel the length of beautiful ‟Aotearoa‟ New Zealand.
Shoot native Pukeko birds, dodge Sheep with rocket launchers and run from Killer Kiwifruit Critters!

Enemies

During your quest you will be accosted by all manner of creatures, with nothing but your Bow and Arrow to defend yourself.

Kauri Snails - Slow but slimy. You cannot jump on them, but they can fall onto you.
Pukeko - Aggressive bird that will charge the player.
Hedgehog - Spiked and deadly, watch out!
Sheep - Equipped with a SPNKR Rocket Launcher, which they occasionally drop.
Bats - Deadly flying mammal. Watch out for the spikes they drop as they pass by!
Kiwifruit Critter - A vicious genetically engineered fruit that runs and jumps at you.
Shark - Lethal underwater creature.
Stingray - Defensive undersea beast.

Pick ups

Enemies drop items when defeated.

Greenstone (Ponamu) – Previous stone taken from the riverbeds of New Zealand to be carved into necklaces.
Buzzy Bee - Popular toy for New Zealand tots. As played with by HRH baby Prince William.
L&P (Lemon and Paeroa) Bottle - A soft drink that's world famous in New Zealand.
Rugby Ball - New Zealand's favourite pastime. Nik used to be a loose forward.
Tomato Sauce Bottle - You'll always be a Kiwi if you love our Watties sauce.
Jandals - Not quite sandals, not quite Japanese footware. These are commonly worn at New Zealand beaches all year around.
Lord of the Rings Oscars – Extremely common in New Zealand. Most residents have one.

Collecting 50 of the above items will score you an extra life!

AOTEAROA Letters - The Maori name for New Zealand, literally “Land of the Long White Cloud”. If you get collect all the letters to spell AOTEROA you will gain an extra life and a short spell of invincibility. Some of the letters are hidden in secret spots so take time to explore the levels.
SPNKR Rocket Launcher - Stands for Sheep Powered Nuclear Killer Rocket, these are the deadliest weapons in the game. They can take out a sheep in one hit. Unfortunately they only last for one life or one level, which ever ends first, so make sure you hold onto them.

Vehicles

For most of the game Nik will be on foot, however, sometimes you may need to find a vehicle to get through a level.

Balloon – The most common vehicle in the game. You can grab the string and float or ride on top of the balloon. Different colours indicate how many pops before the balloon bursts.
Biplane – You can steal a plane by shooting the Pukekos that fly them. These planes can travel can rapidly travel across the level but be careful not to crash!
Helicopter – These helicopters are piloted by the Sheep but with stealth and cunning you push the pilot out and get your own. Helicopters accelerate up and down rapidly, making them useful in combat.

Levels

Stewart Island - The smallest of the three main islands of New Zealand. Famous for its isolation, small population and abundance of native flora and fauna. You'll need to cross Foveaux Strait to reach the South Island.
Dunedin - The most Scottish of the New Zealand cities, and the only one with a Castle. You'll need to rescue all three Kiwis that have been contained here. It's also your first chance to fly.
Queenstown - Called the “Adventure Capital of New Zealand”, Queenstown is famous for its thrill-seeking activities. If you want to jump off something, ski or snowboard down something, swim across Lake Whakatipu or jump out of something then this might be the place.
Mount Cook - New Zealand's highest mountain. This is where the late Sir Edmund Hilary prepared for his climb up Everest. It's also where a swarm of enemies lie in wait, unless you can survive for 60 seconds and collect enough letters to spell AOTEAROA and gain an extra life.
Punakaiki - Located on the wild West Coast of the South Island, Punakaiki is most well known for the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. There are also many caves around the area.
Kaikoura - Kaikoura in Maori means meal of crayfish (kai being the Maori word for food). This small town by the sea also is known for whale watching though there is only one whale to be found in this level.
Taniwha – A sea serpent of Maori legend. Be careful.
Cook Strait - The body of water that separates the South Island from the North Island. You'll need to cross it on your quest to rescue your Kiwi friends.
Taranaki - Features a stunning backdrop that was used as Mt Fuji in The Last Samurai. An extremely gruelling climb is required here.
Taupo - The site of New Zealand's largest lake. The Sheep have an underground base here.
Mt Ruapehu - New Zealand's most active volcano. Watch out for the spikes!
Waitomo Caves - A vast, underground cavern.
Tokoroa - Located in the Waikato region, Tokoroa is surrounded by many dairy farms, forest plantations and saw mills.
Sky Tower – Located in the heart of Auckland City is the tallest structure in New Zealand. Be extra careful when climbing it!
UFO - The alien sheep is hovering above the top of the Sky Tower. Watch out!

References only true Kiwi's would get

Tui Billboards - Found throughout the country. These are one of the highlights of New Zealand.... Yeah Right!
AA Road Signs - Lost? Look for these signs, plus other place names.
Plus, look out for local coins, Maori patterns, New Zealand‟s favourite ice cream, skylines, vistas and tributes to loud Australians.

Story

Nik the Kiwi and his mates are relaxing on Stewart Island one sunny day. All is going well.

Suddenly a UFO controlled by a Mad Alien Sheep comes along and abducts Nik's kiwi mates! It seems that the sheep are envious of kiwis being the icon of New Zealand and want revenge. And so Nik sets off to rescue his kiwi mates, travelling through New Zealand to rescue them.

(And in two player mode, Nik is joined by his true blue Kiwi mate, Zak).

Credits

Game design, art and programming: Erik Hogan, Joshua Smyth, Kei Kasai, Matthew Gatland Stephen Knightly
Most of this Manual!: Stephen Knightly
Music and Audio: Daniel Thomas, Kahra Scott James, Marshall Smith, Poulima Salima, Rhys Buter
Portuguese translation: Guilherme Chirinéa
Playtesters: David Reading, Guilherme Chirinéa, Nikholas Stafford, Ofek, Vijay Savanth
Special thanks: Cobra Blade, Kirsty Win, Mark Sibly, Vijay Prema

About

The Kiwi's Tale was the first and only game released as a production of Auckland Game Works, a group of Auckland based indie game developers organised by Stephen Knightly. We decided to make the game - "The New Zealand story if it was actually made by New Zealanders" - for the Retro Remakes 2008 competition. Although the game received a lukewarm reception by the judges, we did walk away with second place in the "Sequels that weren't" category.

This new version doesn't feature many changes from the original, asides from a Portuguese translation (Making this the first of any game I have worked on to be localised), an easier difficulty setting and a two player co-operative mode.

- Erik Hogan

Licence

Redistribution of the 'The Kiwi's Tale' software or associated media, with or without modification, is permitted provided this readme file is included unmodified.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.