2008 · Port · Walaber · Indie · Racing

JellyCar

Nintendo console exclusivePort

In JellyCar, players drive a small car across various platforms and through obstacles in order to reach the goal. The player's car is made out of a gelatin-like substance (hence the name), giving it both flexibility and durability. As the player advances through the level, a meter begins to fill; when it fills to capacity, the player can make the car expand and grow into a monster-truck, allowing it to traverse larger obstacles for a short period of time.

Released: 19 October 2008
Platforms: Wii iOS
Genres: Indie Racing
Developers: Walaber
Publishers: —
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action

About

JellyCar (originally known as JelloCar) is the first in a series of side-scrolling driving and platform games developed by Tim FitzRandolph and released under the pseudonym Walaber. Initially released independently through Windows and later made available for Xbox Live Indie Games and Apple's iOS operating system, JellyCar requires players to drive a car across a two-dimensional landscape while maintaining balance by means of (in the case of platforms on which it is supported) accelerometers. The game features soft body physics that give it its distinctive gameplay and style. JellyCar's success led FitzRandolph's employer at the time, Disney Interactive Studios, to pick up the series and release two sequels for multiple platforms. As of December 8, 2022, FitzRandolph, now an independent developer, has released a new sequel, JellyCar Worlds, with permission from Disney.

Keywords

motion control
touch controls
physics manipulation
platform change
cars with no drivers

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

In JellyCar, players drive a small car across various platforms and through obstacles in order to reach the goal. The player's car is made out of a gelatinous substance (hence the name), giving it both flexibility and durability. As the player advances through the level, a meter begins to fill; when it fills to capacity, the player can make the car expand and grow into a monster truck, allowing it to traverse larger obstacles for a short period of time.

Development

JellyCar designer Tim FitzRandolph began developing the game in his spare time at home while working with Disney Interactive Studios. His first version of the game (and a level editor) was created using Microsoft's XNA development tools and released through the Indie Games community on Xbox Live for the Xbox 360 gaming console in February 2008. In a November 2011 interview, FitzRandolph explained his intentions with JellyCar:

I was like, maybe I can try making a physics system that would sort of create a custom car, just experiment. When I got it working, I just did a lot of experiments with it, but I didn't really have an idea for a game. Except for making a little test for a car, create a little object to do the physics work. So I thought you might have a little object and you can make obstacles and get across gaps and stuff like that.