Herdy Gerdy

About Herdy Gerdy

The game is best described as a virtual shepherd simulation, with some adventure and platform elements. The player must herd enough creatures into their pens to unlock areas and new levels. However, the various creatures have certain reactions and skills; some swim while some drown, for example. The levels themselves are difficult to negotiate, with pirate ships, winding caverns, and ruins blocking Gerdy's path. The creatures are controlled by a complex but flawed artificial intelligence. They are prone to getting stuck, sometimes irretrievably, on objects in the environment owing to a lack of adequate collision detection.

The game has a large environment (around 40 different areas) as well as 12 different fictional creatures to herd into their different pens. It requires strategic thinking, as some animals eat others, some animals cannot jump, some cannot swim, and each kind requires a separate herding technique. The heads-up display is relatively simple: there are three colored displays at the top of the screen. To the left, the display shows the number of dead animals. The next, in the centre of the screen, represents those alive and free, and the display on the right shows those that have been captured.

Herdy Gerdy is plagued by automatic camera problems. Although the game features manual camera control, when the view between Gerdy and the camera is obstructed control reverts to automatic often to the chagrin of the player. At the bottom of the screen is a progress bar with dots: each dot confirms that you have captured 5% of the animals in the level. Finally, the map shows the player's position, animals, pens, rainbow buttons, and the gypsy at the end of the level.

The game begins with young Gerdy awakening in his home on the morning he and his father are set to depart for the great herding tournament. Gerdy springs out of bed, agitated that he and his father have overslept. However, he finds his father unable to wake up.

Upon seeking the advice of the elder Yggdrasil, Gerdy learns that his father has been placed under a spell by the evil Sadorf. Sadorf knew Gerdy's father, Master Gedryn, was the only one who could defeat him at The Tournament. The winner of The Tournament is given an Acorn, which holds the source of all magic on the Island, something Sadorf wishes to have complete control of. Yggdrasil tasks Gerdy with taking his father's place in The Tournament.

From there, Gerdy must journey across the Island to get to The Tournament, learning how to herd various creatures along the way. The journey encompasses many biomes and sections of the Island, as Gerdy gathers magical herding instruments and articles of clothing along the way.