LARRY: Big Dipper: A Flash-based Arcade Game from the Larry Saga

LARRY: Big Dipper is a Flash-based arcade game and the first of its kind from the Larry and the Gnomes saga featured on Newgrounds.com. This Flash animation submission was created by Newgrounds.com user JAZZA (Josiah Brooks) and programmed by Newgrounds.com user Moonkey (Matthew Stradwick). Music was credited to Newgrounds.com user David Orr, and sound effects were credited to Newgrounds.com user Zach Striefel. LARRY: Big Dipper was submitted to Newgrounds.com on June 1, 2010 and won a Daily 3rd Place award on June 2, 2010. It currently holds a score of 4.30/5.00 based on votes by the Newgrounds community. Oddly, this score is higher than the score received by another LARRY submission, LARRY: Gnomergeddon, which currently holds a score of 4.26/5.00 but also received a 1st Place Daily Feature award.

Gameplay Overview

The object of LARRY: Big Dipper is to avoid being hit by rocks on your freefall down a deep, massive pit. Use the arrow keys or the WASD keys on your keyboard to move Larry. Avoiding rocks will increase your score multiplier to get you a higher score.

There are a number of objects that can be collected on your way down the pit of foreverness. These items include the following:

-Gems (10 in total)
-Birds, which slow your falling speed to make it easier to dodge rocks, making it easier to obtain a score multiplier
-Red balls, which provide health
-Orange balls, which make Larry immortal, allowing him to hit rocks for points
-Green balls, which are antidotes for the poison that Larry may or may not encounter during his descent

As you fall, you will encounter many rocks. By avoiding rocks, you can increase your score multiplier, which is located at the top right hand corner of the screen. The multiplier will increase on its own gradually. However, running into a rock will decrease your multiplier score by one. To the right of the score multiplier is your current score. At the top left hand side of the screen, you can see a red bar that indicates Larry's health. Running into rocks will decrease this bar. At the right side of the screen, you will see a vertical column that lets you know which items are coming up next so you can watch out for them to maximize your score. At the bottom right hand side of the screen, you can see how far you have fallen in meters.

Players should note that there is some momentum when moving Larry around. The larger the movement, the greater the momentum.

LARRY: Big Dipper scores a 10/10 for its simplicity and addictiveness. The visuals are also quite enticing. The variety of items also adds to the game's appeal. By providing a leaderboard type of competition, the game promotes friendly competition between players around the world.