Parking Dash

Parking Dash is strategy and time management video game developed by PlayFirst and set in the Dash series universe.

Story
Karma, a spunky teenager from Donutville, gets a call that she had inherited property from her great uncle Henry. Though unfamiliar with "great uncle Henry", she decides to go to DinerTown to claim the property. However she's disappointed when she comes to find an empty lot riddled with trash. Mr. Big passes by and offers to buy the plot from her, but Flo intervenes and encourages Karma to turn it into a parking lot. This is where the game takes off.

As Karma runs a successful career with her first parking lot, friends such as Quinn, Bobbi, and Walter give her new locations which need help with their parking lots. Even Mr. Big asks for her help towards the end of the game, since his new mall is having parking trouble on the moon.

Gameplay
The player controls the main character, Karma. She is responsible for numerous tasks such as parking customers' cars. Another important gameplay element is Karma's radio. Karma will begin the game with a single song, but she will be able to obtain more as the game progresses. When she has built up a decent sized collection, Karma can gain a temporary speed boost if she switches to another song from her radio at the right moment (when the green light flashes). Similar to most Dash games, color bonuses can be achieved by parking a car into a matching color. Some cars come in as a filthy mess, so they require a car wash. Later into the game, a character going by the name "Cousin Jimmy" will be able to complete this task for you. Another obstacle of the game are piles of snow/leaves/sand, which must be swept up.

In order to progress through the story, the player must reach a required goal in a level. Parking cars and returning them to their owner quickly will reward the player with a good amount of cash. The timer above a customer's head indicates how long they'll take to return. However, the more customers are left waiting in the lot, the more impatient they'll become. Their patience range from Happy, Sad, and Angry. The moment a customer has reached their breaking point they will be red in the face. Returning a car to an angry customer will cause the player to lose money.

Flo's Diner
This is the starting level of the game, where the player will be taught the basics. Rosie the Regular, Barb the Businesswoman, Simon the Celebrity, and Colin the Cellphone Addict are present in this level. The player will be introduced to car elevators and the car washing buckets. There is also a vending machine, which snacks can be used to keep waiting customers happy. Flo makes an appearance as a customer here.

Wedding Castle
The second level of the game, taking place in an abandoned wedding spot. Uncle Al, Hal the Hungryman, Derek, and Aunt Ethel are newcomers in this level. The player's also introduced to the broom and shovel, which the latter needs to be used to clean up snow piles. Certain levels also have reserved spots for customers. These offer bonus tips if the car is still parked in this area by the time the customer arrives. Quinn makes an appearance in this stage as a customer.

Chinatown
The third level of the game, where Spring has just arrived. Duncan the Lovestrucker, Festival Girls, and Sammy the Student are introduced in this level. This part of the game is where a bunch of previous mechanics like reserved spots, car washing, and car elevators begin to come into play as more customers rush in.

The Beach
The fourth level encountered, where Leo the Dog Lover and Seymour the Senior run amok, the final two customers introduced in the game. Dog treats are available to give to the dogs left in Leo's car. This level will throw a flurry of customers at the player, preparing them for the final level.

The Moon
The final level of the game. Everything the player has learned from the game all comes down to this. An interesting detail in this level is that Karma and the customers will appear wearing astronaut helmets. Funnily enough they wear only the helmet and nothing else suited for the moon's atmosphere. This helmet will also pop off of the customers whenever they are given back their car.

Customer types

 * Young Lady (Rosie): Average car, average patience, average tipper.


 * Businesswoman (Barb): Fast car, impatient, high tipper.


 * Cellphone Guy (Colin): Car with alarm, impatient, high tipper. To disable the alarm, Karma must kick it with her foot, else the waiting customers will become annoyed by the blaring noise.


 * Celebrity (Simon): The car occupies 2 spaces, average car, impatient, high tipper.


 * SUV Guy (Hal): The car occupies 2 spaces, slow car, average patience, average tipper.
 * Al: Fast car, average patience, high tipper.
 * Derek: Average car, average patience, average tipper.


 * Aunt Ethel: Slow car, impatient, high tipper.


 * Student (Sammy): Fast car, average patience, average tipper.


 * Lovestruck Guy (Duncan): Average car, average patience, average tipper. He's so lovestruck that he will not be able to tell you what his car looked like, so you must find it for him on your own.


 * Festival Girl: The car occupies 3 spaces, slow car, average patience, average tipper.


 * Kindly Senior (Seymour): Slow car, very patient, low tipper.


 * Dog Lover (Leo): Average car, leaves the dog in the car, very patient, low tipper. You must give the dog inside a dog treat before moving the car to another spot, else the dog will bark at Karma and scare her away from the car.
 * In certain circumstances, dog treats may be unavailable to the player during certain levels. Therefore they must be careful when parking Leo's car, since in most cases the dog will refuse Karma access to the car until its owner returns.

Trivia

 * With the exception of the Wedding Dash characters, some customers in this title have received different looks from their original designs. For example, Colin the Cellphone Addict is depicted with dark brown hair in this game when it's usually blond in others. Rosie the Regular Young Lady could be another example, though her appearance tends to change more often throughout the series.