| abstract
| - Grumpy Darklings are one of the three original Darklings from the pre-alpha developmental phase of LEGO Universe. Grumpy Darklings were spawned from Maelstrom Shards, along with the other two Darklings, Hyper Darklings and Freak Darklings. According to an interview with Professor Brickkeeper, the goal of the Darklings was to overrun the fun in LEGO Universe. Grumpy Darklings are known to have appeared in the Vanguard Outpost, presumably around the crater left by a Maelstrom Shard. They also appeared in an early version of Forbidden Valley, where players would have been sent by the Bricksmith to smash six of the Grumpy Darklings attacking the Dragon Forge. A Grumpy Darkling was the first LEGO Universe enemy revealed to the public. At the end of LEGO Universe's first trailer, a Darkling Battle was showcased, in which a Minifigure was attacked and ultimately smashed by a Grumpy Darkling. Perhaps because the Grumpy Darkling became well-known due to this trailer, despite not appearing in any of the released worlds, Grumpy Darklings continued to appear in much promotional material. In the "Answer the Call" trailer, during the Battle of Zorillo Plaza segment, Grumpy Darklings and a Maelstrom Dragon emerge from a Maelstrom vortex and begin smashing rooftops of buildings. When the Maelstrom army and Nexus Force converge, Grumpy Darklings fly towards their opponents. However, Grumpy Darklings do not appear in the Battle of Nimbus Station based upon this trailer, and the role of hammer-wielding enemies during this battle has instead been taken by Hammer Stromlings. In the Creation Lab, a Grumpy Darkling serves as the icon for the "Create a chaos battler!" challenge. According to Professor Brickkeeper, this challenge was created as the result of Darklings attacking the Creation Lab; the news article's artwork showed a Grumpy Darkling attacking Professor Brickkeeper. In a LEGO.com advertisement, Grumpy Darklings appeared alongside Maelstrom Dragons and Thwok as they emerged from Maelstrom clouds to attack the Faction Leaders. In the Gnarled Forest segment of the advertisement, a Grumpy Darkling emerges from the Maelstrom to attack Hael Storm, but the Venture League Faction Leader fights back. Surprisingly, Grumpy Darklings even appear on the boxart of LEGO Universe. Much like the Battle of Zorillo Plaza, they can be seen emerging from a Maelstrom vortex in the upper right corner. It was speculated that Grumpy Darklings were intended to eventually be reintroduced in-game. However, before this idea was realized, LEGO Universe's closure was announced, and Grumpy Darklings remain unused in the final product.
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