Mini Rods

The **Mini Rods** are the secondary antagonists of the Ice Scream Franchise, serving as the central antagonists of Ice Scream 4, as well as Ice Scream Friends and Ice Scream 8.

## Appearance

### Operator Mini Rod

Their outfits contain a suit with a white shirt and a tie, and a hard hat. They wield clipboards in their hands and a pencil on their hard hats and write on their clipboards.

### Janitor Mini Rod

They wear a yellow jacket and a beanie. They wield a broom in their hands and clean parts of the factory.

### Mechanic Mini Rod

They wear a white shirt, a blue jumpsuit, and a black hat. They wield a wrench in their hands and fix parts of the Power Plant.

### Window Cleaner Mini Rod

He wears a red shirt strapped with belt with a bucket, a red hard hat. He wields a wiper blade and cleans the windows.

### Cook Mini Rods

They wear a white chef's uniform and a chef hat. They wield a spoon with either an egg or milk to cook in the pot.

### Scientist Mini Rod

They wear a scientist's uniform, glasses, the Secret Ingredient in a vial on their head, a clipboard with a pen, and gloves. One of them wears goggles instead of glasses.

### Lumberjack Mini Rod

They wear red and dark colored clothes and a brown Grizzly Bear hat. They wield small hatchets, and their masks also look new compared to other Mini Rods.

## Overview

Rod's Factory actually belonged to his foster father, Joseph Sullivan. Joseph bought the huge piece of land, which was meant for a hydroelectric power station, but was abandoned. Joseph used the land to build his factory, which is enormous. Rod cannot handle the factory all by himself due to its large size. So, he created the Mini Rods at an unknown date to work for him as helpers. But Keplerians had confirmed that when Joseph was alive, he did hire human workers in the beginning, then he learnt how to make robots when they were invented in the early 1950s, which made the Prototype Mini Rod which is still there in the factory. He slowly fired his human workers, and when his son, Rod took over, the technological advances and improvements that happened between Joseph's building of the Prototype Mini Rod and Rod's building of the mini rods helped Rod to improve the Mini Rods and their artificial intelligence to fit his style.

There are currently 7 types of Mini Rods, the ***Operator Mini Rods***, ***Janitor Mini Rods***, a ***Window Cleaner Mini Rod***, ***Mechanic Mini Rods***, ***Cook Mini Rods***, ***Scientist Mini Rods***, and ***Lumberjack Mini Rods***. Though their duties depend on the role they take, they also patrol around the factory looking for intruders, specifically J., Mike, Lis, and Charlie. When they see any of the kids, they will start to yell *"Intruder!"*, *"Intruder inside!"*, or *"A little human has escaped!"* and raise the alarm system in the factory to alert Rod and will try to chase the intruder around the factory. If they manage to catch them, they will spin their heads with electrical shocks coming out of them, which will stun the intruder. In the game, the kids will have to fight them in order to get away from their clutches. Once the kids escape from their stun attacks and stay away from their field of vision, the Mini Rods will be inactive for a few seconds before continuing their work.

**(In Ice Scream 4)** One of the Mini Rods is also a bit damaged with sparks coming out of its head. It sometimes becomes inactive due to the damage, which is important, since only that particular Mini Rod has an identity card which contains the code to open one of the lockers in order to get the carpet. J. will have to get the card while that damaged Mini Rod is inactive for a short while before moving again, this Mini Rod keeps guard in the museum. This particular Mini Rod appears again in Ice Scream 6, but it doesn't become deactivated anymore and the number of sparks is less.

## History

### Background

Rod created the Mini Rods sometime in the 20th century since he couldn't manage the factory on his own. The Mini Rods did tasks like cleaning, cooking, doing random experiments, mechanical work, etc.

### Ice Scream Tycoon

In the late 1970's or early 1980's, Rod kidnapped a child and dubbed him Junior, and he forced that child to do factory repairs for him, the Mini Rods helped Junior to do factory work. It's unknown what happened to him.

### Ice Scream 4

##### General

On January 3, 1983, Rod brought Some children to his factory, but J, who was one of the children, managed to escape.

##### Operator Mini Rods

The Operator Mini Rods manage parts of the factory, like the Offices Area (1), the Lobby (1), the Pantry (1), the three restricted areas (1), and the Quality Control Room (1) (the latter area only being in Ice Scream 4), they will say *"Everything is good here"* when they don't see any intruders. Sometimes, one of them can be found inside the room when you use the crowbar to open the door that is blocked by wooden planks in order to get the scaffold, so be careful not to get stunned by it.

##### Janitor Mini Rods

The Janitor Mini Rods walk around to clean the factory using a mop. Sometimes, they will stop walking and check around the corners to see if they are cleaned before walking again, they will say *"Clean, clean!"* or *"I have cleaned here before!"*, and sometimes they hum while moving around in the factory. Like most Mini Rods, they can also stun and raise the alarm system in the factory to alert Rod, whenever they see J. or Charlie. The Janitor Mini Rods are found in the lobby of the factory (3), the first floor (1) (only in Ice Scream 5), the electricity meter yard (1), and the second floor (2).

### Ice Scream 5

In this game, we have been introduced to three new types of Mini Rods, a Window Cleaner Mini Rod, Mechanic Mini Rods, and a Prototype Mini Rod.

##### The Window Cleaner Mini Rod

The Window Cleaner Mini Rod is located outside of a window in the Dump Room, tied onto a rope and its duty is to keep the factory windows clean, it stays inactive most of the time and it just speaks, but it gets annoyed when J throws trash bags on the windows, making them dirty. It is actually a mini game and to get the Mini Rod's nose, you need to destroy the Window Cleaner robot for his nose to give it to Mike and help him escape and get to J. In order to do that, you need to get it near the ventilation fan on the side of a window, throw garbage bags on particular windows so that the Mini Rod gets annoyed and starts cleaning them. Since, there are two barriers on the wall of the factory, you need to make sure that the Mini Rod can access without getting blocked by the barriers or else it will go back to the place where it started to clean. There are three windows in each vertical row and hence, you need to throw the garbage bags on the windows that are free for the Mini Rod to pass through. Once, it reaches the particular window with the fan beside it to clean, where you can see that the Mini Rod being sucked into the fan, it fully breaks and its nose will come out of the vent. This Mini Rod would sometimes spin and play on the rope it is tied on after cleaning a window, this is one of the only Mini Rods that isn't dangerous to J. Brown, the other one being the prototype Mini Rod.

##### Mechanic Mini Rod

The Mechanic Mini Rods walk around the factory's Engine Room (1) and the Hydroelectric Power Plant (2) with a wrench in their hand, sometimes fixing cables and bolt engines. Like most of the Mini Rods, they can also stun and raise the alarm system in the factory to alert Rod, this time, when they see Mike. They sometimes stop to spin their wrench and catch it while roaming around the factory when they either don't see J. or if you are playing in Ghost Mode. Unlike most of the Mini Rods whose robotic arms are covered in sleeves of their clothes, their robotic arms are more exposed.

##### The Prototype Mini Rod

The Prototype Mini Rod is different among the others, it doesn't speak, and its main duty is to burn trash in the incinerator. It is not hostile at all to J, but upon seeing him, it makes a sound as if it is raising a siren which can alert Rod. The prototype robot carries a shovel to carry trash. It was made by Joseph, and it was known as the 'first working prototype of a non-human assistant'. It was after creating this Mini Rod that many of Joseph's actual human workers were slowly fired from their jobs. It has a simple design, it has an antenna on its head, and it doesn't have a nose, its cheeks are lights which glow and flicker when the Mini Rod sees J, one of its blue eyes has been detached and is hanging out like a spring in Ice Scream 5. So far, there is only one Mini Rod prototype in the game, and the particular Mini Rod in the game (Ice Scream 5) is looking worn out since its 'stomach' part is exposed; we can see that it contains a system of cogwheels, which is the reason for the ability of the prototype to move, which means that the Mini Rod in the museum seen in Ice Scream 4 and 6 is still there since it seems to be in a good condition and kept safe in a glass case and that the worn out Mini Rod in Ice Scream 5 is another robot. This prototype also appeared in a cutscene of Ice Scream 5 where Rod was playing with the Mini Rod by pretending that he was feeding the robot, the Mini Rod in the cutscene wasn't moving at all which we can assume that the Mini Rod was either switched off by Joseph probably to keep his son safe from possible harm or it was just a model.

### Ice Scream 6

In this game, only one new type of Mini Rod is introduced, the Cook Mini Rod.

##### Cook Mini Rods

The Cook Mini Rods walk around the factory's four kitchens on the second floor (excluding one), they would usually walk around with a small amount of ingredients like egg yolk or milk on their spoons and put it in the pot and cook it, then smell it and taste it, and then Mati will come and check how well they've done. Like most Mini Rods, they can also stun and raise the alarm system of the factory, this time, when they see Charlie. In each kitchen, there is one Cook Mini Rod. Each Cook Mini Rod work on one ingredient - eggs and sugar on milk - depending on where they are working.

### Ice Scream 7

In this game, we have been introduced to two new types of Mini Rod, the Scientist Mini Rod and the Beta Mini Rod.

##### Scientist Mini Rods

The Scientist Mini Rods walk around the factory's laboratory and write on their clipboards, similar to the Operator Mini Rods. After escaping, however, this Mini Rod will disappear and reappear to chase us once we get the keycard.

##### Beta Mini Rod

The Beta Mini Rod is the Mini Rod that is in the lab's workshop area, which is Mike's area. It is not in working condition like the others; it doesn't speak, and it can't move on its own. You need to program it so you can get it to move in a certain way in the testing area to unlock Mike's exit.

### Ice Scream 8

In this game, only one new type of Mini Rod was introduced, the Lumberjack Mini Rod.

##### Lumberjack Mini Rods

The Lumberjack Mini Rods are often seen outside near the first generator power system, Charlie must shoot them with Rod's ice bullets from on top on the van.

## Quotes

### Exclusive to Operator Mini Rods and Scientist Mini Rods

* *"Everything thing is good here."*
* *"One, two, three, four." (Operator Mini-Rod)*

### Inclusive to more than one type of Mini Rod

* *"\*Beep\*" (When they go inactive or after stunning J./Mike/Charlie/Lis)*
* *"This is a pretty lonely job."* (Window Cleaner and Mechanic Mini Rods while idling)
* *"I am out of my service" (While idling)*
* *"Error! Error! Out of my zone. (While idling)*
* *"A little human has escaped" (When seeing J./Mike/Charlie/Lis)*
* *"Intruder Inside" (When seeing J./Mike/Charlie/Lis)*
* *"Intruder" (When seeing J./Mike/Charlie/Lis)*
* *"Sound the alarm" (When seeing J./Mike/Charlie/Lis)*

### Exclusive to Janitor Mini Rods

* *"This is messy, very messy."*
* *"Clean, clean!"*
* *"I think here I have already cleaned before."*
* *"This is dirty, really dirty!"*
* *"\*Humming\*"*

### Exclusive to the Window Cleaner Mini Rod

* *"Hey! Don't throw trash!"*
* *"All day busy hanging on this rope, it is not my fault that I see things I shouldn't see!"*
* *"Hey! Stop Bothering!*
* *"I'm coming!"*
* *"\*Screaming\*"*
* "*Clean! Clean!*
* *"Clean the glass, very clean window!"*
* *"Clean glass! Clean window!"*
* *"Oh nooo!"*
* *"Hahaha!" (this Mini Rod sometimes laughs)*

### Exclusive to Mechanic Mini Rods

* *"I think those cables should be fixed."*
* *"Energy levels have dropped a bit."*
* *"I think I'm missing a bolt. \*laughs\*"*

### Exclusive to Cook Mini Rods

* *"I think it smells pretty good."*
* *"Tasty!"*
* *"The most delicious ingredient in the world."*
* *"Yummy! Yummy!"*

## Trivia

* Keplerians Team describes the Mini Rods as *'naughty and playful little kids'* who do all the evil in the factory and they have also said that the role of the Mini Rods is similar to the Minions and the Oompa Loompas from the Roald Dahl's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
* The Mini Rods have the strongest A.I among Rod's inventions as not only they can commit to their duties, but they can also detect the kids from a distance (depends on the difficulty) and chase them while alerting Rod as well.
* The Mini Rods are the shortest characters in the franchise, as it was revealed in the canon heights for the characters made by Keplerians, with Boris being the tallest character.
* The 2 new types of Mini Rods in Ice Scream 5, a Window Cleaner Mini Rod and a Mechanic Mini Rod, with the latter being first seen in the Ice Scream 5 trailer and the former were first seen in one of the Ice Scream 5 screenshots from the pages from Google Play and App Store.
* The Window Cleaner Mini Rod and the Lumberjack Mini Rods are the only Mini Rods that don't alert Rod upon seeing J., and the Prototype is the only Mini Rod that seems to have a siren of its own as the others raise the alarm system of the factory.
* So far, there is only one Window Cleaner Mini Rod seen in the entire factory, it's unknown if there are more Window Cleaner Mini Rods in the factory.
* The title of the concept drawing of the Janitor Mini Rod is "Barrendero" which means "Street Sweeper" in Spanish.
* The Window Cleaner Mini Rod has the most voice lines of its own and is possibly the most talkative and interactive out of the others. It is also the only Mini Rod that doesn't seem to attack the protagonist in any way.
* The Window Cleaner Mini Rod in Ice Scream 5 is the first Mini Rod and the second robot assistant of Rod that has been completely destroyed by J with the first being Boris.
* As of Ice Scream 6, there are exactly 19 Mini Rods in the factory (excluding the prototype).
* In *Ice Scream 6*, some Mini Rods have been removed in certain areas of the factory museum.
* In Ice Scream 7, there are 2 Mini Rods in the lab.
* A Mini Rod can actually knock-out Rod, although he has to be close enough (in the radius of the shock) to be knocked-out for 60 seconds.
	+ A Mini Rod can also wake-up Boris in Ice Scream 4, so you don't need the Electro Gun to beat the game.
* The Mini Rods are programmed to fix Boris "if necessary." This is seen in Ice Scream 8 where the Mechanic Mini Rods are seen repairing Boris, when he wakes up.
* The Lumberjack Mini Rod is the only Mini Rod that works outside the Factory so far in the franchise. The Window Cleaner Mini Rod is also like this, but he still works in the factory area, not outside the factory, such as Joseph and Rod's home environment.
* The Lumberjack Mini Rod is the only hostile Mini Rod that doesn't attack with an electric shock, as it attacks with a hatchet.
* Interestingly, the Lumberjack Mini Rods are the only Mini Rods who don't have slightly damaged masks like the other Mini Rods. This could be because they are far away from the factory and in a secluded area.

## Gallery

### Concept Art

Concept Art of Janitor Mini RodConcept Art of Operator Mini Rod