Plobb!

Last updated
Plobb!'
Plobb Title.jpg
Screenshot game intro
Developer(s) Nothing Ltd.
Designer(s) Bastiaan van Rooden, Nothing ltd.
Platform(s) Windows 98/ME/2000/Vista/7;
Mac OS X
Release Windows : 2005;
Mac OS X : 2007
Genre(s) Shoot 'em up
Mode(s) Single Player

Plobb! is a single-player 2D freeware game developed with BlitzMax. [1] The game involves the player guiding the small blob-shaped main character named "Plobb" around the screen where he is attacked by enemy bubbles. The aim is to eliminate the bubbles and finally also the arch-enemy in order to win the game and regain Plobb's freedom.

Blobject

A blobject is a design product, often a household object, distinguished by smooth flowing curves, bright colors, and an absence of sharp edges. The word is generally held to be a portmanteau, a contraction of "blob" and "object."

Contents

The game was created as a research project by Bastiaan van Rooden from Nothing Ltd., Switzerland, which develops other freeware games but also advergames among other products. It is available as a stand-alone offline game for download free of charge. First launched in 2005, the game was only available for Windows while a version compatible with Mac OS X was developed in 2007. [2] The game is distributed via download from the website of Nothing Ltd. [3]

Switzerland federal republic in Central Europe

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a country situated in western, central, and southern Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The sovereign state is a federal republic bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning a total area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8.5 million people is concentrated mostly on the plateau, where the largest cities are to be found: among them are the two global cities and economic centres Zürich and Geneva.

Gameplay

An introduction tells the story of Plobb's captivation by his arch-enemy the Evil Motts of Psodor. In order to escape from Evil Motts' Castle of Nightmares Plobb has, by spitting shots, to fight and eliminate the enemy bubbles that sap his energy.

The game-play structure follows those of classic shoot 'em ups of the 80s, also known as Golden Age of Arcade Games, and resembles first and foremost the game-play of Asteroids. It follows a simple and intuitive game-play pattern. The player, acting by the avatar Plobb throughout the game has to navigate around the bubbles that come crossing the screen and to aim shots at them by spitting in their direction. The player navigates Plobb by placing the cursor in the direction of or directly on the target towards which Plobb will then move to and upon left mouse click also will emit shots. The speed with which Plobb moves increases with the distance of the cursor to the actual position of Plobb on the screen. The bubbles differ in size and react to being shot at by dividing into two smaller bubbles until disappearing completely. If Plobb is touched by an enemy bubble he will lose energy.

Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of video games within the shooter subgenre in the action genre. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up. Some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of character movement; others allow a broader definition including characters on foot and a variety of perspectives.

Avatar (computing) graphical representation of the user or the users alter ego or character

In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. An icon or figure representing a particular person in a video game, Internet forum, etc. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. Avatar images have also been referred to as "picons" in the past, though the usage of this term is uncommon now. It can also refer to a text construct found on early systems such as MUDs. The term "avatar" can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user.

The play is structured in 5 worlds with 5 levels each with the final fight between Plobb and Evil Motts on a separate last level.

Design elements used in the Plobb! game Plobb Assets.jpg
Design elements used in the Plobb! game

Critical reception

Although kept simply structured, the game design uses colors and shapes to the effect of creating candy store aesthetics. The generally round and colorful design can be considered a distinct characteristic of the Plobb! game and an original game design concept. [4]

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References

  1. ↑ BlitzMax Research Discussion, retrieved on March 01, 2008
  2. ↑ "Plobb! nun auch für OSX", retrieved on February 15, 2008
  3. ↑ "Plobb! - Hall of Fame", retrieved on February 11, 2008
  4. ↑ E. Santos, Softonic Editor's review, January 20, 2008
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