Souptoys

Last updated
Souptoys
Souptoys logo.png
Developer(s) Souptoys Pty Ltd
Publisher(s) Oberon Media
Platform(s) Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
Release
  • WW: 2006
Genre(s) Sandbox game
Mode(s) Single player

Souptoys Toybox, also known simply as Souptoys, is a physics-based sandbox video game and "desktop toy" program for the Microsoft Windows systems. It was developed by a group of friends known as the Soupboys, based in Western Australia. [1] Initially made available for purchase sometime in early 2006, Souptoys was released as freeware on July 14 of the same year. [2] A number of updates have been released that add new toys to the game, although the game's official website is no longer accessible.

Contents

Gameplay

Souptoys includes a variety of physics-based objects which can be dragged from the "toybox" window onto the desktop, with the ability to be thrown and moved around with a computer mouse. Some objects, such as balls, cannons, gears, titling platforms, and colored wooden blocks, allow for level-building and the construction of Rube Goldberg-like contraptions, which could then be saved as a "playset" file and uploaded to the Souptoys website for others to download. [3] Several pre-made playsets are also included with the base game. While Souptoys overlays itself directly on to the player's screen, there is also an option to turn on a background which hides the desktop and any open programs with a blue checkerboard pattern.

Toys are divided into themed categories; Sports, Make & Break, Ted's Castle, Souper Six, Bumble Party, Pirates, Astrobots, Soup Labs, and Christmas Toys.

Reception

The game was received positively, with PC World describing the game as "amusing", although noting that the game can "eat up a lot of time if you're not careful." [3] Lifehacker praised the game as a "nice stress reliever for adults", but similarly mentioned "the potential to be the biggest productivity killer of all time." [5] Download.com editors' review compliments the number of pre-included playsets and verdicts that "the whole point of the game is experimentation". [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ArtRage</span> Bitmap graphics editor by Ambient Design Ltd.

ArtRage is a bitmap graphics editor for digital painting created by Ambient Design Ltd. It is currently in version 6, and supports Windows, macOS and mobile Apple and Android devices and is available in multiple languages. It caters to all ages and skill levels, from children to professional artists. ArtRage 5 was announced in January 2017 and released in February 2017.

The Print Shop is a desktop publishing software package originally published in 1984 by Broderbund. It was unique in that it provided libraries of clip art and templates through a simple interface to build signs, posters and banners with household dot-matrix printers. Over the years, the software has been updated to accommodate changing file formats and printer technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stardock</span> Software and video game developer

Stardock Corporation is an American software development company founded in 1991 and incorporated in 1993 as Stardock Systems. Stardock initially developed for the OS/2 platform, but was forced to switch to Microsoft Windows due to the collapse of the OS/2 software market between 1997 and 1998. The company is best known for computer programs that allow a user to modify or extend a graphical user interface as well as personal computer games, particularly strategy games such as the Galactic Civilizations series, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, Elemental: Fallen Enchantress, and Ashes of the Singularity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BumpTop</span> Desktop application

BumpTop is a 3D desktop environment that simulates the normal behavior and physical properties of a real-world desk and enhances it with automatic tools to organize its contents. It is aimed at stylus interaction, making it more suitable for tablet computers and handheld PCs. It was created at the University of Toronto as Anand Agarawala's master's thesis. Agarawala also gave a presentation at the TED conference about his idea. The 1.0 version was released on April 8, 2009, along with a fully featured pro version as a paid upgrade. On April 30, 2010 the author announced that BumpTop was being discontinued and that they were taking the software "in an exciting new direction." Two days later, it was announced that the company had been acquired by Google. On January 5, 2011, Google released a sneak preview video of Android 3.0 Honeycomb showing a 3D desktop with features purportedly taken from BumpTop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft PowerToys</span> Set of freeware system utilities developed by Microsoft

Microsoft PowerToys is a set of freeware system utilities designed for power users developed by Microsoft for use on the Windows operating system. These programs add or change features to maximize productivity or add more customization. PowerToys are available for Windows 95, Windows XP, Windows 10 and Windows 11. The PowerToys for Windows 10 and Windows 11 are free and open-source software licensed under the MIT License and hosted on GitHub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MediaFire</span> File hosting service

MediaFire is a file hosting, file synchronization, and cloud storage service based in Shenandoah, Texas, United States. Founded in June 2006 by Derek Labian and Tom Langridge, the company provides client software for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, BlackBerry 10, and web browsers. MediaFire has 43 million registered users and attracted 1.3 billion unique visitors to its domains in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fluid (web browser)</span> WebKit2-based site-specific browser (SSB) for Mac OS X

Fluid is a WebKit2-based site-specific browser (SSB) for Mac OS X created by Todd Ditchendorf. Its original WebKit-based version was compared to Mozilla Prism and mentioned in Lifehacker, TechCrunch, 43 Folders, the 37 Signals blog, and on InfoWorld as a way to make web applications more like native desktop applications.

<i>Sam & Max: The Devils Playhouse</i> 2010 point and click episodic video game

Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse is a graphic adventure video game developed by Telltale Games. It is the third and final season of the Sam & Max episodic series created by Telltale, following Sam & Max Save the World and Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space. The first episode was released as one of the first apps for the iPad on April 2, 2010, and was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and the PlayStation 3 on April 15. A remaster by Skunkape Games was released on August 14, 2024 for Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

<i>Disney Infinity</i> (video game) 2013 toys-to-life sandbox video game

Disney Infinity is a 2013 toys-to-life action-adventure game published by Disney Interactive Studios. It was announced on January 15, 2013. The game used collectible figurines that were then synchronized with the game, unlocking characters from Disney and Pixar properties that interact and go on adventures. The game was released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS in August 2013. A PC version of Toy Box was also released on November 14, 2013. The game had a budget approaching $100 million. A sequel, Disney Infinity 2.0, was released on September 23, 2014. The third edition, Disney Infinity 3.0, was released on August 30, 2015, and introduced support for the Apple TV. This game was also later released on Microsoft Windows in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raspberry Pi OS</span> Debian-based operating system for Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi OS is a Unix-like operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution for the Raspberry Pi family of compact single-board computers. Raspbian was developed independently in 2012, became the primary operating system for these boards since 2013, was originally optimized for the Raspberry Pi 1 and distributed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. The Raspberry Pi Foundation renamed it in 2020 as Raspberry Pi OS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mailbird</span> Desktop email client software app

Mailbird is a desktop email client for Microsoft Windows and MacOS, compatible with Windows 10 and Windows 11, and with Ventura or higher for Mac devices. Mailbird is offered via a paid subscription, but also includes a free version for both Windows and Mac users.

<i>Disney Infinity 2.0</i> 2014 toys-to-life sandbox video game

Disney Infinity 2.0 is a 2014 toys-to-life action-adventure game published by Disney Interactive Studios. It is the sequel to Disney Infinity (2013) and was announced on April 8, 2014. The game was released on September 23, 2014, in North America, September 19, 2014, in the United Kingdom, September 18, 2014, in Australia and the rest of Europe for iOS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PlayStation Vita on May 9, 2015.

<i>Disney Infinity</i> Toys-to-life sandbox video game series that ran from 2013 to 2015

Disney Infinity is an action-adventure sandbox toys-to-life video game series developed by Avalanche Software. The setting of the series was a giant customizable universe of imagination, known as the Toy Box, populated with toy versions of iconic Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars characters.

<i>Windosill</i> 2009 video game

Windosill is a 2009 puzzle video game by Vectorpark for Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, web browsers, and iOS. The player advances through eleven different rooms by interacting with each level's environmental objects. It was developed by Patrick Smith, an artist who taught himself to animate and program the game in Adobe Flash. He was inspired by a variety of painters and artists. The game was first released for Windows, OS X, and web browsers in 2009, and was later ported to the iPad in 2011, with several added features.

<i>Disney Infinity 3.0</i> 2015 action-adventure toys-to-life video game

Disney Infinity 3.0 is a 2015 toys-to-life action-adventure game published by Disney Interactive Studios for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Apple TV, and is the third and final installment in the toys-to-life Disney Infinity series. It was developed by Avalanche Software and Heavy Iron Studios with additional help from Ninja Theory, Studio Gobo, Sumo Digital, and United Front Games. It is the sequel to Disney Infinity 2.0 (2014). In contrast to its predecessor, which focused on Marvel Comics characters and playsets, 3.0 has a focus on the Star Wars franchise. The game was announced on May 5, 2015, and was released on August 28, 2015 in Europe and on August 30, 2015 in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KDE Gear</span> Set of applications and supporting libraries

The KDE Gear is a set of applications and supporting libraries that are developed by the KDE community, primarily used on Linux-based operating systems but mostly multiplatform, and released on a common release schedule.

<i>Animal Jam Classic</i> Online educational game

Animal Jam Classic, formerly known as Animal Jam, is a massively multiplayer online game that is developed by WildWorks and recommended for kids up to the age of 12. It was launched in 2010, in collaboration with the National Geographic Society. As of late 2020, there were 3.3 million monthly active users and a lifetime total of 130 million registered players in 200 countries across both Animal Jam Classic and Animal Jam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainmeter</span> Windows desktop customization tool

Rainmeter is a free and open-source desktop customization utility for Windows released under the GNU GPL v2 license. It allows users to create and display user-generated customizable desktop widgets or applets called "skins" that display information. Ready to use collections of skins can be downloaded and installed in packages known as "suites".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collabora Online</span> Online office suite based on LibreOffice

Collabora Online is an open source online office suite based on LibreOffice, enabling web-based collaborative real-time editing of word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and vector graphics. Optional apps are available for desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and Chromebooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GDevelop</span> Open-source, cross-platform game engine

GDevelop is a 2D and 3D cross-platform, free and open-source game engine, which mainly focuses on creating PC and mobile games, as well as HTML5 games playable in the browser. Created by Florian Rival, a software engineer at Google, GDevelop is mainly aimed at non-programmers and game developers of all skillsets, employing event based visual programming similar to engines like Construct, Stencyl, and Tynker.

References

  1. "Souptoys - New News and Featured Playsets". 2011-07-28. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  2. "Fun-Motion » Souptoys Released for Free" . Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  3. 1 2 "Free SoupToys Toybox Turns A Desktop Into a Playground". PCWorld . 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  4. 1 2 "Souptoys - Editors' Review". Download.com . 2009-11-10. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  5. "SoupToys Is Endless Desktop Fun for Your Child, May Decrease Your Productivity". Lifehacker . 11 April 2010. Retrieved 2021-09-30.