[PLAY] Bubble Islands!

Hi everyone!

Ok, "Bubble Islands" (aka BI) is finally online!


http://www.dot-invasion.com/bislands...e_wapiwapi.jpg


Following the Independant Games Festival program (BI is finalist this year as "Best Web Game" there, check the link here), BI needs to be available online in order to compete in the "Audience Award" section, promoted through Gamasutra, IGF and Gamespot. The goal is to gather votes from the public, and become the 2007 winner.


So, here's the game, playable online...


This is the same version sent to the IGF with some very little enhancements; and since it's unfinished (yay, that's an independant game developement, what do you want...), we called it version 0.5; it's complete enough to be called a full game though! Look:

- 3 different game modes (so far)
- 10 playable characters (so far)
- Many secrets to unlock
- 100 puzzles (so far)

You'll definitively not play it and say "i completed it" after 5 minutes, believe me ^_^ Just the puzzle mode will require several hours of your time... (unless you are a pro? mmhhh...) And the Arcade Mode is challenging enough, i guess..


Also, we planned many big things for the version 1.0, one of the additons is a full multi-player feature! Yes, you'll be able to play against another player in real-time through internet. Or watch them play. Or build, name and submit your own puzzle, also play the puzzle of the other members, etc... But enough, let's play the current version!!

Be sure to read the "manual" section, there's a detailed description of how to play BI... As i said, this is the version used for the IGF, so there's no online score, your own score and anything you'll unlock will be stored via flash cookies, on your computer.


>>> PLAY BUBBLE ISLANDS <<<


enjoy!

And that's terrible, as usual the offline version plays like a console game, and the online version like a slug version of it... doh.

absolute perfection. Executed in such a way it reminds me of a console game. This is one of the best games i have ever played, i love the flowing animation, sounds and attention to detail which makes it stand out so well. Even the fact that transitions don't break in the menu system is great. The graphics and animation are amazing and suit the music and sound perfectly.

I just love it. Top stuff that.

sending it around work right now

That's great, did you base the game on PuyoPuyo?(or whatever the English title for that is)
Like the comments say you'd never know it wasn't a DS game. It's extremely well-polished and Japanese-like - let's all try to make Flash games at this standard of quality. I think the future implementation of a multiplayer option in 1.0 will push the game even further ahead of the crowd.

p.s.Now go and make something more macho..

One word can sum up this game: Perfect.

I cannot complain or suggest anything, because everything was spot on. This is one of the best flash games I've ever played, and it puts most other puzzle games to shame. My favourite aspects of the game are: The gameplay (A+), graphics (pure eye candy:D) and the performance (It shocks me how fast it runs). Imo you've definatly stepped flash games up to a new level.

btw, best of luck in the IGF and congrats for just being nominated:thumbsup:.

Viza

Ok. The arlam clock didn't ring and I'm still dreaming.
I should wake up now.

About time ;)

Excellent work babe, gosh, I remember this game way back when we were both young.
It's come along a bit since then :)

Good luck with the comp blue, make sure to keep us all posted.

Squize.

Stunning...

Yeah, all I can do is parrot what everyone else is saying. Absolutely fantastic.

Give yourself a huge pat on the back.

As said before, you've bumped up the level and quality of flash games. Awesome work and real smooth, gratz :mrpimp:

Great effort. Not bad. Not bad at all. Stunning visuals. Gameplay style is not my cup of tea, but the game as a whole is fascinating.

Oh dear if I start playing this I'm gonna miss a deadline.

I'll come back to it, but it looks amazing. What's the framerate? It looks pretty high to get that smoothness in the transitions. Congrats on being nominated for an award.

absaloutley stunning my little marmotte. It's all just perfect, and a special well done on doing such good music in as well, just a perfect package all round, bravo.

chris error x

yaaay, thanks a lot for your comments!

mr_malee
Oh my... i should put your whole post in my CV, haha. Thanks!

EvilKris
Remember, one of my dream is to make a Silent Hill-like game in flash (now i'm just waiting for some news about Silent Hill 5, dammit)! And yes, BI is inspired by several puzzle games, including Puyo Puyo and Nazo Puyo, also Plus Plumb.

Viza
Thanks, the nominations should start in a week, but i'll keep you posted!

fil_razorback
That sounds like the ending of SMB2 ^_^

Squize
Hey babe, haha yes, i found some files of BI that are from 2003 already! At this time we were young, but... it doesn't look like we are that older nowadays :)

happinessSam
...mmmh, what you are asking is not that easy, but i'll try (marmotte goes on the floor and puts himself in a weird position). *PAT*

Cloud RedXIII
Welcome to Flashkit, dear FF7 lover! :P And thanks.

ImprisonedPride
Thanks for posting even if you aren't a fan of that kind of games!

lesli_felix
hahaha, mate, i hope you'll make it in time then! About the framerate, the offline version runs in 59 fps. For the browsers, i had to bump it to +20 unfortunately. I hope it plays half as well as the offline version for everyone.

chriserrorplain
Thanks for mentionning the soundtrack, i think it's really well done too. Each character has its own theme, and there are many different music styles. The sound part isn't complete yet, many sound FX are missing... i hope to add everything for the next version of the game.

Incredible. One of the best flash games I've ever played. Congratulations, I would think the competition was yours with this entry.

Same than IP, I'm not a big fan of that type of puzzle game, but the production value, animation, etc a re absolutely stunning ! just to see my little angel victory bounce, I actually enjoyed going through a full level

I also like the subtle references to your "company" logo :)
Incredibly well done, I totally think it was worth the wait

Now, give the link for us to vote :)

Totally awesome dude. Thought I was playing a DS game for a second. I wasn't able to listen to sound but everything else is great. I just love the character animations. Congrads on the sweet game and good luck in comp.

yeah,this game has come a long long way, i can remember playing the first rough version ages ago,too :)
Congrats on sticking so long to it and polishing it all the time mate,i like the puyo puyo type gameplay, though its not my favorite, but you´ve also added the nice isle sinking feature and the character abilities and the whole game shows so much love to detail its a pleasure to try it :)
Now go for it and win that compo :D

Well what can I say? Its all been said already, but I have to comment because this is truly a stunning piece of work. The fluid animations, quality sound effects and general attention to detail makes this a real pleasure to play. As has already been said, this could easily pass as a console game. Love it :)

Ali

Quote:

---

EvilKris
Remember, one of my dream is to make a Silent Hill-like game in flash (now i'm just waiting for some news about Silent Hill 5, dammit)! And yes, BI is inspired by several puzzle games, including Puyo Puyo and Nazo Puyo, also Plus Plumb.

---

Silent Hill 5? Resident Evil 5 more like. Though I wouldn't mind seeing a clone of either done in Flash (mode 7 engine???).
Let me know if you ever get serious about doing it and I'll brainstorm over some script concepts with ya.

CRISP LIKE CHIPS! Reespektaa! :thumbsup:

super slick smashing sopping wet spinny flash fun jazz!

polished til it shines!

Great job! (I'm sad to see it plays very similar to a game of mine I never finished. heheh)

Can you tell us about your blur effects? Are they:

1. Real time Flash 8 blurs
or
2. Precalculated Flash 8 blurs
or
3. All done in photoshop an dimported

??

EvilKris
Well yes, who knows... it should be great to have a horror-themed and disturbing game made in flash with a real story (divided in chapters?); there aren't many of those...

Ray Beez
Oh, i'm sorry about your idea... But well, let's admit that it's not awesomely original :)
Anyway, blurs are done in real time, depending on the speed/movement (they were also my 1st blurs ever in flash, woohoo!). This is especially obvious when a bomb is exploding, the whole playing area of the character becomes blurry depending on the direction of the shaking (which is random)

Great job, the game positively reeks of polish! :)

Very very nice...

But you know this... man ~!

just doesn't get any better. awesome work dude!

Simply amazing! Well worth the wait, I must say...
When I saw the thread I did a double take, I didn't think this day would ever come!
Only small thing I noted was something you already mentioned but some soundFX seemed to be missing. So whats the next game I can wait a few years to play?

That has the be the sexiest thing I have seen in a very long time. Love the unlockable features idea. Great work mate. Number 2 come out soon?

Thanks for the new comments!

ChaseNYC
hahaha, your post made me laugh :p
Yeah, who knows how many years you'll have to wait for a new game from me...

Well, i'm working on some flash games "for money" atm, so of course the level of polishing is completely different (but i'll not miss to link them here).

Now, if you want to talk about the next independant game, i... have many ideas (and some of them are, this time, really original). But i'll stick with Bubble Islands, the next installment (not BI 2, but the real BI, though it should be different enough to be considered as a whole new game... +200% more content, do you believe it? :doughnut: I'm writing a game design doc right now explaining the new features, i'll not fully work on the code this time, so i'll have more time to deliver many new graphics, sounds and stuffs)

hooligan2001
Indeed, i have an idea for BI 2, the gameplay being totally different, but still arcade / puzzle / cute / award winning *cough* oups. But as i said, i'm still working on the real Bubble Islands... I guess i'll post some news about it soon...

Nice to see this finally available for public consumption Marmotte! It's like sweet candy made with your secret recipe - more sugary than the most japanese of import games and far far better than the majority of puzzle games I've played over the past year. A real showcase for flash and a stunning game it its own right.

One thing I've noticed with you - you never take shortcuts - everything is polished ad infinitum until it's 'right'. Kudos - t'is a gem :)

Hmm, I want you to make pixelboy version! I still love meteor busters! I think I was the first one on forums to get one of the secret codes(very well could be wrong about this).

Just curious, are there any plans in terms of selling this game/making money off of it (hope this is not a rude question)? Dreams/realities of porting this to a portable device?"

By the way, the site design is stunning as well. As many have said, you and your team are truly a thorough bunch.

Excellent work! There's not a single thing to complain about its just perfect and really addictive. Great job!

Rather enjoyed playing the game, but the link now appears to be down.

"but the link now appears to be down"

Sorry, due to increased success and so many clicks, my host (that offers unlimited monthly bandwith) announced that 42'000 sites it's hosting were unstable because of the game, and said that i would need a specific server dedicated only for the game... They decided to remove it, but I managed to transfer the game to another host, that is painfully slow at the moment... I will try to sort it ASAP

thanks for your patience ^_^ (and no, that announce isn't fake, used for commercial purpose and promote the game even more. I'm not Sony, hahaha)

If it happened to me, I think I'd be quite happy even if my host would kill me ^^

yep, but that situation is crappy T_T

(Especially when the public will have to play and vote for the IGF winner this year)

seems only one of the three competing for best web game is actually up right now...

I've wanted to play this since I first saw you post about it...and now the servers are "saturated"

0/10...I don't like saturated servers.


I really really really can't wait to play the actual game though seeing how post after post pronounces it's perfection.

Ok...

The game SHOULD be available again... I say "should" because the demand is... more than huge...

it's a real Tsunami, honestly... i'm using several servers only for that game, and it's still not enough. there are currently 340 connections / second...

:) Never make a real-time multiplayer game. You'd run out of bandwidth in seconds.