3. Design

Narrative Structure

Background storyline

In the plot of Bubble Bobble there are small variations, the American tell that the real villain of the game is Baron Von Blubba, a skel-monster who kidnaps the girlfriends Betty and Patty of our protagonists and also who transforms the brothers into bubble dragons who will have to finish 100 levels in the Cave of Monsters to rescue his girlfriends with their new bodies and abilities. Although, in the Japanese version, the story is the same but Super Drunk is the final villain of the game who kidnaps the girls, that later is actually Bub and Bob's parents who have been transformed and controlled by Boss of Dark Shadow, the final boss of the game Rainbow Islands.

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Analysis of Levels

We chose 5 levels to analyze their difficulty, items, power-ups, enemies, bosses, and collision layout. These levels are: Level 1, 6, 34, 46, and 100.

Level 1

• Collision Layout - Pink: Walls, Yellow: Platforms, Blue: Section of the platform without collision, meaning that can be trespassed upwards
• Difficulty - Easy
• Bubbles - Standard
• Clear Fruit - Cherries
• Enemies - Zen-Chan (x3)

Level 6

• Collision Layout - Pink: Walls, Yellow: Platforms, Blue: Section of the platform without collision, Green arrows: Warps
• Difficulty - Easy
• Bubbles - Standard + Water
• Clear Fruit - None
• Enemies - Zen-Chan (x2) + Maita (x2)

Level 34

• Collision Layout - Pink: Walls, Yellow: Platforms, Blue: Section of the platform without collision, Green arrows: Lightning bubbles will come from there
• Difficulty - Easy
• Bubbles - Standard + Lightning
• Clear Fruit - None
• Enemies - Maita (x7)

Level 46

• Collision Layout - Pink: Walls, Yellow: Platforms, Blue: Section of the platform without collision
• Difficulty - Medium
• Bubbles - Standard
• Clear Fruit - None
• Enemies - Banebou (x7)

Level 100

• Collision Layout - Pink: Walls, Yellow: Platforms, Blue: Section of the platform without collision
• Difficulty - Medium
• Bubbles - Standard + Lightning
• Clear Fruit - None
• BOSS - Super Drunk

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Gameplay

The gameplay of Bubble Bobble is really simple, you start controlling either Bub or Bob with 3 lives. The main mechanic of the game is to trap enemies in bubbles and then pop them with your horns to get eliminations. When dying, enemies give us points and leave items you can collect to obtain more points. Bubbles can also be used to gain height as you can jump over them. Once all the enemies are defeated, the stage is cleared.

Each enemy behaves differently, requiring players to adapt their strategies accordingly. Some enemies, will just move, while others will shoot projectiles to our dragons. Platforms of different heights give opportunities for strategic positioning, while walls can obstruct players progress and force them to move through the level carefully. In addition, to help us clear stages, there are special bubbles with power-ups and special items.

If you spend too much time trying to defeat all the enemies, a “HURRY UP!” message will appear, speeding up the level upsetting the enemies to move faster and casting projectiles in a shorter interval of time. If you still are not able to clear the stage, Skul-Monsta will appear to kill your dragon.

When both players run out of lives, the game will be over. A name register screen will appear with the high scores and initials of other players.

Characters

Playable Characters

Name	Description	Image
Bub	He is the protagonist of the game, a bubble dragon and twin brother of Bob. He lives in Rainbow Village on Rainbow Island with his parents and Bob, and his human form is known as Bubby. Player 1 will play with him.
Bob	He is the secondary protagonist of the game, a bubble dragon and twin brother of Bub. He lives as well in Rainbow Village on Rainbow Island with his parents and Bob, and his human form is known as Bobby. Player 2 will play with him.

Non-Playable Characters

Name	Description	Image
Bubby	Bubby is the human form of Bub
Bobby	Bobby is the human form of Bob
Betty	Betty is Bubby's girlfriend
Patty	Patty is Bobby's girlfriend
Mama	Mama is the mother of Bub and Bob
Papa	Papa is the father of Bub and Bob

Enemies

Name	First appearance	Description	Image
Zen-Chan	Stage 1	Zen-Chan is a box-shaped, clockwork walking monster with a medium moving speed. It has no attack move, but jumps in order to climb platforms. He can only harm the player by coming into contact with them.
Maita	Stage 6	Maita moves in a similar pattern to Zen-Chan, but has a projectile. Maita can throw rocks to try to kill the player on contact. These rocks crumble when they hit a wall or platform. He has a medium moving speed and good jumping abilities.
Banebou	Stage 30	Banebou has no attack move, but bounces with his spring around the level at a high speed. He kills the player on contact.
Skel-Monsta	After the time limit for a round has expired	Skel-Monsta can only move vertically or horizontally at timed intervals. It can pass through walls ceilings and floors, and speeds up until the stage is cleared, or the player is killed. Skel-Monsta kills on contact.

BOSS

Name	Description	Image
Super Drunk	This is the unique boss of Bubble Bobble, he guards our dragon's girlfriends on level 100. Super Drunk moves diagonally, bouncing on the walls of the stage, firing a wide arc of bottles at regular intervals. Unlike other enemies, he can only be harmed by hitting him with lightning bolts. On his level, there are lightning vases that allow Bub and Bob to kill him. He has high health points, and flashes when taking damage.

Items

Power-ups

Name	Description	How to get	Points	Image
Pink Candy	Bubbles travel farther	Blow 35 or more bubbles	100
Blue Candy	Bubbles fly faster	Pop 35 or more (standard) bubbles	100
Yellow Candy	Rapid-Fire bubbles	Jump 35 or more times	100
Sneaker	Allows the dragons to run faster, as well as jump and fall faster	Run across the full length of the screen 15 times	100
Clock	Stops time for the monsters, and freezes them in place. You can still be killed on contact with them	Pop 12 lightning bubbles	200
Chack'N Heart	Freezes enemies and allows you to run into them, turning them into items	Collect 50/55/60/65 defeated enemy fruits	3000
Lightning Potion	Gives the dragons the ability to blow lightning bubbles	Reach level 100	1000

Fruits

Name	Points	Image
Orange	400
Peach	450
Banana	500
Cherry	700

Food

Name	Points	Image
Corndog	2000
Flan	2000
Strawberry shortcake	2000

Bubbles

Standard Bubbles

The bubble forms part of the main mechanic of the game mentioned before, it is the projectile blown by Bub and Bob that allows the dragons to jump over them or trap the enemies. Once hit with the horns, the bubbles pop and defeat enemies, drop power-ups, or display PON.

Special Bubbles

Name	Description	Image
Water	When popped, water bubbles release a flood of water that flows around the level attempting to reach the bottom and drain out. If an enemy or player touches the water released, they will get caught up by the torrent and reappear at the top of the screen after reaching the bottom warp.
Lightning	When popped, they send a lightning bolt across the screen. These lightning bolts will trespass walls, and, if they contact any enemy they will die. This lightning bolt will not kill the dragons but on contact with them, it will shock and stun them momentarily. Lightnings travel horizontally in the direction oposite to the one Bub/Bob are facing in the moment they pop the bubbles.
Fireball	These bubbles only have a 1 in 4096 chance of ever appearing on a stage that generates bubbles automatically. When popped, fire breath is given to the player, giving the dragons the ability to blow 16 fireballs for the next five rounds!
E-X-T-E-N-D	These bubbles allow the player to earn extra lives if the word "EXTEND" is completed by popping the bubbles with its letters. When a player pops a complete collection of all six bubbles to spell out the word, gameplay is interrupted and the player is treated to a cinematic, after this, the player is rewarded with an extra life.

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Controls

The control we will use to start the game will be INTRO and for the movements of Player1 and Player2:

1UP:

• Left = A
• Right = S
• Jump = W
• Bubble = SHIFT

2UP:

• Left = J
• Right = L
• Jump = I
• Bubble = SPACE

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