2. Design

INDEX

NARRATIVE

CHARACTERS

ANALYSIS OF EACH LEVEL

GAMEPLAY

CONTROLS

NARRATIVE

Plot

In Rainbow Village, Bubby and Bobby live with their girlfriends, Betty and Patty. One day, the two girls leave the village to explore the woods, stumbling into a mysterious area known as the Magician's Forest. Due to their unfamiliar surroundings, the two got lost, wandering into a cave deep in the forest known as the Cave of Monsters. The girls meet Super Drunk, master of the cave and final boss, who kidnaps them and traps them on the 100th floor. Bubby and Bobby set out to rescue the two, but run with of Super Drunk as well, who transforms them into Bubble Dragons. Now known as Bub and Bob, using their new abilities, the two set out to journey through all of the one hundred floors of the cave in order to rescue the girls.

Main objective

Defeat the boss on the 100th floor and rescue the girls.

Endings:

Bubble Bobble features three endings: the good ending, the bad ending, and the true ending.

Good Ending:

The good ending is unlocked if the game is beaten in multiplayer. Betty and Patty are rescued but the game informs you that this is not the true ending.

Bad Ending:

The bad ending is unlocked when the game is beaten in single player. Betty is rescued from a bubble, but not Patty. The game tells you: “Never forget your friend!” and then sends you to try again.

True Ending: (not in this version!)

To unlock the true ending first you need to beat the game in the Super Mode, which is unlocked by inputting a button combination in the starting screen. In this ending, Betty and Patty are freed, and a large Bubble Dragon drops down and transforms into Bubby and Bobby’s parents. Then the game plays this message:

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU COULD HELP YOUR FATHER & MOTHER! THEY WERE CONTROLLED BY SOMEONE. WHO IS HE? NO ONE KNOWS OF IT! THE TRUTH IS IN THE DARKNESS FOREVER...

CHARACTERS

Playable characters

Name	Information	Photo
Bub	He is a Bubble Dragon. He lives in the Rainbow Village on Rainbow Island with his parents and brother, and his human form is known as Bubby. He is Bob's brother. He is played by Player1.
Bob	He is a blue Bubble Dragon. He lives in the Rainbow Village on Rainbow Island with his parents and brother. His human form is named Bobby. He is Bub's brother. He is played by Player2.

Non-Playable characters

Name	Information	Photo
Bubby	Bubby is the human form of Bub.
Bobby	Bubby is the human form of Bob.
Betty	Betty is Bubby's girlfriend.
Patty	Patty is Bobby’s girlfriend.

Enemies

Name	Type	Information	Photo
Zen-chan	enemy	Zen-Chan is the most common type of enemy in the game. They just move from left to right and jump when the player is above them.
Drunk	enemy	Drunk is a type of enemy that attacks by throwing bottles at the player. They jump higher and move faster than most enemies.
Banebou	enemy	Banebou are enemies based on a coil. They bounce across the level in an arc pattern
Hidegons	enemy	They walk from left to right, and they shoot a fireball if the player is in its sight.
Hullaballoon	enemy	They attack by flying around the level
Super Drunk	boss	Super Drunk is the final boss that appears on the 100th floor.
Baron Von Blubba	enemy	Baron Von Blubba is the creepiest character in the game and serves as a time enforcer. He will kill one of the players if they last too much time in one level.

ANALYSIS OF EACH LEVEL

For our bubble bobble tribute, we choosed five levels to replicate: round 1, round 3, round 30, round 54 and round 100.

Round 1 (First level)

Collision layout (Red: walls, Yellow: platforms that can be accessed jumping from below)

Difficulty: easy

Bubbles: none

Clear fruit: cherries

Enemies: 3 x Zen-Chan

Round 3 (Second level)

Collision layout (Red: walls, Yellow: platforms that can be accessed jumping from below, Green arrows: warps)

Difficulty: easy

Bubbles: standard

Clear fruit: none

Enemies: 4 x Zen-Chan

Round 30 (Third level)

Collision layout (Red: walls, Yellow: platforms that can be accessed jumping from below, Green arrows: warps)

Difficulty: easy

Bubbles: lightning, standard

Clear fruit: apples

Enemies: 5 x Banebou, 2 x Hullaballon

Round 54 (Fourth level)

Collision layout (Red: walls, Yellow: platforms that can be accessed jumping from below)

Difficulty: medium

Bubbles: none

Clear fruit: none

Enemies: 5 x Drunk, 2 x Hidegons

Round 100 (Boss fight)(Fifth level)

Collision layout (Red: walls, Yellow: platforms that can be accessed jumping from below)

Difficulty: medium

Bubbles: none

Clear fruit: none

Enemies: 1 x SuperDrunk

Strategy: Blow the rays from the drug of thunder to stun the boss and jail it inside a bubble, and touch the bubble to pop it to save the girls

GAMEPLAY

In Bubble Bobble each player controls one of the two Bubble Dragons. Each player starts with 3 lives. The main mechanic consists of throwing bubbles to trap and pop enemies in order to defeat them. These enemies leave behind some collectible items that work as bonus points. Bubbles are also used to allow the two Dragons to step into them and get to platforms that are impossible to reach jumping normally. When all enemies are defeated, the players proceed to the next stage.

There are certain levels that contain different power-ups called Special Bubbles. Thunder bubbles send a lightning bolt horizontally through the screen. Fire Bubbles creates a flaming area in the ground defeating any enemy that touches it. Water Bubbles create like a water river that travels down through the level.

If the players take so much time in one stage, the enemies turn red and Baron Von Blubba will appear and will try to kill one of the players.

When both players get to 0 lives, it is Game Over, and a name register screen with today's highscore appears.

Items

Special Items

Name	Function	Condition	Points	Photo
Drug of thunder	Allows the player to blow Thunder Bubbles	It is only found in round 100, to kill the final boss	1000
Pink Candy	Extends the distance that the player's bubbles travel	Appears after blowing 35 or more bubbles	100
Blue Candy	Increases the speed of the player's bubbles	Appears after popping 35 or more bubbles	100
Yellow Candy	Increases the firing rate of the player's bubbles	Appears after jumping 35 or more times	100
Clock	Stops the time, leaving enemies inmobile for a fixed time	It appears after popping 12 thunder bubbles, so it will only appear in the boss battle	200
Shoes	Makes the player movement faster	It appears when the player has walked a distance larger than 15 times the screen Width	100
Silver Door	Gets the player into a secret room	Appears in round 30 as a secret door if the player overlaps an invisible trigger	1000

Fruits

Name	Points	Photo
Cherry	700
Banana	500
Apple	700
Grapes	4000
Lemon	350
Persimmon	300
Pear	550
Watermelon	600

Food

Name	Points	Photo
Hamburger	2000
Shortcake	2000
Ice Cream	1000
Hotdog	500
Sushi	3000
Cocktail	3000
Beer	4000

Bubble

The Bubble is the projectile that comes out of the mouth of the two dinosaurs, and the main mechanic in the game. It is used to trap the enemies into bubbles, and when they are popped they leave food. It can also be used in order to achieve obstacles that are impossible to access without jumping over the bubbles. They are popped when the character stomps into them, jumping from below them and also horizontally when they are crushed between the player and the wall.

CONTROLS

PC REMAPPED CONTROLS

INTRO - start

PLAYER1:

A - move to the left

D - move to the right

W - jump

SHIFT - shoot bubble

PLAYER2:

J - move to the left

L - move to the right

I - jump

SPACE - shoot bubble