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Flood (computer game)
Encyclopedia
Flood is a 1990
computer game developed by Bullfrog Productions
. It was published for the Amiga
and Atari ST
by Electronic Arts
. The game is a Platform game
where the objective is to collect all the litter and find the exit to the level. The game was not a huge commercial success and contained rather experimental styles of gameplay for its time, as well as a quirky sense of humour.
life-form, he can only breathe above water and will start to drown if he runs out of air.
In each level, you are followed by the ghost of your Auntie Mabel. She copies your movements exactly and starts off about 15 seconds behind you. However, she is very slightly faster than you and will eventually catch up with you. Touching the ghost will hurt Quiffy.
Most of the levels have taps in them, which pour water in to the level. The modelling of the water was quite advanced for a home computer game of its time; the water will flow to the lowest point that it can and when multiple taps are pouring water in one place, it will fill up proportionally fast. A lot of levels feature taps in all areas so the entire level will eventually flood, leaving Quiffy with no available source of air. This aspect is how the game derives its title.
#164 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.
1990 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*Bonk's Adventure is released for NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and is the first US appearance of Bonk, the mascot of the TurboGrafx-16.*February 12 — Nintendo releases the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3 in North America...
computer game developed by Bullfrog Productions
Bullfrog Productions
Bullfrog Productions was a UK computer game developer that was founded in 1987 by Les Edgar and Peter Molyneux. The company achieved recognition in 1989 for their third release, Populous....
. It was published for the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
. The game is a Platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
where the objective is to collect all the litter and find the exit to the level. The game was not a huge commercial success and contained rather experimental styles of gameplay for its time, as well as a quirky sense of humour.
Background
The player controls a character named 'Quiffy', who is the last of his race of small green creatures. He lives underground in a series of sewers and tunnels. His mission is to reach the surface by navigating all the sewers, whilst they are slowly flooding. Quiffy can walk on walls and ceilings.Gameplay
Quiffy must collect all of the various pieces of litter on the level and then find the exit to complete each level. In general the litter is not particularly hidden, it is just distributed around the level. Quiffy can climb on most walls and ceilings, and swim through water. He has energy which depletes upon touching dangerous objects, but can also die instantly when touching any of the few lethal objects. Although he can swim and has the appearance of an amphibiousAmphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
life-form, he can only breathe above water and will start to drown if he runs out of air.
In each level, you are followed by the ghost of your Auntie Mabel. She copies your movements exactly and starts off about 15 seconds behind you. However, she is very slightly faster than you and will eventually catch up with you. Touching the ghost will hurt Quiffy.
Most of the levels have taps in them, which pour water in to the level. The modelling of the water was quite advanced for a home computer game of its time; the water will flow to the lowest point that it can and when multiple taps are pouring water in one place, it will fill up proportionally fast. A lot of levels feature taps in all areas so the entire level will eventually flood, leaving Quiffy with no available source of air. This aspect is how the game derives its title.
Weapons
Quiffy starts each level with no weapon, and can pick up any of five available weapons. He can only hold one of these at any time and if he picks up another one, it will swap for the current one.- BoomerangBoomerangA boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used as a weapon or for sport.-Description:A boomerang is usually thought of as a wooden device, although historically boomerang-like devices have also been made from bones. Modern boomerangs used for sport are often made from carbon fibre-reinforced...
: This spins in a curve back towards the player. - DynamiteDynamiteDynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
: This sits for a second and then explodes with a large force. It is easy to injure yourself with this weapon. - FlamethrowerFlamethrowerA flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...
: A horizontal wall of fire shoots out, and extends to unlimited range, and remains until the player lets go of the fire button. This is the most powerful weapon. - GrenadesHand grenadeA hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
: A grenade drops and explodes with a smaller force than the dynamite. It is similarly possible to injure yourself with this weapon. - Shuriken: A throwing star shoots out diagonally and bounces off walls for a while. This weapon is extremely good at spreading damage over a wide area.
Enemies
There are various enemies on each level, some of which have special properties. In general the enemies move around in with a specific pattern, and when killed will throw a heart up which will return health to Quiffy.- One enemy resembles a teddy bearTeddy bearThe teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
, but has a large mouth with a set of teeth in its stomach. It can eat the litter so Quiffy doesn't have to pick it up. They will kill Quiffy with a single touch, though. They are called "Psycho Teddy" - One enemy looks like a walking squidSquidSquid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...
and will create litter wherever it walks. This makes it slightly harder for the player. They are called "Bulbous-headed Vongs" - The enemies had curious names such as 'Plonkin Donkin'.
- "Aunt Matilda" is the name of the ghost that follows you around
Obstacles and traps
- LaserLaserA laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
s: These appear like a beam of light stretching between two metal gaskets. The light extends from each side to the middle and retracts again at periodic intervals. Unlike a real laser, the light moves very slowly, and Quiffy can walk on top of the beam or stick to the underside. If the extending light hits Quiffy, it will hurt him a small amount and then start to retract. - Missile launchers: These fire out a barrage of dangerous missiles.
- LavaLavaLava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
: This is fatal to Quiffy. The lava does not react to the flood water in any way. - Warps: These look like exits or other doors, and move you between another similar door elsewhere in the level.
- Land mineLand mineA land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
s: These explode like a grenade and throw up a heart as well as catapulting Quiffy up in the air. - Switches: You can change parts of the levels with switches, and sometimes the changes can be quite drastic, such as suddenly creating a large group of enemies out of nowhere, or restructuring large parts of the level.
- CrystalCrystalA crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
: There is also a small crystal which will kill Quiffy instantly, it only appears in two levels of the game.
Items
- BalloonsHot air balloonThe hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
: If Quiffy touches the balloon dispenser, he will get a set of three balloons and float upwards towards the top of the level. He will only fall if the balloons are popped, either by being hit by an enemy or by touching a wall. - ParachuteParachuteA parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
: This is similar to the balloons, only working downwards instead of upwards. - PlungerPlungerA plunger is a common device that is used to release stoppages in plumbing. The tool consists of a rubber cup with an attached stick "shaft", usually made of wood or bronze. Before use, any objects such as hair in the plug grate should be removed and, if possible the overflow hole should be...
: This stops all taps on the level for a short amount of time. - DripDrop (liquid)A drop or droplet is a small column of liquid, bounded completely or almost completely by free surfaces. A drop may form when liquid accumulates at the lower end of a tube or other surface boundary, producing a hanging drop called a pendant drop...
: This speeds up all taps on the level, making it roughly the opposite of the plunger item. - CocktailCocktailA cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
: This fills up Quiffy's health to maximum. - Pint of GuinnessGuinnessGuinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
: This gives Quiffy an extra life. - Space hopperSpace hopperA space hopper, also known as a moon hopper, skippyball, kangaroo ball, bouncer, hoppity hop, or hop ball, is a rubber ball with handles which allow one to sit on it without falling off...
: Quiffy can ride this and bounce around the play area, able to reach much greater heights than with regular jumping.
Trivia
- The ending cutscene featured Quiffy being run over by a car after reaching the surface.
- The flame thrower weapon randomly changes into a rubber chickenRubber chickenA rubber chicken is a prop used in comedy. The phrase is also used as a description for food served at speeches, conventions, and other large meetings, and as a metaphor for speechmaking.-Comedy:...
at infrequent intervals, with Quiffy responding with a surprised look. The player has to press fire again to use the flame thrower. - The levels are accessed using four letter passwords, which were all real words. Although passwords for most of the levels exist, the game infrequently gave them out. The final level has the password 'MEEK' which may be a reference to the meek inheriting the EarthBeatitudesIn Christianity, the Beatitudes are a set of teachings by Jesus that appear in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The term Beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate, or blissful....
. - Almost all the levels feature a secret bonus area which you can only access by getting Quiffy in to a specific, exact position. When he is in that position, he will instantly appear in the bonus area. Getting him out of the bonus area is similarly done by positioning Quiffy but usually easier because the exits are placed in logical or obvious ways. Finding these areas is notoriously difficult as there are no clues and many possibilities, and they are only likely to be found by chance.
Reception
The game was reviewed in 1990 in DragonDragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#164 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.