Bubbles

[hansolo77]

Bubbles Leaderboard

 

POSITION	USER NAME	TOTAL SCORE
1	Mame Offender	183,200
2	Cynicaster	146,450
3	ExedExes	118,640
4	Luigimaker	72,700
5	rtkiii	67,460
6	millerbrad	49,230
7	RedDog	46,580
8	Floyd Turbo	39,980
9	hansolo77	29,610

Last Updated by hansolo77: 04-20-2019

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Please use these settings when submitting a hi-score for Bubbles:

ROMSet: Bubbles
Extra Man: Every 25,000 [Internal Default]
Men For 1 Credit Game: 3 [Internal Default]
Difficulty of Play: 5 [Internal Default]
Special Rules: None

The green coloured default values match the Twin Galaxies settings.
The red coloured values need to be changed!

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# you can change your Mame dip switch settings by following this guide:
# you can make a printscreen of your hi-score screen by following this guide:
# general rules for submitting you hi-score:

 

[hansolo77]

September 2016's BONUS game comes to us courtesy of our August 2016 GOTM winner MAME Offender!  We like to give our winners something back as a congratulatory gift, and this was the game he chose as one of his favorites.  So enjoy this odd gem!  If you think you're doing really good, be sure to pop over to the official World Rankings site (TwinGalaxies) and compare.  If you're REALLY that good, you should record your progress in Wolfmame and send it to them to have your name forever glorified on their website!

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Bubbles is an arcade video game developed by Williams Electronics and released in 1982. The player uses a joystick to control a bubble in a kitchen sink. The object is to progress through levels by cleaning the sink while avoiding enemies. The game received a mixed reception from critics.

Development was handled by John Kotlarik and Python Anghelo. Kotlarik wanted to create a non-violent game inspired by Pac-Man. Anghelo designed the game's artwork and scenario as well as a special plastic cabinet that saw limited use. Bubbles was not ported to any contemporary systems, but was later released as a web-based version and on home consoles as part of arcade compilations.

Bubbles is an action game with puzzle elements where the player controls the protagonist, a soap bubble, from a top-down perspective. The object is to clean a kitchen sink by maneuvering over ants, crumbs, and grease spots to absorb them before they slide into the drain. As the bubble absorbs more objects, it grows in size, eventually acquiring first eyes and then a smiling mouth. At the same time, sponges and scrub brushes slowly move around the sink, cleaning it on their own in competition with the player. Touching either of these enemies costs a player one life unless the bubble is large enough to have a complete face. In this case, the enemy will be knocked away and the bubble will shrink. Sponges and brushes can be knocked into the drain for bonus points, eliminating them from play. Two other enemies in the sink are stationary razor blades and roaches that crawl out of the drain. Contact with a blade is always fatal, while the bubble can safely touch the roach only while carrying a broom, which will kill the roach with one hit. The broom can be acquired by running over a cleaning lady who appears in the sink from time to time.^[1][2]

A level ends when all of the point-scoring objects are gone - either lost down the drain, cleaned by sponges/brushes, eaten by roaches, or absorbed by the bubble. At this point, if the bubble is large enough to have a complete face, the player moves on to the next level; otherwise, one life is lost and the level must be replayed. In addition, whenever the bubble has a face, the drain flashes green, giving the player a chance to enter it and skip the next level. Entering the drain while the bubble is too small costs one life.^[1][2]

- Quote from Wikipedia

[Mame Offender]

124,670

 

The controls are so unique, I have fun trying to thread the needle between tight spots...

[hansolo77]

Wow Mo, setting the score bar high already. 

Updated OP, DB, RSS

[ExedExes]

I know how good this game's nominator is at this game (See IGBY 2014), so let me slide into my typical second base/place for these bonus games as of late.

ExedExes - 118,640

[hansolo77]

I tried playing this a bit with my keyboard controls when I was testing the (non existent) DIP switches.... don't know what my problem was.  Pressing the keys didn't do anything until I held them down.  Not sure I can get the hang of the controls.  I'll have to give this one a try soon though.

Updated OP, DB, RSS

[Cynicaster]

On 9/5/2016 at 6:39 PM, hansolo77 said:

I tried playing this a bit with my keyboard controls when I was testing the (non existent) DIP switches.... don't know what my problem was.  Pressing the keys didn't do anything until I held them down.  Not sure I can get the hang of the controls.  I'll have to give this one a try soon though.

Updated OP, DB, RSS

The first thing I thought when I was introduced to this game a few years ago was that the controls feel like they’d be better-suited to some kind of analog controller, or perhaps a trackball.

Instead, you use a conventional joystick to “accelerate” your guy by holding in a certain direction.  Slower speeds can be achieved by just tapping in the direction you want to go and letting Bubbles slide.  I bet it took a lot of play testing and fine tuning during development to get the right balance.  It takes a lot of getting used to, and I can’t even imagine attempting it with a keyboard.  :0

You can definitely see the family resemblance to Robotron, not only in the sound effects, graphical effects, and score table, but in the claustrophobic feel of the gameplay. 

 

126,220

[hansolo77]

Welcome back Cyn!  Sorry I didn't get to this sooner, I'm really sick (again).  Seems like I'm sick a lot, but in reality I haven't been THIS kinda sick in over a year.  Stuffy Nose, Dizziness, Migraines, Sore Throat, (slightly now more productive) Coughing, Fever, Chills, Body Aches.  Sounds a a full on Cold War going on in my body.  Went to a Minute Clinic on Sunday and they diagnosed it as "Acute Nasopharyngitis".  Why they couldn't just say "Cold" is beyond me.  What bugs me is that there isn't really anything you can do about it.  They prescribed Capmist, which I have not had huge success with.  The last time I was sick, it was the same diagnosis and the same prescription.  But I'm on day 3 now of active medicating, and I feel worse than I did before.  The dizziness and extreme fatigue (with complete lack of sleep) is killing me.  My nostrils are so raw they're flaking.  UHG!

Anyway, I'm sure ya'll don't want to hear me go on about my illnesses.  So I'll just leave this as is.  Thanks for the post Cynicaster.  Nice to have you back playing with us!

Updated OP, DB, RSS

[Cynicaster]

20 hours ago, hansolo77 said:

Welcome back Cyn!  Sorry I didn't get to this sooner, I'm really sick (again).  Seems like I'm sick a lot, but in reality I haven't been THIS kinda sick in over a year.  Stuffy Nose, Dizziness, Migraines, Sore Throat, (slightly now more productive) Coughing, Fever, Chills, Body Aches.  Sounds a a full on Cold War going on in my body.  Went to a Minute Clinic on Sunday and they diagnosed it as "Acute Nasopharyngitis".  Why they couldn't just say "Cold" is beyond me.  What bugs me is that there isn't really anything you can do about it.  They prescribed Capmist, which I have not had huge success with.  The last time I was sick, it was the same diagnosis and the same prescription.  But I'm on day 3 now of active medicating, and I feel worse than I did before.  The dizziness and extreme fatigue (with complete lack of sleep) is killing me.  My nostrils are so raw they're flaking.  UHG!

Anyway, I'm sure ya'll don't want to hear me go on about my illnesses.  So I'll just leave this as is.  Thanks for the post Cynicaster.  Nice to have you back playing with us!

Updated OP, DB, RSS

I still play all the time, just sometimes I prefer to play "whatever" rather than a specific game. 

Get well my friend!

 

[hansolo77]

Thanks!  I'm feeling much better now.  Still not 100%, but definitely in the +75%!

[RedDog]

This is my first time playing this game and I thought it was pretty fun.

46,580

[hansolo77]

Nice score!  Thanks for the submission!

Updated OP, DB, RSS

[Mame Offender]

Darn, I can't let Cynicaster win just yet.  I will make a point to revisit this one for sure.

 

MO

[Mame Offender]

I scored it twice!  Once was from a previous Competition.

 

136,100

MAM

MO

[hansolo77]

Nice one.. but @Cynicaster can't let that score go!

Updated OP, DB, RSS

[hansolo77]

Another crazy set of scores you guys got going here.  I played as much as I could before I got tired of it.  My pitiful score is the best on the machine but the lowest on our boards.  Oh well. 

Initials: HAN
Score: 29,610

Updated OP, DB, RSS

[Mame Offender]

Yknowhat, Bubbles isn't a game for everybody.  It has really wonky controls.  

If you could work on your control around the razor blades so you don't waste lives on bumping into them, that strategy would get you started.  

 

MO

[hansolo77]

It was tricky at first.  Till I got the hang of it.  The part that bugged me was the spiders.  I guess you have to have the "broom" bit on your bubble actually touch them, but if your bubble alone touches them (even if you have the broom bit) you die.  So lining up the angle was tricky.  I got up to around stage 3, where some sponges came out to join the brushes and blades.  It's a fun game, and I can easily get addicted to it.  But to get to your guy's level of points is probably not going to happen.

Thanks for the bonus game suggestion MO!

[Mame Offender]

Wow, this game gets super tough after 100k...

 

141,340

[hansolo77]

Just keep digging that knife in deeper MO lol

Updated OP, DB, RSS

[Mame Offender]

Cmon Han, don't play with knives.....

183,200

 

MO has been on fire lately.

 

MO

[Cynicaster]

146,450

[hansolo77]

Hah!  I love it!  Just when Cynicaster thought he had a score to be #1, MO pulls out a fast one and "drops the mic" on 183k.  Wow good job guys, I'm totally not worthy.

Updated OP, DB, RSS

[Cynicaster]

15 hours ago, hansolo77 said:

Hah!  I love it!  Just when Cynicaster thought he had a score to be #1, MO pulls out a fast one and "drops the mic" on 183k.  Wow good job guys, I'm totally not worthy.

Updated OP, DB, RSS

Ha, no, I wasn't naive enough to think my score would actually stick.  

[hansolo77]

Yeah it was just too funny, coming home from work and seeing 2 scores, with Cynicaster's being more than MO's for first place, then realizing MO's newest was even higher.  That's just hilarious.