Bubble Trouble

Made under worldwide licence from : LORE GAMES LTD 


Introduction

The game is centered around a research scientist called Travis who 
works at a high energy institute experimenting with dense matter 
and the theoretical creation of black holes for interstellar travel.

You are Travis, arriving in a huge world built of bubbles. Travis 
is luckily rescued by a friendly denizen of this bubble world,
one of the rare free floating air bubbles. The bubble is able 
to help him in a variety of ways. He can use it to negotiate the 
world, and to protect him from the hostile environment.

The only hope of survival is to find the right radioactive deposits 
that will allow Travis to use the projector to go home again. 
Meanwhile, he can use his equipment to help defend the bubble,
by causing it to manipulate the surface of the bubble, and send 
shots streaking across the void.

Travis can wander around a level freely to search for the deposits 
that will send him home. There are five sections to the world 
where radioactive deposits of the sort needed can be found, starting 
in the core of the bubble world where Travis arrives. Travis must 
traverse each level, looking for all the deposits that exist there 
before he can afford to waste the engery for the short jump to 
the next section.

When all of the radioactive deposits on a level have been collected,
the level fades away as Travis teleports into the unknown.


Main Game Gameplay

The player must kill or avoid monsters, collect powerups, and basically 
try to stay alive to reach the end of the game. Each section is a maze
of corridors and chambers populated with the denizens of bubble world.

These must be negotiated to find the radioactive deposits, and finish 
the section.  The walls do not normally damage the player, and 
by learning to bounce shots off them, or by bouncing off them 
to avoid monsters, they can actually prove very useful.

The player initially has three "lives" displayed along the bottom 
edge of the screen, starting from the right hand side. More can 
be collected as powerups, up to a maximum of five. The life in 
fact represents the state of the bubble; how much air it can provide,
and how the surface is holding up to repeated attacks. This is 
shown graphically as an all-in-one energy bar. When energy is 
reduced to zero, then the bubble bursts, leaving the player hurtling 
down through the void. If the player is in possession of more 
"lives", these repessent the player being picked up by another 
bubble of the same kind that saved him before. The player must 
then restart the section from scratch, but all monsters killed 
remain dead, and any powerups collected are not replaced (the 
player keeps his store of radioactive deposits found).

Energy is lost with/being hit by monsters, and optionally from using 
the air up from inside the bubble.

When a section is completed however, all energy is restored during 
the mini-jump to the next section.

One option allowed is "Use Scanner". This allows the player to use 
his equipment as an impromptu scanner for the radioactive deposits 
(gameplay is paused). Most of the nearer deposits are shown, relative 
to the player in distance and direction, but the player still 
has to find the best route to get to them.


The Sections

There are 5 levels:

1. World Core (4 deposits to find). This is the red volcanic core 
of the bubble world. Here are a few of the gaseous deposits 
that Travis needs, but he is still plagued by a challenging 
bestiary:

Rockers
Giant swinging drawing pins that can catch you out with a sudden 
swoop.      

Lavadropbots
These simple guard robots drop noxious things on the player from 
above, if given half a chance.      
Hi voltage shocks

These regular flow of electrons spark between certain sections where 
the walls are close together.      

In addition to these are the creatures of animal intelligence that 
plague the entire bubble world:
  
Pulsers
These simple energy bubbles try to absorb their prey to feed their 
inner furnaces      

Binary bubbles
These rotating pairs of bubbles are joined together, and use their 
denseness at either end to bludgeon opponents to pieces.      

Toxic bubbles
These creatures are one of the most dangerous denizens of the bubble 
world. Not only can they quickly dissolve opponents with their 
murky fluids, but they can shoot off minature versions of themselves 
with great accuracy.      


2. The Deep (5 deposits). This is the deep blue sea of bubble world. 
Different creatures to the rockers etc. of the previous level 
lurk here:

Snappers
These robotic fish try to pierce the surface of enemy bubbles    
with their sharp metal fins and maws.      

Shoals
Dangerous shoals of fish with very sharp teeth.      

Crabs
Giant crustaceans which attach themselves to the walls. These    
creatures are almost impossible to damage, and they shoot 
out dense silicon bubbles with deadly force.      


3. Bubble Caverns (6 deposits). The bubble caverns contain myriad 
points of light. It is hard to tell whether they are stars 
or the glint of precious stones. The walls are solid enough 
though, and some of the more pointed scenery in this silicon 
jungle is definately to be steered well clear of. The monsters 
unique to this level are:

Stalactites
Less a monster than a protrusion      

Flamejets
Another 'passive' feature of this section are the jets of flame  
that issue from some of the walls.      

Domeflyers
These fly-like robots glide from side-to-side, but can use their 
anti-grav globes to move up and down too.      

Slimeslingers
These creatures are attached to the wall; practically indestructible,
they shoot forth slimy shots at nearby prey.      


4. Cloud Kingdom (7 deposits). The cloud kingdom looks like it 
sounds. Less variably populated than other sections, the denizens 
are no less deadly, and have come to dominate.      

Ravens
These birds may look slow, but their peck is deadly.      

Eagles
The giant eagles that dominate this section can tear your        
bubble apart in next to no time. Advice is to steer clear.    
 

5. Bubble City (8 deposits). By far the most dangerous part of 
the Bubble World, only the most powerful creatures reside here. 
The bubble city has a strangely unnatural look about it, almost 
hypnotic. The creatures that live here are not welcoming.  
  
Hi-voltage shocks
Similar to those found in the world core, these shocks are       
artificially generated.      

Hover-Bots
The guardians of the city, these bots move about at great        
speed, and fire out electrical shock patterns that cannot be  
shot down. Moreover their shots can pass through walls, 
which makes them doubly dangerous.      

Ring-spinners
The rulers of bubble world, get too close and you are history.   
 

Winning

When the last level has been completed, the player is shown activating 
the projector from within the bubble against a background of stars 
and planets. He shrinks to a point along the path of the rays 
and disappears with a star like twinkle. Congratulations text 
is zoomed in, the victory theme is played and text is scrolled 
on, explaining that you arrived home safely, and sold your story 
to the papers! The final score is displayed. To leave here, the 
player must restart.


Game Over (man)

When Travis loses his last bubble, his fall remains unchecked. Travis 
is shown in close up, falling head first - against the background 
of the section he was in. He falls off the screen with a despairing 
yell and a meaty explosion is heard (this could be the pressure 
getting to him...). Game Over text is zoomed up and the defeat 
theme is played. The final score is displayed. To leave here, 
the player must restart.


PowerUps

Extra Energy - These are smaller versions of the main bubble. When 
joined to the main bubble by moving over them, they replenish 
the air supply, and strengthen the surface tension.

Power shots - This find is of a number of densely packed multi-cell
bubbles, which make far more effective weapons for a limited number
of shots. 

Shield - This high pressure silicon based bubble gives extra strength 
to the bubble for a limited time, reducing energy loss from being hit. 

Extra Life - This is in fact a special bubble that sustains the 
player when he loses the main bubble, until he can find a replacement. 

Bonus Score - Making a find of rare and precious items is shown 
as a bonus score of varying value.

Radioactive Deposits - These are needed to complete a section and move on. 

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