Bubbles
Play Bubbles
(Opens as a Java browser applet)
Description
Bubbles is an art game prototype created in two weeks for Jesse Schell's Game Design class. It's meant to be a calm gentle game where you are patiently nudging different colored bubbles up to the surface with your mouse.
In addition to creating the game prototype, I also created a marketing sheet and documented several playtesting sessions. Please let me know if you'd like to know more about these by emailing me at ting@tingchen.net.
Design/Concept
Bubbles is meant to represent raising people's spirits up through careful motivation and urging. As your mouse hovers over a bubble, it begins to rise but at the same time, it grows in size. If it grows too large, it will pop and sink to the bottom. Therefore, a balance between hovering and letting alone is needed to get the bubbles to the top.
The game is set underwater. You are an infinite-air bubble and you supply air to other bubbles by hovering your mouse over them, which intersects your avatar with the bubble. By feeding the bubbles more air, you cause them to rise up through the water and through the different levels.
The colors of the bubbles represent personality types. Some bubbles are easy to push to the top and grow in size slowly. Others are more resistant and grow quickly. In addition, some will sink faster if left alone too long while others stay at the same height that you leave them. This was meant to represent different levels of self-confidence and temperment found in people, resulting in varying levels of interaction needed to achieve your goal without overwhelming them.
