Cookie's Bustle
A 1999 Japanese adventure game with survival mechanics and a copyright controversy.
A 1999 Japanese point-and-click adventure, Cookie's Bustle: Mysterious Bombo World was made by Keisuke Harigai and released by Rodik for Windows and Mac OS. In 2022, it saw a revival after a copyright troll repeatedly used the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to erase the game from the internet.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Rodik
- Engine
- Macromedia Director
- Released
- December 9, 1999 (JP)
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS
- Director
- Keisuke Harigai
- Designer
- Aki Harigai
- Programmer
- Keisuke Harigai, Kouhei Kanai
- Artist
- Aki Harigai
- Yoi Hibino
- Mikiko Kondo
- Makoto Chiba
- Naotsugu Yabe
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The player controls Cookie Blair by clicking to make her walk into items and characters. Survival mechanics require finding food, drink, restrooms, and rest spots, and clicking Cookie when she is lonely to kiss her. Failure causes Cookie to return home, ending the game. Overeating or consuming hazardous items reduces her skills in sports mini-games. Dialogue and events for plot-irrelevant non-player characters are randomized. Cut scenes use QuickTime.
Plot
A hundred years before the game, aliens crash-landed on Bombo World, a fictional South Pacific island country. In exchange for alien technology, the President gave them the northern part of the island, called Derocity, but some citizens opposed the deal, leading to terrorist activity. The player controls Cookie Blair, a five-year-old from New Jersey who believes she is a bear, as she travels to Bombo World to compete in the Bombo World Olympics held in Derocity. After arriving amid political unrest, Cookie learns her grandmother Nancy has been arrested and taken to Derocity. Unmo Sable tells Cookie she must have a strong heart to enter Derocity. Cookie meets Dr. Right and Mr. Goldman, who becomes her coach. After reattaching a missing part to a statue, it directs her to the grave of terrorist leader John Simpson. Near Mt. Bombo, Cookie frees a groundhog named Mu with help from the goddess of the Rainbow Waterfalls. Lifting the cross on Simpson's grave, his ghost reveals the location of the N66 bomb for her to pass to allies inside Derocity. Cookie trades with goblins for the N66, then crosses into Derocity, where aliens confiscate it.
Production
Keisuke Harigai designed and conceptualized the game, handling planning and control. It was Rodik's first video game, developed by a team of eight employees over about 2.5 years. Harigai chose Macromedia Director over C++ for multi-platform capability and reduced development time. He coded the game in Windows while assets were created on Macintosh. 3D assets used 3D Studio Max and Poser. Dialogue was programmed with Lingo for varied conversations. Harigai stated in 2001 that the game originally targeted the European market.
Copyright claim
In late December 2022 and January 2023, a company named Graceware filed copyright claims, taking down online footage and related media. The Video Game History Foundation, which had catalogued a CD-ROM of the game, received takedown notices from the Ukie trade association on Graceware's behalf.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Cookie's Bustle released?
Cookie's Bustle was released on December 9, 1999 in Japan.
What platforms is Cookie's Bustle available on?
Cookie's Bustle was released for Microsoft Windows and Classic Mac OS.
Who designed Cookie's Bustle?
Cookie's Bustle was designed by Aki Harigai.
Who composed the music for Cookie's Bustle?
The music for Cookie's Bustle was composed by Kouhei Okamura.
More in Point-and-Click Adventure Games of the 1990s
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