Boppin'
A puzzle game with stick figures and mature themes.
Boppin' is a puzzle video game created by Jennifer Diane Reitz in 1991, developed under Accursed Toys and published by Karmasoft for the Amiga. It sold only 284 copies before being republished by Apogee Software with enhanced color support. The game is notable for its mature content, including blood and seppuku, which prompted a disclaimer from Apogee.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Accursed Toys
- Publisher
- Karmasoft (Amiga); Apogee (MS-DOS)
- Designer
- Jennifer Diane Reitz
- Artist
- Chuck Jones
- Composer
- Andrew J. Lepisto (music); Jim Dose (sound)
- Programmer
- Stephen P. Lepisto
- Released
- 1991: Amiga
- November 15, 1994: MS-DOS
- 2005: Windows
- Genre
- Puzzle
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The game is set in a multiverse where fictional universes arise from human dreams. One universe, Arcapaedia, is home to video game characters, including the stick-figured, triangle-headed Yeet and Boik. Yeet and Boik, being neutral, set out to thwart the family's intentions.
Gameplay
Levels consist of blocks, elevators, refractors, prizes, and two starting points. Players throw blocks picked up from a starting point at blocks of the same type already in the level, at 45-degree angles; blocks can bounce off refractors. Existing blocks can be pushed, and bonus items grant extra points, lives, or credits. Each credit starts with five lives, with a maximum of ten. If a thrown block hits a wall, floor, flies off the level, or hits a different block type, it is destroyed and the player loses a life. A thrown block passing through a mystery spot turns the screen gold and multiplies score points by 10% for its duration. Colliding a thrown block with same-type blocks to form specific shapes (3x2 square, 3x3 cross, 3x3 hollow square, or 3x3 square) frees a monster; bonus points are awarded for freed monsters at level end. Two-player mode is a competition for high score. Every 40th level is a boss level where players launch weapon-like throwing blocks at the Hunnybunz opponent; damage depends on the player's high score. Touching the opponent costs one life. The original 1.0 version featured the Accursed Toys 'Deady Bear' logo (a stabbed, bleeding teddy bear) and suicide animations for Yeet and Boik upon losing a life; these were replaced in version 1.1 and accessible only via the 'blood' command-line parameter. The credits screen included lengthy manifestos from the authors.
Release
The Amiga version had 150 levels, a level editor, a larger in-game menu, copy protection, and three difficulty levels. The DOS version, released November 15, 1994, featured updated audio, levels, and graphics, and came in four releases: a shareware version with 26 levels; Basic Boppin' with two episodes and 80 levels; Super Boppin' on CD with four episodes, 160 levels, a level editor, and censored violence; and a freeware version on August 19, 2005, ported to Windows.
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