Bubbles (video game)

Bubbles
Bubbles promotional flyer, showcasing the wooden upright and cocktail cabinets
Developer(s)	Williams Electronics
Publisher(s)	Williams Electronics
Designer(s)	John Kotlarik Tim Murphy Python Anghelo
Platform(s)	Arcade
Release date(s)	1982
Genre(s)	Action game
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, playing alternately
Cabinet	Upright, Mini-upright, cocktail-table and Duramold cabinet
Display	Horizontal orientation, raster graphics

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.

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.