Plobb! is a single-player 2D freeware game based on BlitzMax.
The game involves the player guiding the small blob

Blobject

A Blobject is a design product, often a household object, distinguished by smooth flowing curves, bright colors, and an absence of sharp edges. The word is generally held to be a portmanteau, a contraction of "blob" and "object."...

-shaped main character named "Plobb" around the screen where he is attacked by enemy bubbles. The aim is to eliminate the bubbles and finally also the arch-enemy in order to win the game and regain Plobb's freedom.

The game was created as a research project by Bastiaan van Rooden from Nothing Ltd., Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, which develops other freeware games but also advergames

Advergaming

Advergaming is the practice of using video games to advertise a product, organization or viewpoint. The term "advergames" was coined in January 2000 by Anthony Giallourakis, and later mentioned by Wireds "Jargon Watch" column in 2001...

 among other products. It is available as a stand-alone offline game for download free of charge. First launched in 2005, the game was only available for Windows while a version compatible with Mac OS X

Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

 was developed in 2007.. The game is distributed via download from the website of Nothing Ltd.

Gameplay

An introduction tells the story of Plobb's captivation by his arch-enemy the Evil Motts of Psodor. In order to escape from Evil Motts' Castle of Nightmares Plobb has, by spitting shots, to fight and eliminate the enemy bubbles that sap his energy.

The game-play structure follows those of classic shoot 'em up

Shoot 'em up

Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...

s of the 80s, also known as Golden Age of Arcade Games

Golden Age of Arcade Games

The golden age of video arcade games was a peak era of video arcade game popularity, innovation, and earnings. Although there is no consensus as to its exact time period, most sources place it around the early 1980s.-Overview:...

, and resembles first and foremost the game-play of Asteroids. It follows a simple and intuitive game-play pattern. The player, acting by the avatar

Avatar (computing)

In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...

Plobb throughout the game has to navigate around the bubbles that come crossing the screen and to aim shots at them by spitting in their direction. The player navigates Plobb by placing the cursor in the direction of or directly on the target towards which Plobb will then move to and upon left mouse click also will emit shots. The speed with which Plobb moves increases with the distance of the cursor to the actual position of Plobb on the screen. The bubbles differ in size and react to being shot at by dividing into two smaller bubbles until disappearing completely. If Plobb is touched by an enemy bubble he will lose energy.

The play is structured in 5 worlds with 5 levels each with the final fight between Plobb and Evil Motts on a separate last level.

Critical reception

Although kept simply structured, the game design uses colors and shapes to the effect of creating candy store aesthetics. The generally round and colorful design can be considered a distinct characteristic of the Plobb! game and an original game design concept.