Flush the Goldfish Development Update

I can't wait for this game I have been waiting when it was announcend.

AWESOME!
I am not kidding when I say this is my most anticipated download game of the year!! I can tell this game is going to be worth the wait. Hugo, just take my money now please!
So I see the game isn't called Flipper 2: Flush, the Goldfish.

To celebrate I should send over the first one over to my 3DS.

Congratulations Hugo. Must've been a lot of hard work. We gamers often forget the massive amount of work that goes into games, and indie developers like you have to be a one-man-band. I hope many, many people enjoy Flipper 2. :3

The character design reminds me of Earthworm Jim.

Can't wait! Hope Nintendo doesn't take too long with the approval process.

@TeeJay It reminds me of him too. Looks like an okay game...

@5 ...or the fish boss from Earthworm Jim...or Minion from Megamind.

I'm really looking forward to playing this. Glad to hear that the game is finally done. That artwork looks pretty awesome too.

hey everybody.. thanks for the kind words!
@SnoozerBear

You wouldn't believe how much content is packed into this one.. it was such a massive job this time around. On top of it, I'm working on 5 other DS games!! I haven't had a day off since this year! (not even weekends)

@others
I hear alot of people saying he looks like Jim. Believe it or not, almost everything is inspired by the Earthworm Jim games, except for the suit/looks.

Many people liked Flush as a character in Flipper 1, so I wanted to build the second game around him. But he couldn't really do anything since he was in the fishbowl... that's how the suit came to be.

The gameplay is inspired by Earthworm jim though. Wacky animations, weird levels and bonus games.. it's all there

But let's be honest.. we haven't seen a good Earthworm Jim game since 1994... so is this really a bad thing ?

@BulbasaurusRex
Yeah... the Minion from Megamind came out AFTER I announced Flush.. I still think it's unbelievable that they came up with a fish in suit too.. what are the changes of that happening at the same time !?

Hang about, that looks quite good.

This looks like it will be the last great dsiware game, I look forward to its release!

lol this looks cool.

I'm game for this! (as long as it's less than $8 . . . or $7.99 on the e-shop if you will)

Obscure DSiWare thread, anyone?

@HugoSmits 5 DS games!? Wow... independently or with other companies? Any plans for 3DS download stuff or are you going to stick with the bigger audience for the time being?

heck yeah! here's hoping for an easy time getting through lotcheck! :3

I seen this other day on utube!

looks great in motion and does remind me earthworm jim

think when comes out buy flipper and this to cerbrate:)

@Oregano

2 independently, 3 with other companies. Ofcourse I have the 3DS-Ware games on my lists. But it will take a while (have to build a good and decent framework to work from).

@theblackdragon

If only you knew.. if only...

I remember seeing the concept are for this game on this site. Then i forgot about it. But I stumbled upon the trailer the other day...

I was BLOWN away. Rarely is there a DSiWare game I consider a must buy, in fact there's been less than 5, with Shantae and Pinball Pulse the only 2 I can think of off hand.

The animations are awesome. I'm taken back to the era of the Genesis. This is so reminiscent of Earthworm Jim with its weird and colorful style (oops, just read the comments above and saw that's been covered a jillion times already). I'm ashamed to admit that I literally laughed out loud at a couple of ways you can pull out the fish and use it to help you. And the scene where the piano's are falling from the sky, I assume it's a bonus stage, and very reminiscent of the 1st bonus stage in Aladdin Genesis, which ain't bad by any stretch.

Good job Hugo! You're gettin better w/ age. Can't wait 2 see your next project. I mean projects. 5? Wow. Gotta be able to give us some kind of details...

IF I may suggest a future undertaking Hugo, I would request a game from a genre that has been criminally under represented in the DS's lifespan: a beat 'em up.

Please notice the distinction. Flipper 2 is an action game. You perform various tasks and platforming. A beat 'em up is not a fighting game like Street Fighter either. A beat 'em up is where you just...beat 'em up. Like Double Dragon. You walk from one side of the screen to the other beating the crud out of baddies. It is an INTENSELY satisfying experience.

The only beat 'em up worth mentioning in the DS's library is Tokyo Beat Down. The last great beat 'em up I've played was TMNT on the Game Boy Advance, which was also highly reviews even though it came from the beat 'em up genre, which is simple by nature.

A few things I think any good beat 'em up should have: objects to throw, the ability to toss an enemy at another enemy, and a jump kick (something Beat Down missed out on). And if you're looking at a Genesis game for inspiration in this category, I think Comix Zone fits your style.

@shinobi88

My current lunchbreaks are filled with streets of rage on Genesis and TNMT 2 : The Arcade Game for NES. So I think I got you covered, but you'll have to wait for the 3DS.

Notice that it's sometimes hard to judge the distance, especially when somebody is in the air ? the 3D screen could fix that

gameplay wise; I would keep it a simple system. Something like 1 button for kicking, 1 button for punching. Air attacks by jumping and pressing one of those buttons. Picking up by standing over a object and press down+punch. and a simple combo like TNMT has (press 1 and 2 quickly).

Okay, I simply am sitting on ready to DOWNLOAD!

@HugoSmits
Not one, not two, not three, not even four... but FIVE games? Holy. How do you even find time to eat, sleep, or... eh-hem, go the the mens' room, let alone come here? That is amazing. Talk about multitasking. The Megamind villian thing probably had you facepalm when you saw it. I know if I designed a character, and then watched a movie/played a a game awhile later with a really similar design, I'd just let my head fall into my hands and hold it there.

I think the fact it seems similar to Earthworm Jim etcetera to be a good thing. It doesn't really matter if the gameplay or character design is the most innovative thing or not, really. All that matters is if its fun or not, and it looks like it'll be a pretty fun game. I find when game developers take inspiration from other games, its a good thing. The best games are often made when a developer takes some basic concepts from another game, and adds to them, evolving them. In this way, games in general grow and evolve.

It looks like that's basically what you've done here. You've taken games in the vein of EJ, and mixed them together with existing one-button games such as One Button Bob and turned it up to eleven, if you know what I mean. OBB was decent, but this looks great. It must've been a lot of hard work to finish Flush. I can only imagine the relief and amazement you must get when you finally finish, or near completion of a game... and then with the whole lotcheck thing, the anxiety.

And then the anxiety again when reviews start coming out, and people start criticizing...

Hugo, thanks for responding to my post!! TMNT 2 and Streets of Rage? I can't believe there's a great game designer w/ the same tastes as me.

I don't think a simple control scheme is a problem. Streets of Rage is my all-time favorite beat 'em up and it isn't very complex. How satisfying is it to flip over someone and then suplex them?? And that is the ultimate goal of a beat 'em up; nothin better after a long day than feeling like you whooped some butts. You don't need to add a button to include a grapple mechanic and it would be worth it if you could pull it off. But I could live w/ no grapple so long as there some cool items to use and chuck at baddies.

Are you aiming for old school challenge or new school no difficulty in your yet to be released games?

ok. i read through the discussion board on another topic. you said this had some old-school difficulty. cool! didn't know that was possible w/ only one button. PLEASE keep the difficulty level high on your games. i just don't see a point in a game that's easy to master. there weren't even ANY easy games on the original NES and little tikes still loved those games.

A Flipper article I haven't commented on? For shame!