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Splash
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Release
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December 9th, 2008 (Multiplayer)
May 5th, 2009 (Classic Mode) June 12th, 2009 (Power-Up Mode) |
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Players
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1 (Single Player)
4 (Multi-player)
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Original location
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Splash!, better known as just Splash, is a water balloon game, orginally located at The Beach and now available at the Retro Arcade. Players can transform into crabs and pelt each other with water balloons. Girl players are pink crabs and boy players are red crabs. The game was announced on September 16th, 2008, in the form of a comic. The game was finally released on December 9th, 2008.
The Splash was almost first real-time flash multi-player game and it was the flagship game before Fashion Show was launched. Byungsoo Son developed both server-side and client-side program while Frank Kim contributed server-side protocol for multi-player game. And the technology was used in next flagship game Fashion Show game.
The game's backstory begins with the sentencing of an outlaw, hosted by the Fantage Police and the two wizards, Orion, and his sister Tabitha. The outlaw is sentenced to life as a crab and is immediately harassed by everyone in Fantage. The crab takes his revenge by throwing water balloons at his bullies.
Gameplay[]
The gameplay in Splash! is consistent in all modes. Players are divided onto two teams. Users can move their crab by clicking anywhere in their team's personal space, or by using the W, A, S, and D keys on the keyboard. In the original multi-player mode of Splash, users have one additional teammate on their team, and both of them must work together to pelt the opposite team with water balloons. Users can throw a water balloon at a player of the opposite team by clicking on them.
An official Fantage picture describing the original Splash in 2008.
Every player on the game has a personal life bar. Each team has a life bar that is based on the life bars of the members of the team. The objective of the game is to completely deplete the opposite team's life bar. The team that wins receives Stars.
Classic Mode[]
Splash! Classic Mode is the first single player mode of the main game. The objective of the original mode stays the same: completely deplete the opposite team's health bar. The controls are also the same as the main game.
Classic Mode has a few additions to the original game. One of the additions is enemies, which are green crabs, jellyfish, and King Crab. The enemy team can have one team member, two, or even three. Green crabs are enemy versions of the player's crab. Jellyfish are slightly faster than the player. King Crab is an enormous brown crab who sends out huge (and more damaging) balloons and acts as the boss of the game. Another addition includes combos, which gives point boosts. They can be achieved by hitting two or three enemies with one balloon.
The last critical addition is in-game power ups, which help the player. There are two in Classic Mode: Rapid Fire, which sends out 10 balloons that can be fired all at once, and Big Balloon, which sends out 5 huge balloons that deliver massive damage to the opponent. There is also a cosmetic change where the enemy balloons are classified as brown balloons with a yellow hit bubble in the middle, as opposed to the player's yellow with orange star balloons.
Power-Up Mode[]
Splash! Power-Up Mode is the second single player mode of the main game and is an enhanced version of the game's Classic Mode. Mainly, the game stays the same as Classic Mode, with the exception of cosmetic changes (and changes in audio and sound effects) and purchasable Power-Ups. Power-Ups cost 1 Star each and the player can only carry 3 of each Power-Up. To use a Power-Up, players will click on a power-up or press a specific number on their keyboard (Umbrella Shield is 1, Speed Boost 2, Life Boost 3, and Bubble Trap 4).
The Instruction screen for Splash Power-Up Mode in 2009.
There are 4 purchasable Power-Ups: Umbrella Shield, Speed Boost, Life Boost, and Bubble Trap. Life Boost and Bubble Trap Power-Ups can only be purchasable by Premium Members. Umbrella Shield protects the player from balloons. Speed Boost gives the player a faster speed stat, making them faster than the jellyfish. Life Boost lets the player regain health. Bubble Trap can be used like a balloon, and when successfully thrown at the enemy, the enemy will be stuck in the balloon for a short time and become immobile. This makes the player throw balloons more easily at the captured opponent.
Featured Events[]
On May 22nd, 2009, after the Sticker Party was announced, those who helped debug Splash! Classic Mode were given special Splash! stickers featuring the famous red crab from the game sitting on a huge turquoise water balloon.
On July 24th, 2010, Splash! Power-Up Mode got a huge promotion. Premium Members could take an Animated Splash Crab Board (the girls' version had a crown on it, while the boys' version did not). This board was limited and only 5,000 lucky players could take it. Another Splash! related sticker was also given out and was similar to the one given out for debugging Classic Mode, only it promoted Power-Up Mode and was animated. This sticker was given out everytime the player scored 1,700 points in Power-Up Mode.
Trivia[]
- The music used for Classic Mode can also be heard on a Nokia Windows Phone under the ringtone/music "Lucky Five".
- A known glitch at the time existed in the original version of the Multi-player mode, where the player could throw a water balloon at their opponent or even move before the timer says "GO!". The glitch where the player can move before the timer also exists in the two single player modes.
- The splash was developed by Byungsoo Son (AKA Vince Son) before he joined Fantage officially.