''Frozen Bubble'' is a

free software Free software, libre software, libreware sometimes known as freedom-respecting software is computer software distributed open-source license, under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, distribut ...

clone of ''

Puzzle Bobble internationally known as ''Bust-A-Move'', is a 1994 tile-matching puzzle arcade game developed and published by Taito. It is based on the 1986 arcade game ''Bubble Bobble'', featuring characters and themes from that game. Its characteristicall ...

'' for a variety of home and mobile systems.

Gameplay

''Frozen Bubble's'' protagonist is a

penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

a la Tux, the mascot of

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

and popular feature in many

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

games. In this game, Tux has to shoot colored frozen bubbles to form groups of the same color. Such groups disappear and the object is to clear the whole screen in this way before a bubble passes a line at the bottom. There is a single player mode and a

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

mode via

Split screen Split screen may refer to: * Split screen (computing), dividing graphics into adjacent parts * Split screen (video production), the visible division of the screen * ''Split Screen'' (TV series), 1997–2001 * Split screen, a focusing screen in a ...

LAN Lan or LAN may refer to: Science and technology * Local asymptotic normality, a fundamental property of regular models in statistics * Longitude of the ascending node, one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in space * ...

and

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

. The game features 100 levels and includes a

level editor A level editor (also known as a map, campaign or scenario editor) is a game development tool used to design Level (video games), levels, maps, campaigns and virtual worlds for a video game. An individual involved with the development of game levels ...

History

In 2001, Guillaume Cottenceau started writing the original ''Frozen Bubble'' game in

Perl Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Though Perl is not officially an acronym, there are various backronyms in use, including "Practical Extraction and Reporting Language". Perl was developed ...

while using the Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL) library. The music was made with FastTracker II by

demoscene The demoscene () is an international computer art subculture focused on producing demos: self-contained, sometimes extremely small, computer programs that produce audiovisual presentations. The purpose of a demo is to show off computer programmi ...

r Matthias Le Bidan. Alexis Younes and Amaury Amblard-Ladurantie created the sprites and background graphic artwork with

GIMP Gimp or GIMP may refer to: Clothing * Bondage suit, also called a gimp suit, a type of suit used in BDSM * Bondage mask, also called a gimp mask, often worn in conjunction with a gimp suit Embroidery and crafts * Gimp (thread), an ornamental tr ...

. The game is released under the GNU GPL-2.0-only. There is a version programmed in

and another one programmed in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. The Perl-version runs on

POSIX The Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX; ) is a family of standards specified by the IEEE Computer Society for maintaining compatibility between operating systems. POSIX defines application programming interfaces (APIs), along with comm ...

-compatible operating systems, e.g.

and the

BSDs There are a number of Unix-like operating systems under active development, descended from the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) series of UNIX variants developed (originally by Bill Joy) at the University of California, Berkeley, Department o ...

, while the Java-version runs on any operating system that supports Java. The 2006 released version 2.0 introduced

play via

and

. Two players can also play on the same computer (

). The chain reaction mode (where fallen bubbles will zoom back up to complete triplets, possibly causing more bubbles to fall and thus creating more combos) is also available in network mode as of Version 2.0, and greatly changes the mechanics of the game. Version 2.0 introduced artwork rendered with

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

. The Frozen Bubble Team provides builds only for

distributions, while

ports Ports collections (or ports trees, or just ports) are the sets of makefiles and Patch (Unix), patches provided by the BSD-based operating systems, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD, as a simple method of installing software or creating binary packages. T ...

to other

Unix-like A Unix-like (sometimes referred to as UN*X, *nix or *NIX) operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, although not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification. A Uni ...

operating systems (such as

Mac OS X macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

and the

BSD The Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), also known as Berkeley Unix or BSD Unix, is a discontinued Unix operating system developed and distributed by the Computer Systems Research Group (CSRG) at the University of California, Berkeley, beginni ...

s), Windows and

mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...

s exist from the community.

Reception and impact

Linux For You ranked ''Frozen Bubble'' 5/5 in September 2009. ''Frozen Bubble'' was integrated in many

Linux distribution A Linux distribution, often abbreviated as distro, is an operating system that includes the Linux kernel for its kernel functionality. Although the name does not imply product distribution per se, a distro—if distributed on its own—is oft ...

s and also

ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desig ...

to many platforms like

macOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

or PDAs.Frozen Bubble Available
by Eddie Park on insidemacgames.com (February 25, 2003) ''Frozen Bubble'' became also a quite popular free game which got distributed via several gaming outlets and aggregated significant download numbers over the years: chip.de counted 80,000, computerbild.de 93,000,

Softpedia Softpedia is a software and tech news website based in Romania. It indexes, reviews and hosts downloadable software and reports news on technology and science topics. It is ranked as among of the top download portals on the internet. History So ...

18,000, and

Softonic Softonic is a Spanish software download platform that distributes, categorizes, and evaluates programs for Windows, Android, and Mac. The platform was founded in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in June 1997. History Softonic started in 1997 as a ...

350,000 downloads. It was also included on several cover disks of

computer magazine Computer magazines are about computers and related subjects, such as networking and the Internet. Most computer magazines offer (or offered) advice, some offer programming tutorials, reviews of the latest technologies, and advertisements. ...

s, for instance

MacAddict ''MacLife'' (stylized as ''Mac, Life'') is an American monthly magazine published by Future US. It focuses on products produced by Apple, including the Macintosh personal computer, iPad, and iPhone. It was sold as a print product on newsstands, ...

in February 2004 and

Linux Format ''Linux Format'' was the UK's first Linux-specific magazine, and as of 2013 was the best-selling Linux title in the UK. It was also exported to many countries worldwide. It was published by Future plc (which produces a number of other computer ma ...

in March 2009.

Awards

The Linux Game Tome Linux, Linux-based operating systems can be used for playing video games. Because few games natively support the Linux kernel, various software has been made to run Microsoft Windows, Windows games, software, and programs, such as Wine (software) ...

's ''Best Free Game Award'' and ''Best Sound/Music Award'' in 2003. *

Linux Journal ''Linux Journal'' (''LJ'') is an American monthly technology magazine originally published by Specialized System Consultants, Inc. (SSC) in Seattle, Washington since 1994. In December 2006 the publisher changed to Belltown Media, Inc. in Hous ...

's ''Editors' Choice: Game'' in 2003. *

's ''Readers' Choice: Favorite Linux Game'' in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2010. *

's ''"HotPick"'' in February 2007. * APC Mag's honorable mention in their ''Top five free games'' in 2008.

References

External links