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''Ruff 'n' Tumble'' is a 1994
platform Platform may refer to: Arts * Platform, an arts centre at The Bridge, Easterhouse, Glasgow * ''Platform'' (1993 film), a 1993 Bollywood action film * ''Platform'' (2000 film), a 2000 film by Jia Zhangke * '' The Platform'' (2019 film) * Pla ...
run and gun video game developed by Wunderkind and published by
Renegade Software Renegade Software was a UK-based games publisher, founded in 1991 by the Bitmap Brothers. Initially, the Bitmap Brothers used the new label to publish their own games, after they had become dissatisfied with the practices of publishing compani ...
for the
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...
. An
Amiga CD32 The Amiga CD32 (stylized as Amiga CD32) is a home video game console developed by Commodore as part of the Amiga line, as well as the final hardware to be developed by the company. Released in September 1993 in Europe, Australia, Canada, and B ...
version was planned but never released. It was the only game made by Wunderkind. It stars Ruff Rodgers, embarking on a quest across an alien planet to reclaim his marbles after one of them fell into a portal inside a rabbit hole while playing with his collection in the park, and free the planet from Dr. Destiny and his Tinhead army. Through the journey, the player explores and search through each level for
item Item may refer to: Organizations * '' Instituto del Tercer Mundo'' (ITeM), the Third World Institute * ITEM club, an economic forecasting group based in the United Kingdom Newspapers * '' The Item'', an American independent, morning newspap ...
s and
power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a Game mechanics, game mechanic. This is in contrast to an Item (game), item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that ca ...
s, as well as fight enemies and defeat bosses. ''Ruff 'n' Tumble'' was the creation of Wunderkind, a group within Renegade consisting of programmer Jason Perkins, artist Robin Levy, and composer Jason Page. Levy was contacted by Perkins, due to their previous working experience on ''Apocalypse'' (1994) for
Virgin Interactive Entertainment Avalon Interactive Group, Ltd., formerly known as Virgin Interactive Entertainment, was a British video game distributor based within Europe that formerly traded as the video game publishing and distributing division of British conglomerate the V ...
, and was asked if he was interested in making a game with him. Perkins wanted to make a platform game while Levy preferred a shoot 'em up, with the original idea being a "platform-based '' Defender''". Emphasis was placed on playability to make it fun compared to similar titles, with the aim of being the "perfect" action game for the Amiga, while various technique features were implemented to make it fast and playable. The team also used an in-house map editor by Renegade, which allowed puzzles and traps being quickly designed. Both Perkins and Levy went separate ways after finishing the project. ''Ruff 'n' Tumble'' garnered favourable reception from the Amiga gaming press; praised was given to the detailed arcade-style graphics for their quality and spritework, varied level design and gameplay but most reviewers felt mixed regarding the audio and difficulty, while criticism was geared towards the lack of additional levels, difficulty settings, innovation and originality.


Gameplay and premise

''Ruff 'n' Tumble'' is a
platform Platform may refer to: Arts * Platform, an arts centre at The Bridge, Easterhouse, Glasgow * ''Platform'' (1993 film), a 1993 Bollywood action film * ''Platform'' (2000 film), a 2000 film by Jia Zhangke * '' The Platform'' (2019 film) * Pla ...
run and gun starring Ruff Rodgers, an eight-year-old boy who loses one of his marbles while playing in the park and follows it down a rabbit hole, which turns out to be a portal to an alien planet. The planet, ruled by the mad Dr. Destiny, is home to fearsome army of robots called Tinheads. Ruff finds that his marble collection has been scattered across the planet, and embarks on a quest to reclaim his collection, and free the planet from Destiny and his Tinhead Army.''Ruff 'n' Tumble'' Manual (Amiga, EU) The player progresses through each level by running, jumping, and shooting at enemies with his multi-projectile gun, capable of shooting
bullets A bullet is a Kinetic energy weapon, kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is Shooting, shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made ...
,
laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...
,
missiles A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this u ...
or becoming a
flame thrower A flame () is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction made in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density, they are then considered plasma. ...
(depending on what power-ups are collected during the level). Each level is completed by collecting a set number of coloured marbles (red, green and blue). Upon collecting all of the marbles, the exit to the level is unlocked. There are four worlds in the game, each with four main levels in them, and a fifth
boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...
level. Each world features its own variety of enemies and traps. The game uses a password system that enables the player to access the first level of the specific world.


Development and release

''Ruff 'n' Tumble'' was created by Wunderkind, a group within
Renegade Software Renegade Software was a UK-based games publisher, founded in 1991 by the Bitmap Brothers. Initially, the Bitmap Brothers used the new label to publish their own games, after they had become dissatisfied with the practices of publishing compani ...
consisting of programmer Jason Perkins, artist Robin Levy, and composer Jason Page. Perkins previously worked on ''
Monty on the Run ''Monty on the Run'' is a computer game created by the software house Gremlin Graphics and released in 1985 for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 16, written by Peter Harrap for the ZX Spectrum with the iconic in-game music ...
'', '' Thing on a Spring'' and ''Apocalypse'' (1994) for
Virgin Interactive Entertainment Avalon Interactive Group, Ltd., formerly known as Virgin Interactive Entertainment, was a British video game distributor based within Europe that formerly traded as the video game publishing and distributing division of British conglomerate the V ...
. Levy's past works include '' Armalyte'', '' Myth: History in the Making'' and the
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
version of ''
Last Ninja 3 ''Last Ninja 3'' is an action-adventure video game developed and published by System 3 for the Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST in 1991 and the Amiga CD32 in 1993. It is a sequel to the 1988 game '' Last Ninja 2''. Development and release The Amiga ...
''. Page began his career at
Graftgold Graftgold was an independent computer game developer that came to prominence in the 1980s, producing numerous computer games on a variety of 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit platforms. History The Hewson era Graftgold was originally ST Software startin ...
, taking over the role of in-house musician from founder Steve Turner, before moving to
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Team Soho was a British video game developer based in Soho, London. It was formerly the video game development division of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe before being spun off to develop ''The Getaway'' series; a second unit at Cambridge ...
. Both Perkins and Levy acted as co-designers of the title, while Perkins came up with the original concept. Graeme Boxall led development of the project as producer at Renegade. Andrew "Andy" Nuttall and Sarah Tanser, two journalists from the
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...
gaming press, were responsible for writing the game's manual text. Both Perkins and Levy recounted its development process and history. Levy received a call from Perkins, due to their previous working experience on ''Apocalypse'', and was asked if he was interested in making a game with him. Perkins wanted to make a platform game while Levy preferred a
shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...
, the latter of whom claimed that the original idea for the game was a "platform-based '' Defender''". Emphasis was placed on playability to make it fun compared to similar titles, with the team's aim being to make the most playable and "perfect" action-platform game for Amiga. To build each level, the staff made use of an in-house map editor by Renegade, which allowed puzzles and traps being quickly designed and placed on-screen. Perkins also implemented an "auto-scroll controller" feature, in which each block making up the screen is given an attribute to tell the game where to scroll and let the player see their path. The lack of parallax scrolling was a decision taken by both Perkins and Levy, feeling they could not make the game fast and playable. The team remarked they did started making a 16-color parallax scrolling background until Levy created 32-color screens without parallax before coming up with "non-parallaxing parallax", a technique where backgrounds are blurred to create a sense of depth and add a three-dimensional aspect to them. ''Ruff 'n' Tumble'' was first announced in 1993 and showcased at Renegade's booth during the
European Computer Trade Show The European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) was an annual trade show for the European video game industry which first ran in 1988, the final event being held in 2004. The exposition was only open to industry professionals and journalists, although i ...
of that year. Early previews showcased several differences compared to the final version such as a minecart setpiece in the second world and a different HUD. According to contemporary game publications such as ''Amiga Dream'' and ''
Amiga Power ''Amiga Power'' (''AP'') was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996. History The first issue of ''Amiga Power'' was publi ...
'', the game was reportedly slated for launch between July and August 1994. ''Amiga Power'', as well as other publications within the Amiga gaming press like ''
CU Amiga ''Commodore User'', (also referred to as ''CU'') later renamed to ''CU Amiga'', is a British magazine initially published by Paradox Group before being acquired by EMAP. Timeline ''Commodore User'' was launched in October 1983 with an initial pr ...
'' and '' The One for Amiga Games'' wrote that it was released between September or October 1994. A version for the
Amiga CD32 The Amiga CD32 (stylized as Amiga CD32) is a home video game console developed by Commodore as part of the Amiga line, as well as the final hardware to be developed by the company. Released in September 1993 in Europe, Australia, Canada, and B ...
was planned but never released. It was Wunderkind's only game, as the group never developed another title, while both Perkins and Levy went separate ways after finishing the project.


Reception

''Ruff 'n' Tumble'' received favourable reception from the Amiga gaming press. '' The One for Amiga Games'' Simon Byron praised the graphics for its style and spritework, level design, setpieces, enemy AI, fine-tuned gameplay, soundtrack and overall longevity. ''
Amiga Action ''Amiga Action'' was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Europress (later IDG Media) and ran for 89 full issues, from October 1989 to December 1996. After its closure, it was merged into sister ...
''s Paul McNally and Paul Roundell praised commended its high-quality graphics, '' Chaos Engine''-esque sound design and playability, stating that it was as good as ''
Putty Squad ''Putty Squad'' is a 1994 video game developed by System 3 and published by Maximum Games and Ocean Software. It was originally developed for the Amiga 1200, but that version was not released until the end of 2013; prior to that date the SNES ver ...
'', though they noted that its difficulty was tricky due to the more manic gameplay compared to the latter game and criticized its high asking price. ''
Amiga Format ''Amiga Format'' was a British monthly computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future Publishing. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when Future split '' ST/Amiga Format'' into two separate pub ...
''s Stephen Bradley gave positive remarks to the title's sprite animations, smooth scrolling, varied level design, sound department and addictive playability, although he ultimately stated that the game was not very original. ''
Amiga Power ''Amiga Power'' (''AP'') was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996. History The first issue of ''Amiga Power'' was publi ...
''s Jonathan Davies gave positive commentary to the firm but fair stage designs, slick visuals and sound effects but criticized its high difficulty and music for being awful. ''
CU Amiga ''Commodore User'', (also referred to as ''CU'') later renamed to ''CU Amiga'', is a British magazine initially published by Paradox Group before being acquired by EMAP. Timeline ''Commodore User'' was launched in October 1983 with an initial pr ...
''s Tony Dillon called it an "CU Amiga Super Star", giving positive remarks to Jason Perkins and Robin Levy for blending platforming action and
shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...
to create a playable and polished product. ''
Aktueller Software Markt ''Aktueller Software Markt'' (literally ''Current Software Market''), commonly known by its acronym, ''ASM'', was a German multi-platform Video game journalism, video game magazine that was published by Tronic-Verlag from 1986 until 1995. It was ...
''s Jürgen Borngießer noted that ''Ruff 'n' Tumble'' felt like a console game due to its use of a joystick or joypad for controls and commended its visuals, audio, presentation and fun factor. Both ''Amiga Concept''s Cyril De Graeve and ''Amiga Dream''s Grégory Halliday also gave positive remarks to the game's colorful and detailed graphics, sprite animations, music and sound, difficulty, longevity and overall controls. ''Amiga Joker''s Max Magenauer considered it an "Amiga Joker Mega Hit" and the best action title on the Amiga, highly praising its animated visuals, sound design, controls and fun factor. ''Génération 4''s Michel Houng praised the sprite animations, playability, arcade-style graphics and good sound effects but noted its music and the lack of additional levels as negative points. ''
Amiga Computing ''Amiga Computing'' is a discontinued monthly 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 ...
''s Jonathan Maddock referred the graphics as "exquisite" and "gorgeous", comparing it with
Bitmap Brothers The Bitmap Brothers is a British video game developer founded in 1987 by Mike Montgomery, Eric Matthews, and Steve Kelly. The company released its first title, the scrolling shooter ''Xenon'', in 1988. Shortly thereafter, it released '' Speedb ...
''
Gods A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...
'' and ''
Magic Pockets ''Magic Pockets'' is a platform game developed by the Bitmap Brothers and published by Renegade in October 1991. It was released for the Atari ST, Amiga, Acorn Archimedes, and MS-DOS. The title track of the game is the instrumental version of "Do ...
''. Maddock also regarded the music as adequate and the gameplay as addictive, while he felt that its difficulty was appealing as well. In contrast to most reviewers, ''
Amiga Games __NOTOC__ This is a list of games for the Amiga line of personal computers organised alphabetically by name. See Lists of video games for related lists. This list has been split into multiple pages. It contains 2,235 games. Please use the Table of ...
'' Oliver Preißner criticized its gameplay for the lack of innovation and absence of additional difficulty levels but gave the game positive commentary for its visual presentation. In a similar tone as Dillon, British magazine ''
Amiga User International ''Amiga User International'' (or ''AUI'') was a monthly computer magazine published in its later years by AUI Limited, it was the first dedicated Amiga magazine in Europe and in comparison to other Amiga magazines, AUI had a more serious persp ...
'' commended both Perkins and Levy for creating a balance between platforming and shooting with the title's design, praising its gameplay, audio and graphics.


References


External links


''Ruff 'n' Tumble''
at
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''Ruff 'n' Tumble''
at
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruff 'n' Tumble 1994 video games Amiga games Amiga-only games Run and gun games Science fiction video games Side-scrolling platformers Video games about children Video games developed in the United Kingdom Single-player video games Renegade Software games