History of the SPOT series series

Making cool advertising is not an easy task. Creative, large budgets, stars, nativeness, humor and songs sitting in memory are used.

But sometimes everything goes too far and the understanding comes that the entire power of the brand is not shown by the same commercial videos on TV. Here, TV shows, films, certain activity in the real world and, of course, games come to the rescue.

Since this section is dedicated to the games of the 80-90s, then it is worth remembering such a game as a game about Chester (Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool, Chester Cheetah: Wild Wild Quest), endless projects McDonald's (McDonald's Treasure Land Land Land LandAdventure, m.WITH. Kids, Global Gladiators, Donald Land, McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure), Pepsiman, Ufo Kamen Yakisoban, Zool and the Hero of this release - a series of SPOT Games.

How did this circle disappear and where did this round? What is justified by the differences in the European version of Cool Spot and American? What the first spare games were and why they are so hacking? In short, again intrigues, again scandals, old games again, again set up our nostalgimeter to the desired frequency and again plunge into the past.

And will help you with this textual or video version of this blog to choose from. Enjoy viewing / reading!

In the late 80s, 7up’ovites looked around, analyzed the market, carefully followed competitors and came to the most logical and correct conclusion-for success they extremely needed their talisman. And while Chester loved Chitos, the McDonald Ronald spread the fear of clowns, mothers trusted, and the children adored Rabbit Kviki, became a mask of 7up ... no, not a spot. Well, for now.

Sue Rose came to the aid in the choice of this - an American multiplier, who offered a certain Fido Dido as a brand cartoon. And suggested, I must say, very successfully. After all, this painted guy remains a talisman and to this day.

"PA-PA-PAGADI, and where is the spot? If it all started with a fido and to this day it flaunts everywhere?" - you ask. I love you for such questions! Let's plunge into the abyss of the soda business. Well, we will carefully plunge, ankle.

The fact is that in the United States and beyond the 7up brand, different companies own - DR Pepper Snapple Group and Pepsico, respectively. For the first time, Fido Dido appeared and settled in television advertising in the States. But in 1988, the rights were transferred to Pepsico, which now meant his presence in advertising outside the democratic part of the planet.

They gave one talisman, then it's time to create a new. Meanwhile, the idea lay on the surface. More precisely on a bottle 7up. It remains only to imagine that this circle can get out of the label, add a couple of attributes adding coolness and similarities with Mickey Mouse, shoot a couple of videos for TV and create a game.

Most know this circle by games on the Sega, but the first game with the participation of Sport was Spot: The Video Game 1990. The name does not shine with originality, but only evaluate the "genius" of the choice of the genre.

While platformers won the market, minds and hearts of gamers of varying degrees of youth at a crazy speed, developers from Virgin Mastertronic made a game in the genre ... Puzzles.

The main goal of the game is to take more space on the board with its chips than the enemy. Moving to a distance of two cells, you either duplicate your chip, or take the enemy stand on your way. And so, the move after the course, you fill out the whole place on the board, where the winner will be a participant with a large number of chips of his color.

The role of our hero is approximately here, like Bruce Willis in recent years of acting. No, the spot did not become the face of the Russian operator. All participation was reduced in the appearance, the need to light with your appearance and make a couple of movements.

In general, this is all of which the project consists. Move chips, see several prepared animations, listen to sounds no less prepared for these animations. Is it interesting? At least a pair of games. Do you want after that you will like a sparkling gastritical potion? Not at all. Rather, drinking tea with an exciting little finger, because so far all the mob was dumb in the gunpower, you are frantically smart in logically strategic-core-oriented masterpiece among logical-strategic oriented-oriented-oriented games. But the need to follow genre trends very soon made itself felt.

After all, it was only the beginning. The low budget of this video game of the pen allowed for the soil without tangible consequences and draw the necessary conclusions. Therefore, after only two years, the result of the merger of the game about chip and Dale, Mario and the exclusivity of Game Boy was born. Creative of the analytical group 7UP can only be envied.

As for the game directly, this is, as already mentioned, the Chip ’N Dale Rescue Ranges and Super Mario Bros child. At the same time, such a child ... well, you know ... where my mother did not want, dad did not try. We run, jump, throw boxes, listen to the squeak of the local soundtrack, epic fighting with the only boss, look at the gray backbone, looking for the meaning of life in this gray world. “Some kind of hack,” you say. And I will answer: "Even greater than you think".

Visual Concepts symbiosis as a developer and Virgin Interactive as a publisher is a great example of love for the production of advertising games and not a love of work. Although this is more related to the first, because Visual Concepts today is busy developing a NBA and WWE series of which sometimes depressed.

Where did such words come from? The fact is that the ears of the Burunduki and the mustache of the Italian sticking out in the game here and there, of course, have a place to be, but first of all this applies to another project - McDonaldland. So, spot: The Cool Adventure is nothing more than a reskin of the necessary models for advertising the desired product. Otherwise, the same levels, the same gameplay, the same one boss with which it is not clear what kind of disagreement we have, but consider the same game!

In short, playing it is https://rtbetcasino.co.uk uninteresting like advertising is an even more strange creation than the first game (after all, to promote something that should not be very recognizable at the last one, with its color on a device with a monochrome screen, is an “interesting” solution), Cool adventure is not so cool, we combine normal consoles and move on to many projects that are already recognized by many projects.

1993 in the video game industry was marked by a whole pile of loved hits, the very technological game on Sega, as well as a new turn of development for our red -faced character.

Virgin Interactive got rid of the apparently disturbing appendage in the form of third-party developers, increased the budget, remained betrayed by the genre of platformers, and at the same time partially retained a semi-channel approach to work, which for some reason is not so pronounced in other games developed and published by it. Later I will explain what this is expressed, even if the past Cool Spot understand what it is about.

I immediately want to run forward and praise a big leap in both the game and advertising plan. Already in the initial menu, a bottle of 7up’a appears in front of us in full screen from which the main character appears and dashingly dissects on it as if we were looking at the sequel “on the crest of the wave”. After such, unprepared children's minds immediately fled to rake all the soda from the nearest stores.

Although there is an interesting fact here. Still remember that at that time outside the US talisman 7up was Fido Dido? So, the above screensaver in the menu appeared exclusively in the American version. In the European - 7up label was removed, leaving only a bare bottle with a note inside. It was removed in bonus levels, bashfully replacing Pop.

As for the game as a whole, this is finally a new strong representative of the Brodis jump with pleasant graphics, smooth animations, original and very recognizable sounds, as well as a couple of problems. But about everything in order.

Before us is the already familiar formula “Run, shoot, collecting coins”, which at that time the young gamer has seen more than one, or even not dozens of times (depending on the money in the family and the number of friends with the prefixes, ready to exchange cartridges), but with some features. For example, we shoot not just pebbles, apples, energy scurvers, or, forgive me, sophisticated with a fart (but we will return to this topic in the next issues), and air bubbles with air. Like a trifle, but attention to the details. Well, coins are needed not for just any bonuses, but necessary to pass the level. I accumulated enough coins - you can rescue a friend from the cage. Yes, the game raises the topics of corruption and corruption of lawful guardians.

True, why other spots were imprisoned and why they are in these locations - it is not clear. But fantasy was given to us not only for looking at the batina mug with a drawn half -naked aunt (and filling the mug with boiling water and allowed us to grow up a little faster ... Hmm, the world did not deserve such technologies). So, levels.

In fact, it is unlikely that the design of the local locations will be able to bring something new to our game experience. Have you and I have not seen the basements of the houses covered with web? Factory full of metal structures? Or a beach with a reggae playing against a background, after which I want to put an empty bottle from 7up to business?

Well, seriously (but what to be serious in our pre -retirement almost thirty with a tail), the levels have some problems.

Let's start with funny. Still remember the words about a peculiar approach to the work of the publisher and developer? So, levels in the game, if you do not take bonus plugs, 11 pieces. “Well, normal,” you say. Normal, yes, only locations 7. By passing the 6th level, you will have to visit all the previous places in the reverse order, except perhaps those that were in the 4th Leoel (and this is very good, but the principle of its passage was the same and this is very bad, but more on that a little further). Some will not see anything bad here, but not all such fans of the 4th Devil May Cry and the pleasure of such a solution is not that a lot.

But in fairness it is necessary to add, in the version for SNES, they tried to smooth out the situation, throwing a couple of repeated levels a little cosmetics. Whether it is a partial destruction of the environment or a change of time of day.

The second point. More, so to speak, Throwing In the eyes. Looking at these frames, do you have any unpleasant sensations?

Making a beautiful background in the game is not easy. To invent, draw, optimize - all this requires a lot of a man of hours for the final implementation. It’s just no less important that all this splendor also think over from the gameplay point of view. Here in separate levels we see the obvious victory of the graphone over the game design. The overloaded background, sometimes even with merging flowers with the front, more prevents the gameplay from enjoying the gameplay and delights with its views.

And finally. The complexity curve here resembles the election of the US President 2020. In the sense that a certain step was clearly clogged in this curve. In short, the passage of the first three levels is unlikely to cause big problems for at least a little spaced players. Run for yourself, shoot with gaziks, yes collect chips without any obstacles. But then prepare a scraper in advance, because you will need to scrap something from the walls of your blocked shatt.

The 4th level is quite short, but very rich in emotions and, with its compactness, can take you the most time. But the fact is that it consists of three levels of individual platforms. Moreover, the platforms are also ordinary even, not fraught with any surprises, those that allow you to barely fit your flat round ass on them, those that do not mind throwing you down, and without slippery surfaces at an angle, it also could not do it. And since it happened to fall from them and miss the lower islands, then get ready for the minus of life. And if you still have to land on a solid surface, then just start all over again. Adds peppers to this holiday of hatred of humanity and camera. When jumping, she moves exactly behind the character, which means that you will not see the place of your landing during the flight. And some platforms are completely hidden somewhere behind the scenes, so in such situations you will only be saved by luck or non-flammable materials in the house. Ah, well, we don't forget about enemies. They have not gone anywhere and still with pleasure will demolish your HP.

And the 6th level, let not so complicated as it simply infuriates. After all, its peculiarity is the labyrinth -like construction and ubiquitous slides from which you fly down with a whistle, or torment the jump button to advance a little further and a little higher. This is happy to provide me with joy in my city every winter.

But despite all the disadvantages, the game received high marks from players and critics. Maybe deserved, but personally I do not really share such delight. Most likely due to the fact that I touched Cool Spot’s quite late, when there were many other games in such genres, as well as a sequel called Spot Goes to Hollywood.

But let's stay a little in 93m to find an interesting thing. Namely, the game about the second mask 7UP, the release date of which was planned in one year with Cool Spot.

Some of you may assume that this game has been intended primarily for the European market, where it was Fido Dido's Advice with Gaziki Advertising Rollers? May be. Maybe not. The game was canceled, and when it was actually completed. Many years later, one of the developers laid out the image of the game on the Internet, where all levels were ready, all mechanics worked, all cheat codes were activated.

If very briefly, then he appears in front of us ... I would have appeared another platformer with a slight raid puzzle. We travel along various levels (and here they are really diverse and it’s cool and I love it), we find the necessary items to move further on the location, ride on the American hills, fly on UFOs inside the segi, we learn interesting facts about dinosaurs, we skate on a grief, we participate in battles on paper aircraft, and this is not all I have listed far from everything.

It sounds interesting? Definitely! Is it interesting to play? Well, some kind of aspects would not have prevented some aspects, but otherwise this game would obviously find a place among other good boils and in the nostalgic corners of the souls of players. But found only oblivion, the closure of the publisher and modest mention many years later.

But Fido himself will still have time to feel the taste of victory, glory and drunk in all commercial rollers of soda. After all, the talisman life of a spot was rapidly drawing to an end, but finally giving us one of the best adventure projects.

The beginning-invention of the 90s for Virgin Interactive turned out to be quite productive, but also no less intense. There were many developments of games for various licenses of films, cartoons and trademarks in the work. Here we have Robocop vs Terminator, and Aladdin, and two parts of Dune, and The Lion King, and now you finally realized what is generally repeatedly mentioned by Virgin.

The density of releases at one moment forced to give the EUROCOM to a third -party studio, which was very neatly reacted to existing developments and successfully turned them into a finished and very high -quality product. This case led to another interesting cooperation to us, where Eurocom has become responsible for the entire development process of Spot Goes to Hollywood. But only versions for 16 bit segi. Owners of PlayStation and Sega Saturn are owe to the emergence of a SST Hollywood adventure on their Burst Studios platforms, which belonged to Virgin again.

The financial success of many projects produced by the studio allowed to increase budgets for new games and Spot Goes to Hollywood demonstrates this in all its glory. Gorgeous colorful graphics, pseudo 3D, impressive variety of locations and a mechanic, a wealth of secrets, Easterns, references and all this, only only the Onemegdravogeneysian version! On more powerful platforms, the game is even more beautiful, more pleasant sounding, as well as opening at least some details of the plot.

According to the FMV video (by the way of a very high -quality), which was only in versions for PS and Sega Saturn, our red -faced friend, having experienced a series of some events, enters the film projector with a certain set of films, becoming a direct participant in them. Mega Driv’ov version, which we will talk about for now, does not indulge us with an explanation of the tie, so we will adhere to the version with the projector. And such a plot allowed to create unlike each other locations, the appearance of a hero in which is quite substantiated.

You will visit a pirate ship, take a diving at the bottom of the sea, admire the mirrors with working reflections in the House with Ghosts, take a walk on the old castle, reduce the population of the monkeys in the jungle, evaluate the humor of developers and fire safety in the center of the Earth, with the breeze, ride the Barnaul metronuclear fire, you will feel like a sun -cooker hatch, get into the virtual world inside the virtual world and fight with the Older of strangers.

As you can see, the plot built on participation in various films, inexorably leads to the references to the films of those times. Here you will find unambiguous hints of the Terminator, Star Wars, Alien, Throne. But what the levels in the dungeons, the jungle, on the ship and house with contrivations are dedicated to, I personally do not quite understand. There are, of course, assumptions, but let's better share your thoughts, because why still need comments.

The study of each location is admired. Both graphic and designer. Each level has its own face and atmosphere, a distinctive set of enemies and selected bonuses, and sometimes completely a change in gameplay. At the same time, the number of hidden rooms, a dug with bonuses and other secrets cannot but rejoice. This is one of those games where it is pleasant and I want to study each corner, the search for hidden passages and a test of destruction / pressing suspicious objects and often this does not remain non -recognized.

And it all sounds so tasty and intriguing that those who did not play have already gone to the site with emulators, but seeing some flashbacks in the eyes of this game, should warn some kind of something. To enjoy this project, you need to go through all the stages of the adoption of the local camera and a kind of management caused.

When you move in a half -open area, where there are no traps, obstacles and enemies - no problems. But soon, when meeting with platforms the size of odnushka in a new building of the economy class, which are also destroyed as Volgograd collectors, you experience sadness, longing and existential crisis. And having reached the flight on X-Wing’s with Aliexpress, you will appreciate the idea with inverted vertical controls.

The fight with opponents also cannot be called pleasant. Here, management comes into business again, because of which it is difficult to attack aimedly, the rapid movement of some enemies and their thickness. On average, in order to at least somehow impress the enemy with your bubbles, you need to get about 10 times.

Also personally my claim is music. She tries to set the desired atmosphere of each film, but she does not always succeed. For me, the musical accompaniment turned out to be somehow gloomy and tense. Instead of relaxing, inspiring or emphasizing the environment of the world, the soundtrack is more pressing on the player, creating that all the films are to visit - exclusively thrillers and horror, which, by the way, is not far from the truth, but still there is a place for adventure. And the very sound quality is some strange. The sound is clearly not enough volume and as if qualities, which is especially noticeable on drums. Just let's listen to a few passages, and you yourself will understand everything. Or do not understand. But still listen:

As you probably could hear, the situation with the music in PS \ Sega Saturn. What else was corrected? Yes, almost everything. If for some reason you have become a fan of the spot and went through both games on a 16-bit seo, then you can safely go on 32-bit platforms, it feels almost like an independent project, rather than just a port. The improved sound part, the transformed graphics, partially new locations (although some of the senior version were removed), new mechanics, new traps and secrets, new opponents and bosses, the new management would be very useful, but alas, it is the same uncomfortable.

But in order to somehow simplify life and add pleasure from the gameplay, the opponents made a little more susceptible to our shots, which is why now you need to spend much less time and bubbles on their destruction. This idea is unconditionally good, but to hide interesting levels under the Bonus Level’s castle - the idea is already disgusting. After all, only by committing certain conditions you can visit the world of the Wild West, the Jurassic Park and participate in the Star Wars. Without them, we have only three biomes, each of which is divided into 5-6 levels, albeit trying to look different, but still would like more diversity.

But diversity, though already talismans, did not need 7up’ovites. During the years that the spot appeared only on TV screens thanks to commercials and video games, Fido Dido was gaining momentum, flaunting at the office, banners, clothes, comics, in short on everything that was at least somehow suitable for promoting the brand. Thus comparing the popularity and recognition of each of the characters, the winner was far from our red friend. Having expanded the rights to use already to the whole world, since the late 90s, the only fido soda.

Here is a story of the take -off and fall of a friend and beloved by many of the character. As for his such short life, then it remains only to resent the injustice of this world or consider everything quite logical.

Leave Your Reply Here

Login

Label

Name*

Email*

Website

Label

Name*

Email*

Website

0 Comments

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments