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Dr. Blob's Organism

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Dr. Blob's Organism
Title screen
Developer(s)Digital Eel
Publisher(s)Cheapass Games
Designer(s)
  • Iikka Keränen
  • Rich Carlson
Platform(s)Windows, Mac OS X
Release
  • July 4, 2003 (Win)[1]
  • September 24, 2003 (Mac)[2][3]
Genre(s)Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player

Dr. Blob's Organism is a 2003 video game developed by Digital Eel and published by Cheapass Games for Windows. It was later ported to Mac OS X.

Gameplay

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Dr. Blob's Organism is a shoot 'em up based on Conway's Game of Life.[4] The game area is a petri dish and the objective is to shoot the green blob in the center. The dish can be rotated either with the arrow keys or the mouse. If the blob reaches the edge of the dish, a health point is lost, if all five points are lost, the game is over. There are 20 levels, ten power-ups (e.g. freeze, lightning, multiguns), and three difficulty levels.[5][3]

Development and release

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Dr. Blob's Organism was developed by Digital Eel, an independent development group based in the Seattle metropolitan area.[6] The game had a budget of $1000 and development time of three months.[7] It was released on July 4, 2003 for Windows as an online download and also on CD-ROM.[1][8] A Macintosh port was released on September 24, 2003.[2] On May 7, 2004, the Mac version was included in a CD-ROM compilation with two other Digital Eel games titled Boiler Plate Special.[9][10] In 2005, the game was included in the Independent Games Festival-sanctioned compilation titled Independent Games, published by Moondance Games for the PC.[11] In 2008, the game was released for free along with other Digital Eel games.[12]

Reception

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Macworld said: "If you’re looking for a complicated game you can really immerse yourself in, Dr. Blob’s Organism isn’t for you. But if brainless arcade fun is more your style, give this game a try."[5] Computer Gaming World wrote: [...] Dr. Blob's Organism is a fun little shooter with a novel twist, some decent music, and a slew of power-ups."[22] Chinese magazine Play called it a quirky and fun shooting game that is easy to play.[23] French magazine A vos Mac called it "a furious parable of John Conway's Game of Life".[21] GameShark concluded: "Ultimately Dr. Blob's Organism is a fun little game that combines a really bizarre topic with an interesting arcade shoot 'em up theme that ends up working very well."[16] Computer Games Magazine called it "a strange combination" of Star Castle, Tempest, and Game of Life. They noted it as a quality little game.[24] PC Gameworld wrote: "If you're looking for something completely mindless, that gives your reflexes a good workout, give Dr. Blob's Organism a whirl. If you're looking for something deeper, look elsewhere."[18] GameSpot called it a "good shooter" that puts the player into a Zen-like trance.[25] iDNES.cz [cz] said the mouse is clearly the best choice over keyboard controls. The difficulty was noted as not particularly enjoyable, especially for beginners.[14] Game Tunnel noted the game for its a very high production values compared to other independent games.[17] NBC News called the gameplay addictive but the soundtrack was noted as awful and cheesy.[26]

At the 2004 Independent Games Festival, the game won the "Innovation in Audio" and "Innovation in Visual Art" awards in the "Web/Downloadable" category.[27][28][29]

References

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  1. ^ a b "OLD NEWS ARCHIVE - 2003". Digital Eel. 4 July 2003. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2025. Cheapass Games and Digital Eel are very proud to announce the release of Dr. Blob's Organism on Independence Day 2003!
  2. ^ a b "A big box of news from Digital Eel!". Digital Eel. 24 September 2003. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2025. Mac OS X version of Dr. Blob's Organism is ready to ooze its way onto your hard drives and into your hearts.
  3. ^ a b Cohen, Peter (23 September 2003). "Dr. Blob's Organism oozes onto Mac OS X". Macworld. International Data Group. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  4. ^ "Dr. Blob's Organism". Digital Eel. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Cohen, Peter (February 2004). "The Game Room". Macworld. International Data Group. Archived from the original on 2 February 2004. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  6. ^ "Company Bio - Digital Eel". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  7. ^ "2004 IGF Competition Entrants - Dr. Blob's Organism". Independent Games Festival. Archived from the original on 2 April 2004. Retrieved 1 July 2025. Budget: $1000 Dev. Time: 3 months
  8. ^ "Doctor Blob's Organism, PC Version". Cheapass Games. Archived from the original on 19 February 2006. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  9. ^ "New Mac OS X Three Pack!". Digital Eel. 7 May 2004. Archived from the original on 19 April 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Boiler Plate Special". Cheapass Games. Archived from the original on 3 June 2004. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Moondance Games Ships "Independent Games"". Digital Eel. 24 December 2005. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Digital Eel Wants You to Play with Their Bloxs, Blobs, and Worms". IGN. Ziff Davis. 23 April 2008. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  13. ^ Cohen, Peter (February 2004). "The Game Room - Oozing Organisms". Macworld. Vol. 21, no. 2. International Data Group. pp. 54, 57. ISSN 0741-8647.
  14. ^ a b Varkočková, Alena (19 December 2007). "Dr. Blob's Organism - proti zelenému slizu". iDNES.cz [cz] (in Czech). Mafra. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  15. ^ Hauerland, Lubomír (22 December 2007). "Týden na PH - legendární český dungeon zadarmo". iDNES.cz [cz] (in Czech). Mafra. Archived from the original on 1 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025. Hodnocení: 8/10
  16. ^ a b Fudge, James (26 August 2003). "Dr. Blob's Organism Review". GameShark. Mad Catz. Archived from the original on 28 August 2003. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  17. ^ a b The Mole (28 July 2003). "Game Review: Dr. Blob's Organism". Game Tunnel. Archived from the original on 2 August 2003. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Dr. Blob's Organism". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on 30 June 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  19. ^ "OLD NEWS ARCHIVE - 2003". Digital Eel. 22 July 2003. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2025. In his review at PC Gameworld today Scott R. Krol awarded Dr. Blob's Organism a nice fat score of 80%.
  20. ^ "Game reviews matching " D ":". Gameworld Network. UGO Networks. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  21. ^ a b Carlos Da Cruz (March 2004). "Jeux - Shareware - Dr Blob's Organism". A vos Mac (in French). No. 38. SARL AVOSMAC La Favrière. p. 43. ISSN 1296-3844.
  22. ^ "102 Free Games - Dr. Blob's Organism". Computer Gaming World. No. 247. Ziff Davis. January 2005. p. 68. ISSN 0744-6667.
  23. ^ "产业 - 第六届（2004）独立游戏节 ( Independent Games Festival ) - 音乐 / 音效 创意 奖 ,视觉 艺术 创意 奖 《 布 洛 布 博士 的 细菌 》( Dr. Blob's Organism )". Play (in Chinese). No. 117. May 2004. p. 107. ISSN 1009-6183.
  24. ^ "Opinion - Spotlight - Squishy". Computer Games Magazine. Strategy Plus, Inc. September 2003. p. 83. ISSN 0955-4424.
  25. ^ "Spotlight on the 2004 Independent Games Festival". GameSpot. Fandom. 1 March 2004. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  26. ^ Loftus, Tom (2 December 2003). "Fast, cheap and everywhere". NBC News. NBC. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  27. ^ "Heads Up Display - Sixth Annual Independent Games Festival". Game Developer. UBM Tech. May 2004. p. 6. ISSN 1073-922X.
  28. ^ "Winners: 2004 IGF Web/Downloadable Competition". Independent Games Festival. Archived from the original on 13 July 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  29. ^ Carlson, Rich (29 March 2004). "DBO Nabs Two". Digital Eel. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
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