Ludography
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Where to get it

Platypus cover

2002 · Squashy Software · Shooter · Arcade

Platypus

Timed PlayStation exclusive

Platypus is a fast, frantic and fun arcade-style shoot-em-up.

Released
14 May 2002
Platforms
PlayStation PortableWindowsXbox 360
Genres
ShooterArcade
Developers
Squashy Software
Publishers
KISS ltd
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Side view
Themes
ActionScience fiction

About

Platypus is a horizontal scrolling shooter game created, designed and programmed by Anthony Flack, produced by George Bray, with additional programming by Michael W. Boeh. The objective is to guide an antique spacecraft by utilizing the mouse in order to avoid and attempt to shoot enemies.

Keywords

  • shoot 'em up
  • adult
  • vietnam war
  • spaceship
  • claymation
  • flight
  • side-scrolling
  • war
  • steam
  • based on - movie
  • steam trading cards
  • airplane

Media

Platypus screenshot 1

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The player flies an antiquated spacecraft (the last of the fictional F-27 Platypus fleet) and attempts to defend the peaceful country of Mungola from neighboring Colossatropolis, which has become so overcrowded that its inhabitants are taking over Mungola for space and resources. The game consists of four levels, with five areas per level and a strong boss enemy that must be defeated at the end of the fifth area. The player can collect power-ups that affect the type and firing rate of the ship's weapons, equip auxiliary cannons, or double the point values of all enemies and items.

Points are scored for destroying enemies and collecting bonus coins and fruits. In addition, at the end of each area, the player receives bonus points depending on the percentage of primary targets and enemy craft destroyed. One life is lost whenever the player's ship collides with a target or is hit by enemy fire.

Development

All the artwork for the game was created using a process called claymation. Flack has stated that due to limited availability of plasticine in his local area (at the time the game was created), he re-used the same lump of grey clay to create all the models, photographed them with a digital camera, and coloured the images in Adobe Photoshop. The music in Platypus on all platforms (except for the iPhone port) consists of various remixes of Commodore 64 game tunes by various composers, and created by several artists. com label, and were licensed to Idigicon Ltd.

, the current publishers for all composers whose music appeared in the game except Jonathan Dunn who is represented by Bucks Music Publishing Ltd. and who at the time was unpublished. Where possible, full credits appeared in the distributions, albeit in text file form.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Windows14 May 2002Worldwide
PlayStation Portable1 November 2006Europe · North America 17 November 2006
Xbox 36024 November 2009Worldwide

Editions and related releases

Remade as
Platypus Reclayed

Games like this

Collections2 collections

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.