Copyright Notice

FGB is Copyright © 2001 by Abe Pralle and Jacob Stevens, All Rights Reserved. The FGB ROM for Game Boy Color may be freely distributed.

What Is It?

Hi there! You hold in your hard drive a great Game Boy Color game called FGB (the name doesn't stand for anything). It is a weird and wonderful game that combines elements of an adventure/RPG like "Zelda" with those of an action/shooter like "Gauntlet".

FGB was developed by Plasma Works over a period beginning December 17, 1999, and ending May 16, 2001. That's about a year and a half, if you're counting. Being a small, independent developer, we approached quite a few publishers over that time but were unable to come to an agreement. Game Boy Advance was just around the corner at this point and everyone was slobbering over it, so sadly we decided to terminate FGB and move on to other stuff.

So it was that the adventures of Captain Flour and his merry crew went unheard of and unplayed... until now. To ring in the New Year, we are releasing the final build of FGB to be freely distributed. The game is 100% complete in terms of programming and locations, and 50% complete in terms of quests, conversations, and upgrades - don't worry, there's still lots to do, and the game plays through to a definite ending that's just shy of reaching the grand finale that was originally planned.

Play Strategy

After a series of "intro missions" that introduce each of the three main characters separately, you'll land on Planet Kiwi where you'll be given free reign to explore.

Don't get discouraged if you can't seem to accomplish a particular goal, like clearing the bees out of the hut. Instead, explore other parts of the countryside. Usually you'll find things in one place (like bug spray or a faster shooting upgrade) that will help you in another place (like the bees in the hut).

Use the computer map in the Appomattox to keep track of which areas you've visited and which you still need to explore.

Here's a hand-drawn map that gives you a good overview of what awaits you on Planet Kiwi. It doubles as nifty wall-paper too!

About The Characters

You'll play the parts of three different characters throughout most the game. Here's a quick rundown:

Name: BA Profession:   Hard-core soldier. Firepower: Medium damage, medium fire rate. Armor: Medium. Controls: Tap the A button to fire in the direction BA is currently facing. Press and hold the A button to continue firing in one direction while moving in other directions ("strafe"). Press the B button to walk more slowly.

Name: Haiku Profession:   Ninja. Firepower: Low damage, super-quick attack rate. Armor: Medium. Controls: Haiku is invulnerable to damage from his front. Run Haiku into monsters to deal damage, but watch out! Haiku exposes his back as he attacks. Let stronger monsters attempt a hit first (you can hear the sound effect) and then counterstrike while they're regaining their balance. Press the A button to teleport past any obstacle one tile thick. Press the B button to walk more slowly and prevent Haiku from attacking whatever he runs into.

Name: BS Profession:   Army computer specialist. Firepower: Low damage, quick attack rate. Armor: Low. Controls: BS has the same controls as BA.

Link Cable Games

To play a two-player link game using two Game Boy Colors and a link cable:

1. Attach the link cable to both Game Boys.
2. Turn on both Game Boys.
3. Select "New Game" on one of the Game Boys (any button will do). That Game Boy is now the "Master."
4. The "Join Game" option will highlight on the other Game Boy. Select that option to join the game. The joining Game Boy is now the "Slave."

Now the two players can move around the game world independently. Whenever one player enters a map that another player is on there is a brief period of synchronization (1.2 sec real GBC, ~9 sec emulator) and then the two players will be able to travel together until one of them leaves off the edge of the map.

In a some cases when one player reaches the goal of a mission, the other player may be automatically "yanked" ahead to view the resulting cinema and begin the next mission.

Once a cinema starts, cinema scenes are always viewed asynchronously - either player may skip ahead without disturbing the other.

FGB is hot-linkable. Whenever the link cable is disconnected (and after a short pause) the Slave will return to the main menu and the Master will continue the game. And when a game is being played on the Master the link cable may be attached at any time and the Slave can join the game.

Link Cable Troubles

One of the most common problems we've seen is to have the link cable slide out of one of the Game Boys a little bit. If this happens - and/or the game freezes for a long time:

1. Unplug the link cable.
2. Wait for the Master to resume its game.
3. Reconnect the link cable.
4. Select "Join Game" on the Slave.

Saving The Game

The intro missions must be completed before you can save the game. After you land on Kiwi, walk into the computer room on the Appomattox and you will be asked if you wish to save the game.

There seems to be a save game bug that crops up occasionally. It's never happened to me, but to be on the "save" side, save twice in a row. If you just completed the intro missions, reset the Game Boy and load the game to avoid having to repeat too much. The problem may have to do with a freshly-burned cartridge.

Credits

FGB was developed by the following people (in alphabetical order):

Martin Casado

• Design
• Additional Cinema Programming
• Additional Tools Programming

Abe Pralle

• Design
• Programming
• Dialog and Screenplay

Jacob Stevens

• Design
• Artwork
• Music

Final Word

Abe Pralle
December 29, 2002