Wetrix

Origin

Wetrix was the first game developed by brothers Ste and John Pickford's studio Zed Two. It started out as a demo of flowing water simulating technology for a game called Vampire Circus, which the Pickfords were developing at home as they tried to get Zed Two off the ground. The brothers enjoyed this water demo so much that they decided to turn it into a game in its own right.

Nintendo 64

The original and first-released version of Wetrix was for the Nintendo 64 in 1998. Some sources have reported that the water tech demo was initially conceived to show this system's power by simulating water; however, whether or not the original tech demo was designed for the N64, or with it specifically in mind, has not been confirmed by the Pickford brothers themselves (see above).

Windows

The next version of Wetrix released, in 1999, was for personal computers running Microsoft Windows 95/98. Although the main gameplay is the same as that of the original version, this version differs in that it lacks the after-game ranks and the lessons included as part of Practice mode (i.e. it has only the Practice game). Also, there are small differences in the graphics, most notably that the camera no longer zooms so closely on the board or follows the active piece so closely as the player moves it. The biggest difference is that the soundtrack was completely replaced, with the PC version receiving new music by different composers (namely the composers 2 dB).

Abandoned multiplayer LAN mode

Some time after the release of this version of Wetrix, the Pickfords began to write a multiplayer mode supporting up to 7 players via local area network, which they hoped to release as a free patch for the original game. However, the code was never fully debugged and the Pickfords could not justify the expense of continuing to develop the patch without any income, and therefore it was never released. Messages relating to the network mode can be found in the "messages.txt" file used by the game.

Game Boy Color

The Game Boy Color version was released in Japan in 1999 and Europe in 2000. It is scaled down in all ways, with downgraded graphics and different musical themes (albeit derived from those of the N64) designed specifically for its much lower powered hardware, and with gameplay that is significantly slower and does not fully match that of the console/PC versions (e.g. the points system uses much lower base scores, Lakes in which the player wants to create Rubber Ducks must have larger areas, etc.).

Dreamcast

The Sega Dreamcast version, Wetrix+ (sometimes referred to as Wetrix Plus), was released in 2000 as an enhanced remake of the original N64 version of Wetrix with upgraded graphics. Its gameplay modes, menu, etc. follow those of the N64 (albeit with enhanced graphics); however, it does inherit the PC version's remade soundtrack and relatively more static camera style (albeit with options for zoom level).

Gameplay

The player receives a flat square of land (the Landscape) and has the goal of gaining as many points as possible, through managing a landscape of Lakes and the water therein. This is accomplished by manoeuvering different types of Pieces that fall onto the playing area, one at a time (in a similar manner to the puzzle game Tetris). Each Piece has differing effects upon the arena. The main Pieces are Uppers, several different shapes that increase the height of the land on which they fall by one tier; these can be used to sculpt walls, dams, and the perimeters of Lakes. Shortly into the game, Water Bubbles will begin to fall; these burst upon impact with the land and flow realistically like a fluid across its surface.

The main method of gathering points is by using the Fireball Piece to evaporate Lakes, the number of points depending upon the volume of water removed in this way. On the right side of the screen is a water gauge called the Drain, which fills up as water falls off the edge of the Landscape, or down holes created by Bombs. The player loses the game when the Drain fills up to the top. The only way to reduce the level of the Drain is by evaporating water with Fireballs; again, the amount it is reduced by depends upon the amount of water evaporated.

Other modes of gameplay have different starting conditions or goals for the player to meet, but the basic features described above apply to all modes.

Reception

The Nintendo 64 version received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.