Where's My Water?

Where's My Water? is a puzzle video game developed by Creature Feep and published by Disney Mobile, a subsidiary of Disney Interactive Studios. Released for desktop web browsers such as Internet Explorer and devices using Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10 operating systems, the game requires players to route a supply of water to an alligator. Its lead character, Swampy, is the first original Disney character for a mobile game.
The game has inspired additional games by Disney Mobile, "Where's My Perry?" and "Where's My Mickey?" being released on June 20, 2013. A follow-up to the game, called "Where's My Water? 2" was released on September 2013.
Gameplay
Swampy, an alligator living in a city sewer system, hates being dirty. Whenever he tries to take a bath, Cranky, another alligator living in the sewers, disrupts the water flow to Swampy's home.
Located somewhere on the level is a supply of water, either a limited amount pooled at different locations or an unlimited amount flowing from a pipe. Players use the touch screen on their device to dig through the dirt and redirect the water toward an inlet leading to Swampy's bathtub. In many levels, the water must be routed through other pipes or must interact with machines in order to open up a route to the inlet. When the required amount of water (that being twenty minimum) reaches the bathtub, the level is completed and the next level is unlocked. Also scattered around the level are three rubber ducks that can be collected when they are filled with five drops of water. Select levels also include items hidden in the dirt that will unlock bonus levels when three-item collections are completed.
Certain levels are also populated by hazards that must be avoided or removed. For example, some levels contain algae that will absorb water and grow, while bombs destroy all objects and/or kill all the rubber ducks in the bomb's vicinity. Other types of fluids will sometimes appear, such as purple poison/acid, reddish mud, and green ooze/slime. If either poison, ooze or mud reaches the inlet, the level is failed and must be restarted (Swampy jumps out of the tub if poison/acid enters it, but simply gets surprised or disgusted if ooze/slime or mud enters it instead). If all the water or any fluids that must be converted disappear, Swampy simply mopes as the level restarts too (in the free version of this game or any version of the game until 2013, he mournfully cries as a result of failure). The poison, mud, and the ooze will kill all the rubber ducks (they turn into uncollectable skulls and make a painful-sounding quack) on contact, as well as bombs when the ducks are in the vicinity of them.
Points are awarded for a/the short amount of time taken to complete the level, for collecting rubber ducks and for delivering more than the minimum amount of water to Swampy's tub. Collecting a certain number of rubber ducks will also unlock new groups of levels.
Development
Where's My Water? was developed by Creature Feep, a team of designers within the Disney Mobile division of Disney Interactive Studios. Creature Feep is headed up by game design director Tim FitzRandolph. In an October 2011 interview, FitzRandolph explained that the goal for the development of Where's My Water? was "to contribute a new character to the company, while making a really fun game in the process".
The earliest phase of development centered around the concept of the game, which was players using their fingers to guide water to a goal. In actuality, the water is rendered as lots of individual "drops" that interact with each other. At one point the designers had to devise a reason for having a bathtub underground. That reason came from the urban legend of alligators living in city sewers, so the game's lead character became a "hygiene-conscious alligator". Unlike many mobile games released by Disney, where characters from the company's films are used, Where's My Water? represents the first time that Disney has produced an original character for a mobile game. In designing that character, Disney Mobile wanted one "that felt like it belonged when lined up with other Disney characters".
Release
Where's My Water? came out with four chapters - "Meet Swampy", "Troubled Waters", "Under Pressure" and "Sink or Swim" -- each containing 20 levels. New chapters are rolled out with updates, each featuring new gameplay tools and supplies. A version for devices that have the Android operating system was released on the Android Market in North America on November 23, 2011 and included all six chapters available up to that point. A free, ad-supported version of Where's My Water? was also released to both iOS and Android in December 2011. The free version included 25 unique levels, plus the ability to unlock five popular levels taken from the main game. In May 2012, a total of 20 levels that originally appeared in the free version were added to the full version, collectively known as "The Lost Levels". The levels in question are grouped into two holiday-themed chapters. June 2012 The update also included two new in-app purchases: the "Mystery Duck" mode (see below) and Locksmith Duck, which would unlock a chapter without having to collect a certain number of ducks within the main game. In connection, Where's My Perry, a version of the game featuring Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb. On September 19, 2012, a new update brought a special Birthday Level, "Make a Wish", to Where's My Water and Swampy's 1 Year Birthday. 10 more Lost Levels were also added for free. An infographic of Where's my Water's history teased a new update with a black-and-white and Frankenweenie-based levels.
Cranky's Story
In January 2012, "Cranky's Story", a new subset of levels within the game, was added initially to the iOS version and later to the Android version. The gameplay in "Cranky's Story" is basically the same as the main game, in that players must route a fluid to an inlet goal. However, this time the player must help Cranky by bringing the purple poisonous water into his lair to melt algae that is covering his food. This time, the ducks are now purple and can only be collected by being filled with poison, while other fluids (including clean water) will kill it. If water or any of the other liquids enter the inlet, the level is failed (the water causes Cranky's food to be covered with more algae, surprising him, while ooze will turn it into a rock and being kicked away, the same is true with mud). If all of the poison is lost, then Cranky will get very angry and impatient over the loss of the poison.
The update also includes Cranky Challenges, a set of 24 challenges and eight bonus stages for the player to accomplish, but with different objectives rather than those in Swampy's main story, ocassionally some Cranky levels also incorporate such Challenges. If those challenges are failed, then Swampy will just mope as if you lost all the water (up until 2013, he would mournfully cry as if you lost all the water as well). If the challenge were to be a Cranky-based level, and then fail in a similar manner to other challenges, then Cranky will get very angry as if you lost all the poison.
The first five levels in the first chapter, "Cranky's First Course", are free to play, while the rest of the chapter and all of the second chapter, "Hunger Pains", are accessible through a one-time in-app purchase. An all new Food Groups and the third episode "Bulking Up" were released on April 5, 2012, as well as adding 6 challenges and two bonus stages. The fourth and final episode, "Overstuffed", was released on May 18, 2012.
Challenges
There are challenges found in many Swampy and Cranky levels. There are seven basic types, four of them coming from Cranky Challenges, while the other three from the Mystery Duck's game mode:
To triduck (get three ducks on a level) a level, but with Cranky Ducks
To triduck (get three ducks on a level) a level, but with Swampy Ducks
To zeroduck (get past a level with no ducks) a level
To get past a level without getting any of the required water to Swampy
To beat a level with a Mystery Duck
To beat a level with a Mega Duck
To beat a level with 10 Ducklings
Mystery Duck
In June 2012, a new game mode called "Mystery Duck" was introduced. It is a revisit of the levels from the main game except the player has to deal 3 special kinds of ducks. They are:
The MegaDuck, a large duck that requires a large amount of water to fill
Ducklings, a group of 10 tiny ducks (which can easily be filled with a drop of water)
The tuxedo-clad Mystery Duck, which goes around an entire level either by disappearing and reappearing in certain spots or physically moving up and down and side to side.
Like "Cranky's Story", a one-time in-app purchase was required to play beyond the first five levels. On September 19, as part of the Birthday update, 40 more levels were added to Mystery Duck.
Allie's Story
In May 2013, a new subset of levels called "Allie's Story" was added in a May 25 update. The gameplay in this mode is the same as the other modes, but this time, it requires players to direct steam to operate Allie's makeshift pipe organ. Ducks are light blue and can only be filled with steam, while other fluids (except clean water) will kill them. If water or any other fluids get in the inlet or any of the steam is lost, the level is failed. As with Cranky's Story and Mystery Duck, a one-time in-app purchase is required to play beyond the first five levels.
The update also includes Allie Challenges, a set of 24 challenges and eight bonus stages for the player to accomplish, but has to collect all the notes in the correct order from left to right. Ocassionally, Swampy, Cranky, or Allie levels incorporate such Challenges. If the player makes a wrong turn of events, such as killing (or partially filling) the music note or breaking the correct order, then such challenge would fail and the level would be failed as well as if you lost all of the steam/water/poison.
List of levels
References
2011 video games
Disney video games
Puzzle video games
Android (operating system) games
IOS games
Windows games