Proto:Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds
This page details one or more prototype versions of Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds.
A demo version of this game, like a good chunk of the other Humongous games, was distributed among various discs, and on their website. This demo focuses on rescuing Gabby from inside the cave. Guess the plot about an entire population starving to death was just not exciting enough for this demo. It's got a good chunk of differences from the final game.
This page only covers material unique to the demo; anything that survived to the final is covered in the main article.
Contents
Unused Graphics/Graphical Differences
Dutch Title Screen
For some odd reason, the Dutch title screen is in the demo's files. This did not make it into the final game.
The Old Whale Bones
The old whale bones make an appearance in this demo, but since the bone and the bottle are irrelevant in the context, they never appear despite remaining in the game's data.
Demo | Final |
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The room was also partially redrawn for the final game. In the demo, the whale bones are inside the cave where Gabby is stuck. In the final game, going into the cave leads straight to Gabby; the whale bones are instead located a few screens away in an unrelated area. The entire right side of the screen was altered to accommodate this change. Additionally, it is no longer possible to travel into the whale bones in the final game, which leads to some animation that's exclusive to the demo version.
Inventory Items
A good chunk of the inventory items were left in the demo version, even though only the wooden boar-.. eh no, PLANK, the purple shell, and the single sea urchin are used. Their equivalent cursors are also present in the game's data, even though only the one for the wooden plank is used. The peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich, the clock, the purple shell, the fishing pole, and the crank handle were all left unaltered for the final game, but the remaining survivors in the demo had at least one change.
Demo | Final |
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The key was oddly resized and distorted in the demo version. This was more likely a mistake than anything, as other than its distortion, it looks the same as the final.
Demo | Final |
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The pearl got a glow and was enlarged significantly for the final game.
Demo | Final |
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The wooden plank/board had a blue glow added to the bottom in the final game to match the other items.
Demo | Final |
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The "glowing shell" doesn't look very shiny in the demo version; it's just the purple shell with a little green border. The final game gives it a much better glow.
Demo | Final |
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Originally, the bottle would still have the paper rolled up in it in the inventory. The final game changed it so it's unrolled and in front of the bottle.
This prototype screenshot from the old Humongous website shows it was even planned this way in the early stages.
Demo | Final |
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The inventory graphics for the purple sea urchins are a whole lot more primitive and pixel art-esque compared to the hand-drawn look of the final. Also, it is interesting to note that inventory graphics for only up to four urchins are present in the demo's data; six can be carried in the final game.
Other Differences
- In the opening, Sam flies down immediately on the first possible frame. The final game delays it a bit so that the upbeat part of the music can kick in at the proper time.
- The cave where Gabby is stuck was entirely mirrored for the final game, but is otherwise identical in every other respect. This fact makes it a lot more likely that the whale bones were originally intended to be behind the rocks at first, since the cave could have potentially faced either direction in this state. One interesting thing to note is that despite this change, the graphics in their raw format are facing in the direction that would fit the demo version instead of the final -- they're programmed to be mirrored, making this hypothetical situation even more likely.
- As hinted above a few times, Freddi oddly calls the plank of wood "a wooden plank" in the demo as opposed to "wooden board" in the final. This leads to a different line for when it is picked up. Additionally, the item is in a different location in the demo (to the left of the cave instead of the right), but the fact that she has no animation for picking it up (it just pops straight into the inventory) makes it unlikely it was originally planned to be there.
- The movement scenes are entirely silent in this demo, with no bubbling or swimming noises.
- The final game has wooden arrows present on most of the screens as a way to guide the player; these are completely absent in the demo, even in places where they still would have had relevance. In fact, one such absence can be seen on the picture of the old whale bones above.
- Speaking of arrows, there are also no isometric cursors used in the demo. The final game has special cursors that are used to point to directions off in the distance, but here, only the flat cursors are used. Bizarrely, the isometric cursors are still left in the data, making one wonder why this was done.
- When Mrs. Halibut charges for the cave in this version, her graphics are slightly lower than they should be, leading her to briefly looking headless on the rocks instead of stuck in the cave. It gets corrected after she tries to break free though.
- Some versions of this demo mistakenly use data from Let's Explore the Airport's demo, which leads to the pause menu saying "The Airport Demo Version 1.0" and the options menu having incorrect labels; for example, "Read pages automatically" turns on the subtitles instead.
The Freddi Fish series
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Windows/Mac OS Classic | The Missing Kelp Seeds (Prototype) • The Haunted Schoolhouse • The Stolen Conch Shell • The Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch • The Creature of Coral Cove Maze Madness • Water Worries |