1993 video game
Plok! is a platform game developed by the British studio Software Creations for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in late 1993 by Tradewest in North America, Nintendo in Europe, and Activision in Japan. Players control the hood-headed titular protagonist, the king of the island Akrillic, who is defending it from fleas spawned by the Flea Queen, hidden beneath the island's surface, as well as other bosses attempting to usurp Plok's power. His versatility lies in his four detachable limbs, which can be used to attack targets and enemies, along with various power-ups scattered throughout the game's colorful stages, referred to as "presents."
The history of "Plok!" began in the late 1980s as a self-funded coin-op project by Ste and John Pickford called "Fleapit". They developed it while working at Zippo Games and programmed it for Rare's 'Razz Board' hardware. The project was canceled in 1990 following the closure of Zippo Games but was later revived as an SNES game developed at Software Creations after the Pickfords were promoted to higher positions, with Ste becoming an art director and John a producer. Software Creations self-funded the game, with the Pickfords retaining ownership of its intellectual property rights. A port for the Sega Genesis was planned but was canceled for unknown reasons.
"Plok!" received positive reviews from critics, who praised its innovative ideas, variety, music, presentation, versatile protagonist, and level design. However, some critics noted skepticism about its similarity to other colorful platform games of the era. The Pickfords attributed its underwhelming sales to the market saturation of mascot-driven platformers.
Gameplay.
"Plok!" offers two difficulty modes: "Normal," which includes the entire game, and "Child's Play," which removes the harder stages and reduces both the speed and hit points of enemies. Players can earn "Plokontinues" by collecting four P-L-O-K tokens, with one token awarded for completing a level without losing a life. If a Game Over occurs, the player restarts with a score of 0, three lives, and at the most recent Plokontinue checkpoint. Saving is limited to two "Permanent Continue Positions," which are unlocked after defeating the Bobbins Brothers and Rockyfella bosses. These allow the player to resume from specific points even after resetting the game. The game does not include a password feature.
Plok can launch any of his four limbs—two arms and two legs—as projectiles to attack enemies. If a limb hits an enemy, it returns immediately to Plok, but if it misses, it takes longer to come back. Limbs can pass through specific obstacles, such as rock pillars. However, Plok cannot fire limbs while somersaulting. In later levels, certain puzzles require Plok to "sacrifice" a limb to activate scenery-changing switches. When a limb strikes a target, it is placed on a hanger near the switch. Some targets require specific limbs, and when Plok loses all his limbs, he moves by bouncing, which makes him harder to control.
Plok's secondary attack, the "Speed Blade," is a buzzsaw-like move that enhances his speed and delivers maximum damage to enemies. He can collect shells, which grant extra lives and serve as ammunition for a special amulet obtained partway through the game. The amulet converts shells into energy for his secondary attack. Players can also find "Magic Fruits," which heal Plok's health. The more he punches a fruit, the larger it grows, restoring additional health. Rare "Golden Fruits" fully replenish his energy. In certain stages, some fruits transport Plok to bonus areas where he must complete timed challenges or collect all shells to progress. Successfully completing these sections may allow Plok to skip certain levels or boss fights.
"Presents" temporarily transform Plok into characters inspired by his favorite movies, such as "Plocky," which equips him with boxing gloves; "Vigilante Plok," a flamethrower-wielding character resembling the "Ploxterminator"; the Deerstalker-wearing "Squire Plok," armed with a blunderbuss; "Cowboy Plok," a gun-slinging character inspired by westerns; and "Rocket Plok," equipped with multiple rocket launchers. Presents found in the Fleapit grant access to high-tech, futuristic vehicles equipped with weapons. These include a unicycle with a water cannon, an "off-road truck" with a rocket launcher, a jetpack with lasers, a motorbike armed with grenades, a tank, a bomb-dropping helicopter, a flying saucer with plasma cannons, and a pair of spring pogo shoes.
Players face various enemies throughout the game, including the recurring fleas. In most levels (excluding Cotton Island, Legacy Island, and Fleapit), Plok must eliminate all fleas to complete the stage. The final flea in each level drops a flag, which levitates to its flagpole, signaling that the player can proceed.
Plot.
As king, Plok resides on Akrillic, a large island in the fictional archipelago of Polyesta. One morning, Plok discovers that the big square flag atop the pole on his house's rooftop has been stolen, prompting him to set out in search of it. He spots the flag on Cotton Island from afar and sails there to retrieve it. However, during his search, Plok encounters several impostor flags, including a pair of underpants and a striped scarf, which only frustrate him further.
Eventually, Plok encounters the culprits responsible for the fake flags—the Bobbins Brothers, two giant creatures his grandpappy had warned him about. Plok battles the brothers to retrieve his flag.
After defeating the Bobbins Brothers and reclaiming his big square flag, Plok sails back to Akrillic, only to find the island overrun by "fleas"—two-legged blue insects that hatch from eggs and hop around. He learns that the flag theft was merely a ruse to lure him away from his island. Determined to reclaim his home, Plok travels across Akrillic, defeating every flea on the island's surface to restore his kingdom.
Partway through the game, Plok places the big square flag back where it belongs outside his home and takes a break, sitting on the foot of a statue of his grandfather, Grandpappy Plok. Reflecting on the situation, Plok wishes he had found an amulet to help him deal with the fleas. He falls asleep and dreams of his grandfather's quest for an amulet 50 years earlier.
In the dream, the player assumes the role of Grandpappy Plok, who sails from Akrillic to Legacy Island. Much like his grandson, Grandpappy faces bizarre obstacles, discovers artifacts (including Rockyfella), and encounters the Bobbin Brothers along with their third sibling, Irving.
After defeating the Bobbin Brothers and Irving, Grandpappy finally uncovers the amulet he had been seeking. He returns triumphantly to Akrillic. Back in the present, Plok wakes up and discovers that the amulet is hidden at the base of Grandpappy's statue.
Equipped with the amulet, Plok gains the ability to "charge" his buzzsaw jump attack by sacrificing the shells he has collected. With his newfound power, Plok's mission to reclaim Akrillic from the fleas resumes with greater determination.
Plok then ventures into various locations around the island, confronting creatures attempting to overthrow Akrillic: Penkinos, a group of inflatable, floating magicians of mysterious origin living in the northern part of the island; Womack, a spider residing in the island's center whose long legs serve as its weak points; and Rockyfella, the spirit of the island's soil, who resides beneath the mountains in the island's southeast and harbors resentment toward Plok for planting flagpoles in the ground.
After eliminating all the enemies on the island, Plok journeys to the Fleapit, the source of the fleas, where he utilizes various weaponized vehicles. He confronts the Flea Queen, the leader who hatched the fleas, using a high-tech "secret Super-Vehicle" equipped with bug spray to defeat her. Following the battle, Plok returns home to rest on his green chair.
Development.
1988: Rare hires Zippo Games.
In the summer of 1988, Ste and John Pickford, employees at Zippo Games—owned by John and their friend Steve Hughes—were struggling to complete games for 16-bit Atari ST and Amiga computers, with many projects being canceled. They learned that Rare was seeking developers for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) titles. At the time, the console had yet to gain popularity in the United Kingdom. Despite viewing the 8-bit system as "horribly overpriced and terribly underpowered," the Pickfords accepted the offer due to financial necessity and their admiration for the work of Rare founders Tim and Chris Stamper during their time at Ultimate Play the Game. Zippo Games became the only company Rare consulted for NES development.
Although initially skeptical of the NES, the Pickfords' experience working on "Ironsword"—along with the Stamper brothers’ requirement that they play Mario and Zelda games on the console—gave them a newfound appreciation for the system. This shifted their development priorities from focusing on technical sophistication to emphasizing the player's experience. This design philosophy ultimately shaped their approach to "Plok!".
1988–1989: "Fleapit".
While Ste was designing the shop screen for "Ironsword," John conceived a character with a hangman's hood. Ste sketched the concept in the margin of the layout. The idea of detachable limbs also emerged in this sketch, depicted with an arrow pointing to a pile of the character's parts below it. John then envisioned a game where players captured jumping fleas, deciding to make the hangman character the protagonist. The name "Plok" was spontaneously coined when John placed letters from a cassette tape cover on his computer mouse. His full name, "Plok the Exploding Man," highlighted his separable limbs. With John's encouragement, Ste moved to clean sheets of paper to develop further sketches, where he refined Plok's colors, poses, size (32x40), and expressive features, such as his wide-open mouth.
After these ideas were formed, Chris Stamper visited Zippo Games to introduce the Razz Board, a coin-op hardware system he had designed. The Pickfords were impressed by the hardware's advanced graphics capabilities and saw an opportunity to create a "real arcade game," akin to those they had admired in their youth. While they had previously worked on an Amiga-based coin-op system for "World Darts," they had never developed a "true" arcade title. They struck a deal with Rare to use the Razz Board for their dream project, with ownership of the game property and a significant share of board sales revenue. However, the agreement also required the brothers to self-fund the project. The game was titled "Fleapit".
Ste vaguely recalled "Fleapit" in a 2014 interview, comparing its gameplay to "" (2009), where the player had to catch one of several flying footballs to score a touchdown in the middle of a level. He described the game as only slightly more "primitive" than "Plok!", with stages that scrolled horizontally and vertically, featuring more "set pieces or one-off levels." The backgrounds included food items like sausages and doughnuts, along with a space level.
As development continued, Rare was primarily profiting from selling NES titles, which led them to focus less on Razz Board games like "Fleapit." In 1989, Rare became the first company outside of Japan to obtain a Game Boy, instructing Zippo Games to develop a game for the handheld console. This shift in focus meant that "Fleapit"'s development had to be halted. The relationship between Rare and Zippo Games deteriorated after Zippo failed to complete a Game Boy title as directed, and in 1990, Rare bought out Zippo Games, renaming it Rare Manchester, which was subsequently shut down. As a result of Zippo Games' closure and dwindling funds, "Fleapit" was canceled half-completed in 1990. Ste admitted in 2014 that their desire to produce a coin-op led to poor business decisions, including rejecting more financially lucrative console projects.
Late in "Fleapit"'s development, the Pickfords secured comedian Chris Sievey to voice Plok. They contacted him in 1990 through the number listed on one of his songs, "969 1909." The Pickfords met Sievey in his Frank Sidebottom costume at The Ritz venue, offering to work for free. However, shortly after, "Fleapit" was canceled, and Sievey never voiced the character.
1990–1993: From Zippo to Software Creations.
After leaving Zippo, John contacted Richard Hay, the head of Software Creations, the first company outside of Japan to possess a development kit for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Hay hired the Pickfords immediately to use the kit to design and program "Equinox" (1993), a sequel to the NES title "Solstice" (1990). The Pickfords were eventually promoted to higher positions, with Ste becoming an art director and John a producer.
Meanwhile, the Pickfords continued working on "Fleapit", developing new characters and locations, and creating additional pitch illustrations. Near the completion of "Equinox", the Pickfords presented "Fleapit" to Hay, pitching it under a new name: "Plok!" Although the brothers and Hay considered several consoles, including the