Bejeweled (video game)

Gameplay

Bejeweled is a match-three video game. Gameplay centers around gaining points by swapping two adjacent gems within a tile-based grid to create lines of three or more matching gems, If neither of the gems swapped create a line of three or more of the same gem, the two gems will revert to their original positions. Versions such as Bejeweled Deluxe have two game modes: untimed and timed. Untimed mode revolves around attempting to reach a high score and ends when no further matches are possible; timed mode involves trying to gain points to prevent a timer bar from reaching the end. JAMDAT's Bejeweled Multiplayer includes an additional multiplayer mode, in which opponents compete in timed one-on-one matches. During these matches, players can use special gems, such as bomb gems, to affect their opponent's gameplay.

Development

After a failed venture into online erotic video games with the strip poker simulator Foxy Poker (2000), the video game developer Sexy Action Cool shifted to developing simple video games to license to other companies. At the time, the company had consisted of its three cofounders: business manager John Vechey, programmer Brian Fiete, and designer Jason Kapalka. In April 2000, Vechey discovered a match-three browser game titled Colors Game, which was reportedly primitive. It used squares as graphics, required the webpage to be refreshed between moves to update the game, and did not have animation or sound effects. Finding the match-three mechanic addictive, the team was inspired to develop a more polished version of the game.

Though Kapalka considered using fruits or geometric shapes for the graphics, he ultimately picked gems, as the fruits lacked visual diversity and the shapes lacked visual appeal. The game, originally titled Diamond Mine after a song by the Canadian country rock band Blue Rodeo, had a cave mining theme before it was renamed to Bejeweled. It was initially time-based by default at the suggestion of other game developers such as Pogo.com, with the goal being to maximize one's score before the timer ran out. Though an untimed mode was only included as an afterthought to serve as a tutorial, it would become the main mode associated with Bejeweled upon positive feedback from players.

Release

Diamond Mine was released for browsers in 2000, first appearing on Sexy Action Cool's website. The team offered Diamond Mine to Microsoft for $50,000 but were rejected; Microsoft instead offered to lease the game for $1,500 per month for their online gaming portal MSN Games. After the deal, Sexy Action Cool was renamed to PopCap Games to make the brand more reflective of their new family-oriented target audience.

Though Bejeweled was successful on MSN Games, PopCap did not experience significant monetary revenue. To remedy this, PopCap considered selling a cheap retail version of Bejeweled. Astraware executive Howard Tomlinson suggested selling the game as shareware for $20, with the rationale that, for consumers, a cheap price would imply an inferior product. Around this time, Astraware ported Bejeweled to Palm personal digital assistants (Palm PDAs) on March 1, 2001. A retail version with graphical enhancements, titled Bejeweled Deluxe, was released for Microsoft Windows on May 30, 2001. The business model surrounding Bejeweled Deluxe and subsequent PopCap games was to provide both a free version to play online and a downloadable retail version with the option of a limited trial run before requiring payment to continue.

As PopCap became more successful, they planned to release their games to as many platforms as possible, and Windows Mobile on May 3, 2004. Bejeweled was packaged with another PopCap game, Alchemy, by MacPlay for the Mac OS X on June 28, 2002. JAMDAT Mobile released a multiplayer version of Bejeweled, titled Bejeweled Multiplayer, for Java ME and BREW on May 13, 2003. Bejeweled was released as a launch title for Xbox Live Arcade on the original Xbox on November 6, 2004, and for the iTunes store on the fifth generation iPod on September 12, 2006. In the lead-up to the release of the Apple App Store, PopCap created a version of Bejeweled compatible with iPhones to be played through the Safari browser on July 30, 2007.

In February 2006, Electronic Arts (EA) acquired JAMDAT, granting EA's subsidiary EA Mobile the rights to Bejeweled on mobile platforms, a license that would be extended through 2010, before EA acquired PopCap in July 2011. EA Mobile updated JAMDAT's version of Bejeweled with graphical enhancements, releasing it on May 18, 2007, in North America. On August 12, 2008, EA Mobile announced a deal with Handango to distribute ports of EA Mobile's games, including Bejeweled, on Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and Symbian phones. EA Mobile added Bejeweled to BlackBerry App World on August 21, 2009.

Reception

Bejeweled achieved success on MSN Games, becoming the number one game by traffic on the site within a month and maintaining that position until July 2002. Vechey estimated that Bejeweled peaked at 50,000 to 60,000 users on MSN Games.

The lack of skill required to play Bejeweled led to it being ignored by reviewers. However, according to gaming journalist Harold Goldberg, the reviewers who appreciated Bejeweled "could feel a Zen peacefulness when playing", an experience comparable to Tetris. David Manning of Computer Gaming World wrote of the staff becoming transfixed with Bejeweled Deluxe, threatening the magazine's production. The addictiveness of Astraware's PDA versions were positively received by Maximum PC and Hyper. Bejeweled Multiplayer was praised by both IGN and GameSpot for its additions to the original Bejeweled, which they felt contributed to its entertainment value. IGN considered the Xbox Live port of Bejeweled fun but criticized its lack of multiplayer function.

Computer Gaming World selected Bejeweled as the best puzzle game of 2001 and included the game in their Hall of Fame in 2005, becoming the only puzzle game alongside Tetris to be inducted. At the 2004 G-Phoria, hosted by G4techTV, Bejeweled Multiplayer won "Best Mobile Phone Game" among 500,000 online votes. In 2007, GamesRadar+ listed Bejeweled as a PC game that "shaped a generation", saying, "But not since Tetris has such a simple mechanic gripped so many for so long." Gameswelt (2012), Polygon (2017), and Game Informer (2018) have ranked Bejeweled as among the best video games of all time in their respective lists. In 2020, The Strong National Museum of Play inducted Bejeweled into the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

Legacy

The popularity of Bejeweled is credited with the rise of the casual games industry in the 21st century. Kapalka attributes the rise to the exclusion of a default timer in Bejeweled, allowing for gaming that did not require skill. The commercial success of Bejeweled allowed PopCap to develop small casual games with high-production values to be ported on a wide-range of platforms, as games such as Bookworm, Peggle, and entries of the Bejeweled series were developed for multiple years.

Bejeweled popularized the match-three genre of puzzle games; many such games have been accused of being Bejeweled clones and lacking innovation. Thousands of match-three video games have been released in the wake of Bejeweled, including over 2,200 match-three games on the Apple App Store as of February 2014. Some of these games, such as Candy Crush Saga (2012), have exceeded the popularity of Bejeweled. Developers such as King, Playrix, and Demiurge have created popular mobile games that tweak Bejeweled match-three formula. For example, Demiurge's Puzzle Quest (2007) fuses match-three gameplay with role-playing game conventions, King's Candy Crush Saga (2012) includes power-ups and stylized levels, and Playrix's Gardenscapes (2016) involves renovating a garden through successful match-three rounds.

The Bejeweled series consists of two direct sequels and several spin-offs. Development of these entries, according to Kapalka, took years and were focused on improving upon the original formula. while Bejeweled 3 released in 2010 to positive reviews. Of the spin-offs, Bejeweled Twist released in 2008 and Bejeweled Blitz released in 2009 to positive reviews, while Bejeweled Stars released in 2016 to mixed reviews. The game series overall has been commercially successful; by 2010, Bejeweled, Bejeweled Twist, and Bejeweled Blitz collectively reached 50 million sales. Outside of the franchise, PopCap licensed a version of Bejeweled that can be played in World of Warcraft starting in September 25, 2008, and PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies (2009) contains a mini-game based on Bejeweled, titled "Beghouled".

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

References

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