Felix & Son Arcade Archives

Did you know that in 1981, before Fix It Felix Jr. came out, there was a game starring Felix and Son? That’s right! Felix’s first appearance was actually with his father!

At least, according to another one of my fictional history games. I love adding to the timeline that is Wreck-It Ralph.

The first movie mentions that Fix-It Felix Jr. got his magic hammer from his father – implying a Felix Sr., who likely had his own game(s). Makes sense! Again, Fix It Felix Jr. is very much a reference to Donkey Kong, Mario, and Nintendo. So, let’s play this out:

Donkey Kong -> Donkey Kong Jr. -> Mario Bros.

Wreck It Ralph -> Fix It Felix Jr. -> Felix and Son

See? It all lines up! If we think of Fix It Felix Jr. as an analog to DK Jr., and Wreck It Ralph arcade game as an analog to Donkey Kong, then we’re just missing an analog to Mario Bros. That’s where Felix and Son comes in.

An animation showing gameplay of Felix and Son arcade

Creating the Felix and Son Arcade Game

Once again, I’ll be using Gamemaker Studio 2 for this work. I really want it to feel like Mario Bros. the arcade game. So, some qualifications:

Two player co-op gameplay
MAME style controls
Single screen, different enemy types
Enemies should take multiple hits to kill

So, in Felix & Son you jump on enemies (little animals) to put them in cages and stun them. Then, another hit to push them away. You can push those cages into other enemies to instantly destroy those enemies, and gain a score multiplier for doing so!

Graphic Style

This game is designed to be a precursor to Fix It Felix Jr. so the graphics should be a little less advanced. In that regard, I’m keeping most sprites to 3 or 4 colors maximum.

Sound and Music

Most of the sounds are simple beeps and bloops. I did need some musical elements though, and I didn’t want to reuse songs from the Disney arcade game (since it wouldn’t have come out yet). Mario Bros. (like many Nintendo games) used classical music for its transitions. So, I decided to go with Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 7 in C, K. 309. Honestly, I just picked something and grabbed sections I thought fit well. I did have to mix it down to just 3 channels with simple square and triangle waves so it’d sound authentic. Here’s what plays during the enemy demos.

Artwork

The artwork should also reflect Mario Bros. Sadly, I cannot draw. I’m pretty decent with the Adobe Suite doing layout and simple photo editing, but I felt the ‘cartoon’ style of Mario Bros. was far beyond anything I could emulate on my own. Luckily, I was able to get the services of a fantastic artist to help me out – who knocked it out of the park. I wanted something that paid homage to Mario Bros. but still felt like it was made for my game. Compare the side art below!

The Cabinet

Sadly, I don’t have the space or need for another full-sized cabinet build. So, I’m going with one of Haruman’s Pretendo cabinets. This will save me a lot of time on the cutting and also make it much more likely to fit in my place. Haruman has been great to work with so far. It’s still got that iconic Nintendo shape at like half the size. Haruman was even kind enough to send me a mockup!

I love seeing it all together, it’s really cool.

The Computer

For the computer, I’m using an Intel NUC from 2014. Got it for free, so can’t complain. It can’t do all the HLSL effects, but it can play the 80s and 90s classics, but the games I’ve coded. I’m using the AttractMode frontend.

The Build

After gathering all the parts, I assembled this thing in one long weekend! I don’t have the space to work on this where I live, so set up shop in my parent’s garage for a weekend. This meant I wanted to finish it all in one sitting. Careful planning of parts was the key to that. And other than a power switch arriving broken, it all worked out. For those curious, I used Ultimarc J-Stiks, their goldleaf buttons, and a minipac for control interface,