Goliath Games Burping Bobby!
A hungry hungry hippo with a gassy surprise!
Burping Bobby began as a conversation about how to incorporate scent into a game. Although the scent feature never made it into the final game, for kids the visualization of scent turned out to be an equally powerful effect!
Burping Bobby was invented by Myself, Joel Tucker, and Alex Siedband, and codeveloped by Joel and I at Big Monster Toys, before being licensed by Goliath Games. Burping Bobby uses an atomizer to turn water directly into steam, and by backlighting that steam with green light, Bobby burps a thick green haze. Even without the scent, the green gas is enough to send kids running! A simple and cost effective illusion, Burping Bobby was my first product to make it to market. I learned a lot about fitting internal components, space management, and reducing mechanical complexity working on this project. Due to NDA I am unable to show the development process.
Our Model:
Stinky Stu was the first plastic action toy that I worked on at Big Monster Toys. The industry was in the middle of a play trend centered around gross-out, and our 3D printed sculpt reflected that. Using a sprung linkage, pressing his stomach makes his arms flex backward, his head lurch forward, and his mouth open. The SLA printed interior trapped the atomizer, the lights that gave the burp its green glow, and kept the water tank tightly sealed.
Goliath’s Commercial:
Goliath loved our colorized burp, but wanted to maintain their track record of success with animal themed products. They took our model and used it to produce Burping Bobby, an admittedly cuter take on our novel technology.