Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise

Humongous Entertainment

Industry	Video games
Founded	1992
Founder	Ron Gilbert, Shelley Day
Headquarters	Bothell, Washington , United States
Products	Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise, Putt-Putt Joins the Parade, others

Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise is an adventure game released in 1993 by Humongous Entertainment, representing the studio's second title following Putt-Putt Joins the Parade. This game stands as the only entry in the Fatty Bear point-and-click series, although the character also appears in compilation games such as Fatty Bear's Fun Pack and the crossover Putt-Putt & Fatty Bear's Activity Pack. In July 2013, Tommo secured the rights to the Fatty Bear franchise amid Atari's bankruptcy proceedings.

Plot

Kayla, eagerly awaiting a birthday surprise, drifts off to sleep while her stuffed animals awaken to prepare for her celebration. Fatty Bear, her cherished teddy, takes on the task of baking a chocolate chip cake with assistance from Matilda Rabbit. Meanwhile, Gretchen decorates Kayla’s room and crafts a "Happy Birthday" banner.

While in the kitchen, Fatty Bear encounters a gift box from which a mischievous puppy escapes and creates disorder. Gretchen informs him that the puppy has taken three letters from the birthday sign and requests Fatty Bear to retrieve them and inflate five balloons. Employing a bone tied with ribbon as bait, Fatty Bear successfully lures the puppy back into the box and secures it. After finishing the cake and restoring the banner, Fatty Bear returns to his stuffed toy form as dawn breaks. Kayla awakens to find her party preparations complete and receives her surprise gift—the puppy—expressing gratitude with a hug to Fatty Bear, bringing the story to a close.

Gameplay

The game mechanics are similar to those found in the Putt-Putt series, enabling players to guide Fatty Bear by clicking on designated areas to navigate him. He can carry various objects in his pockets to solve puzzles, and several mini-games are integrated throughout the experience.

Reception

The 3DO version received a 7.2 out of 10 rating from Electronic Gaming Monthly, which noted its resemblance to Putt-Putt but suggested choosing the latter if deciding between the two. Computer Gaming World commended the PC edition for its interactive and non-linear design, highlighting it as an excellent computer introduction for novices while remaining engaging for more experienced children.

The title garnered multiple accolades, including Best Educational Program awards from both Compute! and PC Home, along with a 4½ Mouse Award from MacUser.