Table Flip Simulator starts off with a simple idea: smashing stuff is fun and dials it up to eleven. The story begins with you working at DullMart and your boss demands you work overtime on your birthday. Naturally, this sets off a heroic journey where you end up becoming the President of Antarctica. How did this wacky game go from flipping tables to 50 chaotic levels? We spoke with the development team at YummyYummyTummy to discuss making this comedic, physics-powered puzzle game.
Where did the idea for Table Flip Simulator come from?
Spencer Yip, Director: I wanted to make a game where players could de-stress and laugh by causing a little harmless chaos. One of the early ideas was a playable rage room and then I remembered a table flipping arcade game I saw in Japan. Watching objects shatter into pieces felt cathartic and I wanted to see how far we could run with destruction as a core mechanic.
There are a lot of different levels in the game and each one has unique goals too. I played the level where you’re a barista making coffee and another level where you work at a grocery store.
SY: We thought it would be fun to take real world jobs and turn them into absurd situations. In the grocery store level, you’re breaking packages and tossing fruit at customers. Later in the game, you’re throwing clothes at models as a fashion show judge, stopping a zombie apocalypse, and making futuristic sushi.
Completing objectives charges your rage bar and when its full you can unleash a massive table flip! It’s the game’s Super Saiyan moment.
How did you come up with the story for Table Flip Simulator? What inspired you?
Geoffrey Golden, Narrative Director: The story was a highly collaborative process with Spencer. I loved the room trashing mechanic and figured we needed a player character with a deep well of anger to justify all those flipped tables and chucked cups of steaming hot coffee. We let the player character’s heightening emotions guide the plot forward, from annoyance to righteous indignation to power mad fury, and synchronized those emotions to the gameplay.
What was the wackiest scene you wrote?
GG: It’s hard to choose. I wrote scenes where the player angrily destroys a K-Pop fan meetup, a Wild West town, and an alien planet, but the most surreal might be a presidential debate between the player and their penguin rival for the future of Antarctica. It’s a wild ride!
Hang on, how do you debate with a penguin?
SY: Hahaha. It’s actually a boss fight with Pecky Penguin! She throws fish and you can defend yourself by blocking with the LB button. When you block items, you can pick them up and throw them back at her or the senator seals she summons. Pecky is one of the bosses you’ll encounter on your big flipping journey. Watch out for a college professor, a wrestler, and even a kaiju.
What is it like creating a game with an indie team?
SY: The best part is everyone gets a chance to shape the game with their ideas. Eric, who made behavior trees for the actors, thought it would be funny to have characters freak out when they touched fire so he added that as a feature. Raisa, who modeled a lot of the characters, had the brilliant idea to turn the table into a character by giving it eyes. Then, our sound designer found a voice for Table-kun who became the game’s mascot. Each creative and strange idea made the game wackier and more fun to play.
How does the level editor enhance gameplay?
SY: Good question! The level editor is one of the features we’re most excited about because we’re sure players can make memes playable and design their own ridiculous situations! Every time you complete a level, you unlock that level and its items to use in the editor. You can start from scratch and fill a stage with wizards, furniture, penguins, flying cars or whatever delightfully weird combination makes sense to you. Or you can remix one of the levels we made.
Think of it as a physics-powered playground with over 3000 items and 200 characters to experiment with. After you make a level, you can share it online through CurseForge or browse levels created by the community. We built 50 levels for the main game and known players are going to come up with ideas we couldn’t imagine. All of us are excited to see the unhinged levels that only players can dream up and we can’t wait to play them.
Any last thoughts you want to share?
SY: I hope everyone that plays Table Flip Simulator gets a good laugh. We made this game to turn everyday frustrations into ridiculous gameplay. You’re breaking stuff, you’re solving puzzles to hunt for secret objectives, and watching your score climb while fragments of cars unexpectedly fly everywhere because of physics said “let’s do this.” Most of all, we want players to smile as they watch a sentient table plow through the world.
Table Flip Simulator
PM-Studios, Inc.
$14.99
This physics-based puzzler turns everyday frustration into cathartic destruction as you throw, smash, and flip tables through levels inspired by modern life. Your adventure begins with a bad day at work, when your boss demands you work overtime on your birthday, and escalates into a heroic journey to become the President of the most powerful nation on Earth: Antarctica.
Wreck the world to unlock dozens of costumes and new playable levels. Make coffee as a barista, survive teaching a class of high school students, and prove your throwing mastery in ridiculous boss battles where you can tussle with a college professor. Each imaginative level encourages experimentation, creative destruction to rack up points, all alongside a cast of quirky characters.
Want to crank the chaos even higher? Build your own fully destructible stages with the in-game level editor. Turn real-life frustrations into unhinged playgrounds of destruction! Then share your masterpieces online for other players to play.
Features:
● Flip tables, throw objects, and enjoy the consequences.
● Unlock costumes to create your own custom flipper.
● Battle memorable bosses that are both silly and epic.
● Chase high scores across a huge variety of stages.
● Solve optional objectives to unlock bonus levels.
● Explore retro-cool visuals and knock out over 200 characters.
● Build fully destructible levels with the in-game editor.
● Share your creations online and play levels made by other players.
● Did we mention smashing things?