Hot Air

''This article is about the game. For the Character, please see Hot Air Balloon''

Hot Air!, sometimes written as Hot Air, is Nitrome's first released game, which came out in 2005. For a limited time, it was available for free download to the Nintendo Wii on Miniclip.

The goal of the game is to guide a hot air balloon to the finish pad by using a fan to blow it. Later, a sequel for the game (which also coincidentally Nitrome's first sequel), was released two years later, entitled Hot Air 2: All Blown Up.

Controls
Mouse - Control fan

Gameplay
In Hot Air, the player has to fan the balloon to the Red Pad in the level. Hazards are found throughout, often with a new hazard introduced every level. Stars can be collected in the level for points, and if all are collected, the player gains a Star Point. If the player collects a certain amount of Star Points, new levels are unlocked. To complete the entire game, all the stars in all levels have to be collected.

Levels
Each level of Hot Air starts with the balloon on a green pad. The goal of each level is to blow the character using the mouse all the way to the red pad. Any new enemies introduced are usually exclusive to their level. Collecting stars scattered throughout the level are also necessary. When enough stars are obtained, new levels necessary for completing the game are made available for play.

Level 1
In the first level, the player must simply guide Hot Air through a maze of spikes. There are a few easy-to-reach stars to be collected.

Level 2
In this level, the player must guide the balloon to two keys on the sides of the screen, then to the pad, while avoiding a giant blade. The stars here involve timing to reach, as well as the keys.

Level 3
In this level, Hot Air must travel through a small tunnel around the screen to get to the finish. In order to get all the stars, the player has to go to the top, where there is a key, and go back to get a star behind a door.

Level 4
In this level, Hot Air must travel around some spinning balls on chains. Hot Air must travel in sync with the movement of the balls on chains. 4 chains can be tricky, and they move fast.

Level 5
The player has to go down, then into the pockets above, and get to the end while avoiding the rising and falling lava.

Level 6
The Player has to go through a six toothed monster, and avoid the crushing teeth.

Level 7
The player has to go through three spinning spike paths to get to the finish.

Level 8
The player has to get to the right side of the volcano while avoiding roaming fire shot from it.

Level 9
The player has to get to the finish pad as fast as possible before the walls crush the player, while making tight squeezes between spike balls.

Interactive Objects
The interactive objects of Hot Air.
 * Stars - Found all around courses. After collecting all of them in a course, a star will be added to the count in the menu.

Enemies
Making contact with any enemy will cause the balloon to pop, forcing the player to restart the level.
 * Boy Axe - A giant blade will swing back and forth, and will pop the hot air balloon if hit.
 * Small Balls on Chains - To avoid them, the player must move in sync with the movement of the balls on chains.
 * 6 Toothed Mouth Monster - The player can only progress to the end by going through the gaps made by the opened mouth of the monster.
 * Volcano - Spews out fire.
 * Fire - A small red bullet that hones in on the player when fired out of the volcano.

Hazards

 * Main Article: Hazards (Hot Air Series)

These dangerous objects will also pop the balloon.
 * Spikes - Come out of the ground, and are located in every level.
 * Lava - Orange and red liquid that will kill Hot Air on contact.
 * Spinning Spike Path - A circular path of spikes that turns around. One opening/exit of the Path is usually bigger then the other. It is considered to be one of the most dangerous hazards.

Trivia

 * The Miniclip version of Hot Air is also playable on The Nintendo Wii's Internet Channel.
 * The smallest passage that the ballon has to squeeze through in the game (and in the series) is at the beginning of level 24. The player only has a few free pixels to move around, but the area ony lasts for around 2 Balloon widths.
 * Although being the first game released, Hot Air might possibly be the hardest game nitrome ever released.
 * Lee Nicklen (Hot Air’s composer) made 5 extra tracks when he made Hot Air.
 * 1) Extra Song #1
 * 2) Extra Song #2
 * 3) Extra Song #3
 * 4) Extra Song #4
 * 5) Extra Song #5
 * 6) Extra Song #6