ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)

[Poetronic]

Hi all,

it's been a while, but there's some good news: I just uploaded the alpha version of my very first game ever! Yes, ever!

Added skip level feature for faster gameplay + minor bug fixes (31.10.)

• When only a few blocks are left you can skip the level by moving the paddle below the green arrows and holding the left mouse button for approx. 2 secs. But beware: skipping a level before all blocks are destroyed will significantly decrease your score!
• Improved hiscore name entry

Fixed some minor bugs (29.10.)

• Hiscore (local/online)
• Player name
• Minor ingame bugs

Download

• RAR-Archive: http://tinyurl.com/8bpxyww  (file size ~3mb)
• ZIP-Archive: http://tinyurl.com/8bfdmv9 (file size ~ 3mb)

Features

• 32 levels (soundtrack changes every 8 levels)
• 16 item types
• 3 ball types (normal, sticky, on fire)
• 99 blocks with different block types (explosive, teleport, multihit, switching etc.)
• enemies that will fire back at you (starting from level 24)
• mini endboss
• score system that includes a timer, how many blocks each ball hits in a row, and how many balls you save through each level
• online hiscore @ http://tinyurl.com/9p6usvc (currently only one entry, so you go ahead and fill it!)
• tiny particle system
• text scroller
• encrypted game data
• some really nice music from www.modarchive.org
• pretty sure I forgot something

Playing Tipps

• The more blocks your balls hit in a row, the higher the score for each block
• You can score extra points for each ball in the game when you complete a level
• Level 1: Try to get a large paddle, then keep all balls in the game = higher score
• Level 2: Get the 's' item (small paddle) on the right side of the blocks; then get the 'missile' item; try shooting all blocks while the item is active = lots of timer points
• Level 3: Try to shoot the ball(s) through a hole in the grey blocks so they can hit as many blocks in a row as possible = lots of points
• Similar strategies apply to all levels!
• Yes, the game seems pretty tough on first sight, but it is definitely beatable as soon as you get a feel for the behaviour of the balls and the location of the items. Don't give up after just 1-2 tries!
• There are some hidden extra lives to be found in the higher levels. Sometimes not shooting blocks and not hitting explosive blocks might prove helpful.
• Come on, guys, you can all do a lot better than level 4!

Please let me know what you think and also feel free to report any bugs/errors and so on that you might experience while playing the game.

Last not least, thank you so much for all the support from this great community! Without the help of the people in here I would never ever have been able to get thisfar! So thank you all very, very much! Also a big thank you to Gernot and all his co-workers for providing a framework that made it possible for me to finally create my first computer game.



PS - Some people might not like to hear me using some well known music in this rather unspectacular game. Let's just think of it as a tribute to the composers. I forgot to provide the props and links to the files in the readme.txt but I will add them in the next version. Cheers!

[Wampus]

Good work. I it. Fun animations, lots of power-ups, interesting tile features, basic but cool fx, good level design. You should be proud of this as your first game. 

One area I thought could use improvement and applies to all games of this genre is the slowing up of gameplay when are only a few tiles left. It can take a long time to get them. If there was some kind of way for the game to detect a low number of tiles left and/or lots of time taken to reach them and do something to help speed them away, perhaps with the penalty of higher risks (i.e. faster ball or enemies, etc.) that might keep the gameplay flowing more evenly.

I got interrupted and had to quit before I submitted my uber-score. Will try playing again a little later. 

[Poetronic]

Thanks Wampus, highly appreciate your comment! The slowing of gameplay seems to be an issue with all breakout games indeed, I totally agree with you on this part, and now you say it I might in fat try to come up with a solution to this problem. Could be a feature that separates my rather trivial breakout version from other games in that sector.

Have fun playing again later, there is in fact some sort of learning curve involved in playing the game that really makes you score better after a while. Thanks again

[kanonet]

I really like it (even though I suck at it lol)! Thats really your 1st game? Very nice, congratz.

One minor problem that i found:
When you enter highscore, how do you remove unneeded letters from "PLAYER_ONE"? Im just able to Replace letters with to input my name, but i cant remove the not needed ones, backspace and delete keys both dont work for me.

[Poetronic]

Thank you kanonet for your kind reply, it is really my first game ever.

I will definitely add a feature for blank spaces in the next version (i.e. a minimum length for the player name), thanks for the hint!

[MrTAToad]

Very nice!  I think the bat change to large (or small) should be animated rather than  just changing to the relevant size.

[Poetronic]

Thanks MrTAToad, I will add paddle size animation in the next version!

[mentalthink]

I play for a while, and runs very better than my fantasy Bricks... it´s funny...
The background it´s absolutely atractive the stars qhit alphachannel are very cool, I think if you put a good Graphics and cool music and sounds you have a good product...

[Ian Price]

Finally had a chance to play it and it's really good. The physics feel pretty good, the levels are tight and focused, although a tad uninteresting. The graphics and music are pretty good and certainly don't let the game down. I'd add some sfx to the game and have more variety in the power-ups per level, but other than that a fantastic start to what may well be a very rewarding coding experience - for you and the end-user.

Nice one

[Schranz0r]

GREAT START to gamemaking!
I like it a lot, pls make a Android-Version

Graphics: 4/5 (a bit more details and you hit the 5 )
Sound   : 4/5 (maybe a bouncesound would be good?! I realy like the Song! )
Fun       : 5/5

[Poetronic]

@mentalthink: Thank you, I will try to improve the graphics a little bit in the next version!

@Ian Price: Thanks the the detailed feedback! I know the game can feel a bit uninteresting at times, hopefully I will deliver a slightly more attractive version after improving a bit on SFX, graphics, and power ups. I will also add a feature that lets the player choose if he wants to continue playing the level as soon as there are only like 5-10 blocks left or go to the next level immediately. If he decides to keep playing, he will be rewarded with something like a score*100 bonus for each block/enemy and so on, and if he decides to continue to the next level, he will lose some point. That might help keeping players a bit more interested in completing the levels. And yes, you are right, it is a rewarding experience. When I started programming this game I thought "Now how difficult can it be to get a little breakout game runnnig!" but it turned out to be quite a lot of work. I guess it was a good idea to start out with something small and get it done instead of starting with something big and failing to complete it

@Schranz0r: Again, thank you a lot! Never thought that someone woud rate this small game with a 5/5 for its fun factor I will try to improve sound and graphics in the upcoming version! I don't know about an Android version yet - but if you're interested, I could give you the code when the game is completed so you can go ahead porting it?

Still, come on guys, you can do better than what the current hiscore list says: http://tinyurl.com/9p6usvc As I already stated, the first one to beat the game will get a small present

[Emil]

my mouse at home is making it troublesome for me to play, any chance that it can be played with keyboard only?

Lovely nonetheless

[Poetronic]

Hi Emil, I might add keyboard controls in the next version, although I think that it will be a lot more difficult to move the paddle that way - you have to be really quick at some points in the game, so a working mouse is somewhat indispensable. I also think that noone called the game "lovely" yet, so thank you!

[Wampus]

I can't believe Emil and some anonymous person beat my highscore.    Its hard!

[Ian Price]

I just don't have the time to even try.