GLBasic forum

Main forum => Beta Tests => Topic started by: Poetronic on 2012-Oct-27

Title: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: Poetronic on 2012-Oct-27
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! :booze:

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

Fixed some minor bugs (29.10.)

Download

Features

Playing Tipps

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.

:nw:

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!
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Wampus on 2012-Oct-27
Good work. I <3 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.  :good:

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.  :)
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Poetronic on 2012-Oct-27
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 :)
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: kanonet on 2012-Oct-27
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.
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Poetronic on 2012-Oct-27
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! :good:
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: MrTAToad on 2012-Oct-28
Very nice!  I think the bat change to large (or small) should be animated rather than  just changing to the relevant size.
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Poetronic on 2012-Oct-28
Thanks MrTAToad, I will add paddle size animation in the next version! :)
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: mentalthink on 2012-Oct-28
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...
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Ian Price on 2012-Oct-28
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 :)
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Schranz0r on 2012-Oct-28
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 :P )
Sound   : 4/5 (maybe a bouncesound would be good?! I realy like the Song! :D )
Fun       : 5/5
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Poetronic on 2012-Oct-28
@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 (http://tinyurl.com/9p6usvc) =D As I already stated, the first one to beat the game will get a small present :)
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Emil on 2012-Oct-28
my mouse at home is making it troublesome for me to play, any chance that it can be played with keyboard only?

Lovely nonetheless =)
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Poetronic on 2012-Oct-28
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! :)
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Wampus on 2012-Oct-28
I can't believe Emil and some anonymous person beat my highscore.  :'(  Its hard!
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Ian Price on 2012-Oct-28
I just don't have the time to even try.  :(
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Falstaff on 2012-Oct-29
Only have a min to run through it once but just wanted to quickly say, great job! You clearly have some experience with programming or game development in other languages, or you are some sort of genius. Either way it looks and plays great!
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: D2O on 2012-Oct-29
Nice  :good:

Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Poetronic on 2012-Oct-29
@Wampus: Wasn't me!

@D2O: Thanks a lot for posting tis short clip! The game gets a lot more interesting in the higher levels, though. 8)

@Falstaff: I tried programming a breakout clone and a simple asteroids game like ten years ago with a 2D-C++ engine of some sort (can't remember the name). Sad to say I never finished either of them. Not even close. I also did some BASIC programming on my C64 (well, that was about a bazillion years ago, and surely light years away from the possibilities GLBasic has to offer nowadays) and later I experimented a bit with the BlitzMax Demo. I also have a lot of experience playing computer games! Perhaps that doesn't really make me a genius, but I am surely not going to deny it now that you brought it up. :D
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: siatek on 2012-Oct-29
Very good job i like it a lot !!!
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Poetronic on 2012-Oct-29
Thanks siatek, glad you like it! :)
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Poetronic on 2012-Oct-30
Hey kevin, thank you for your comment! :)

Quote"One area I thought could use enhancement and relates to all games of this category is the reducing up of game play when are only a few flooring remaining."

Wampus already came up with this problem, and I think I found a satisfying solution that I'm gonna add to the next update: the idea is that when there are only like 5-10 blocks left the player will get the options to a) go to the next level losing all his bonus points or b) keep playing as long as he has destroyed all blocks with an additional bonus and score*100 per block. This way you can either keep playing for the hiscore or just play to complete the game faster. Only thing is I'm still not sure how to let the user decide. Three quick left clicks in a row? Space bar? Right mouse button (only when missiles are not active)? What do you think?

Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version
Post by: Poetronic on 2012-Oct-31
Just uploaded a new version that allows you to skip levels as soon as there are only a few blocks left. But beware: skipping a level will significantly reduce your score. Have fun!  :)
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: fuzzy70 on 2012-Oct-31
Just what I need, another game that cost me hours of my life during growing up lol (lost many an hour on arkanoid etc).

Very nice work & am enjoying it a lot, keep it up :))

Lee

Sent from my GT-I5700 using Tapatalk 2

Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: Jonás Perusquía on 2012-Nov-10
SUPER INCREDIBLE GAME, REALLY CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: Poetronic on 2012-Nov-11
Wow, thank you! :)
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: erico on 2012-Nov-12
My humble personal opinion...

The action is very smooth, play field is big and the physics, both on bat and blocks goes on perfectly.
It really is a great experience and the game is well packed that way.

Now for criticism:

1- I don´t get sfx here, just music, is that normal? Music is great, on the amiga demo style by the way :good: but I really feel miss of sfx, it feels necessary on this kind of game for me, other then the standard sounds, you could make the ´bounce´ ball on the bat produce sound on different pitch or actuall samples according to angle the ball hits it, or according to the position it hits the bat, so the player has a sound response on the angle he managed to bounce the ball.

2- I miss a cheesy storyline, something similar to arkanoid or some sort of story to position the player with occasional short cut-scenes and an outcome. This type of game is old and some spice on it, even if it is not quite needed, could add some flavour.

3- The gfx is currently nice but I think there is room for improvement, the particle effects are great, but I actually think it misses a style on the overall art direction, it feels like it has a mix of them. The animations are really good though.

Overall, you got the most important part very well done, that is the mechanics of the game, it does play better then all variation of this style I tried, things are all smooth and moves and works correctly, congratulations on this front, it is actually the only thing that matters for me, gameplay.   

Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: Wampus on 2013-Jan-17
Hey! I saw a video of a breakout clone with a great innovation I thought you'd be interested to see (Poetronic)...



Once a level has enough bricks/whatever-they-are smashed you can exit via the top of the screen to the next area. If your ball falls below the paddle then it goes to the previous screen. Maybe a bit easy but for the casuals gamers of today it might suite well. :)
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: Ian Price on 2013-Jan-17
That seems like a pretty good idea :)
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: Poetronic on 2013-Jan-17
Quote from: Wampus on 2013-Jan-17
Once a level has enough bricks/whatever-they-are smashed you can exit via the top of the screen to the next area. If your ball falls below the paddle then it goes to the previous screen. Maybe a bit easy but for the casuals gamers of today it might suite well. :)

Hi Wampus,

totally lost sight of this thread, so thank you for the reminder :-)

I already added a feature similar to what you describe that allows the player to exit the level once enough bricks are destroyed. Some green arrows will show up on the bottom right and when you position the paddle below them and then click the left button, you can start a short timer to go forward to the next level. In order to motivate players to finish the level, the score will increase significantly when skipping levels.

Maybe you want to re-download the game, since I accidentally put some jpg-files in the shoebox some time ago...

Also I think I will leave the game at the state it is right now. It's fully playable, could not find any more bugs, not too bad for a premiere I hope, I have learned what I could learn from it and would rather like to start a new project now (my time ressources are rather confined...).

Thank you again for the comment, and by the way: It seems that noone has yet managed to complete the game but me :D
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: fuzzy70 on 2013-Jan-17
I completed it same day I downloaded it & must say it was a thoroughly good experience :)

I was (or really I still am) an Arkanoid addict/freak lol.

Keep up the good work & look forward to your next project :booze:

Lee


Sent from my GT-I5700 using Tapatalk 2

Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: BdR on 2013-Jan-24
Nice game, I made it to #38 in the highscores :D The music is pretty cool, I especially like SurfOnaSineWave.

Some suggestions; Before a game, when the scroll text and highscores are displayed (I call it "attract mode") maybe you could also insert a screen that displays instructions and all block powerups, like (L-block) = large paddle, (red block) = laserbeams, (green block) = glue ball etc.

When you catch the nuke-powerup, maybe all blocks can shake, or maybe the entire screen.

At first I thought the portal blocks were movable blocks, because of the icons. I think another icon, like a round wormhole thingy, would be better.

The level skip at the end is very clever (to prevent the gameplay-slow-down at end of level), but I think you shouldn't have to press a button to make the level-skip meter rise. Maybe it can rise automatically as long as you stay inside the small area.

edit:
#3 now! : 8) In my first attempt, I used level-skip all the time but I didn't realise that it drains all your points. :D
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: phaelax on 2013-Feb-12
I put my name into the highscores with 122,626 somewhere on level 12 I think. (I played a lot of arkanoid as a kid) No idea where that score falls at in the table, but I used my forum name.

Background looks really nice.
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: Poetronic on 2013-Feb-21
Hi phaelax,

you can check out your score here: http://tinyurl.com/9p6usvc (http://tinyurl.com/9p6usvc)

:)
Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: erico on 2013-Feb-21
Got to around 110k  :good:

Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: Poetronic on 2017-Mar-14
Hah! I just went through some pretty old backup files... and guess what I came across  :nana:

I just played the game again and it was quite a bit of fun! In case you also want to try I reactivated the game and the online hiscore feature. Downloads are available on the following site:

http://tinyurl.com/9p6usvc (http://tinyurl.com/9p6usvc)

Lesson learned: never delete stuff, you might regret it some day.

- 32 Levels
- Final Boss
- Map/Soundtrack changes every 8 levels
- Enemies starting at level 24
- Lots of Items
- Lots of blocks

Have a nice week  :booze:



Title: Re: ILI-Blocks - Breakout Clone / alpha version (UPDATED)
Post by: MrPlow on 2017-Mar-15
Great job!
Looks and plays very nice!! :)