Escape Ball Release
I have made a breakout clone, called escape ball. The official website for the game is:
www.lsgaming.com/eb
Tell me what you think of it
[edited by - CMC 101 on March 7, 2004 8:15:29 AM]
Well, I tried it, but I''ll be honest, I gave up before I even finished the first level.
First off, graphically the game looks just fine. The rockets for bricks is a bit unique, though I almost expect them to fly back and forth and make the game more difficult.
Controls are solid enough. I would recommend having the mouse move the paddle too. When I clicked start with the mouse and the game started, I vainly tried to move the paddle around with my mouse until I realized a moment later it was keyboard-only.
Presentation: Looked pretty smooth, logo screen, title screen, ingame, no hitches there.
Gameplay: IMHO, this is what needs work, and is why I stopped playing after a short while. Your ball bounces in exactly 180 degree angles when it is hit, both by the blocks and your paddles. ie: It reflects perfectly. I''d recommend you modify it so that, depending on how you hit the ball with your paddle, it deflects the ball at different angles. Same thing for the blocks. (Hit it near the edges and it gets reflected 180, hit it near the center and it''s more like a 45-degree deflection.)
Just this change alone will add a lot more challenge to the game. Right now, since you''re just reflecting the ball, you have no chance to influence its course and have to simply wait until it hits the bricks you want. Plus, you get that nasty "hit the ball into the bricks and it proceeds down a line" effect. This translates into fairly static, boring gameplay. An unwritten rule about games: Don''t take control away from the player, it just makes them feel like they are playing a game of chance instead of something they can directly influence with their skill, or watching an animated movie.
Sorry if this is a bit harsh, but I made the same mistake with my first breakout clone.
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- 2D/Pixel Artist - 3D Artist - Game Programmer - Ulfr Fenris
[[ Gaping Wolf Software ]] [[ GameGenesis Forums ]]
First off, graphically the game looks just fine. The rockets for bricks is a bit unique, though I almost expect them to fly back and forth and make the game more difficult.
Controls are solid enough. I would recommend having the mouse move the paddle too. When I clicked start with the mouse and the game started, I vainly tried to move the paddle around with my mouse until I realized a moment later it was keyboard-only.
Presentation: Looked pretty smooth, logo screen, title screen, ingame, no hitches there.
Gameplay: IMHO, this is what needs work, and is why I stopped playing after a short while. Your ball bounces in exactly 180 degree angles when it is hit, both by the blocks and your paddles. ie: It reflects perfectly. I''d recommend you modify it so that, depending on how you hit the ball with your paddle, it deflects the ball at different angles. Same thing for the blocks. (Hit it near the edges and it gets reflected 180, hit it near the center and it''s more like a 45-degree deflection.)
Just this change alone will add a lot more challenge to the game. Right now, since you''re just reflecting the ball, you have no chance to influence its course and have to simply wait until it hits the bricks you want. Plus, you get that nasty "hit the ball into the bricks and it proceeds down a line" effect. This translates into fairly static, boring gameplay. An unwritten rule about games: Don''t take control away from the player, it just makes them feel like they are playing a game of chance instead of something they can directly influence with their skill, or watching an animated movie.
Sorry if this is a bit harsh, but I made the same mistake with my first breakout clone.
---
- 2D/Pixel Artist - 3D Artist - Game Programmer - Ulfr Fenris
[[ Gaping Wolf Software ]] [[ GameGenesis Forums ]]
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