Breakout and Arkanoid

Why bother with another breakout game?

As with any successful game, Breakout spawned numerous clones and successors back in the day and decades after. One of the most notable (for me as a Commodore kid) was Taito's "Arkanoid" in 1986 and Arkanoid: Revenge of Doh in 1987. Arkanoid took the basic Breakout concept and expanded it significantly. It introduced new gameplay elements like power-ups, different types of bricks, and varying levels of difficulty. The game also featured a very simple plot, setting it apart from its predecessor and adding a layer of depth that was uncommon in ball-and-paddle games.

For me this is part nostalgia, part wanting to make something I enjoyed as a kid and part because I actually like the game. I can't even estimate the hours I spend just playing the game while I was making it. At first I called it "testing new levels", but in reality it was just me having some fun. And with this game the gaming sessions often took over. 

Maybe because of that I still have more ideas for the game! At the moment "Breakout From Dystopia" has six power ups and one power down. Power down being the shrinking of the paddle. Power ups are:

• +100 points added for each broken brick
• Expand paddle
• Extra life
• Super ball to break bricks with no bounce back
• Slow down ball speed to it's original speed
• Laser cannon(!) to shoot bricks

One idea I haven't implemented is magnetic paddle. This power up would add magnetic power to the paddle to attract the ball. There is also an empty ending sequence after the last level. If I get a suitable brainwave I might add a boss battle like there was in... original Arkanoid.

All that is still to come. Perhaps. 

For now, enjoy the game!