Game Specifics

I. Game Overview.

This game is designed based on versions of "breakout", "pong" and other games where the objective is to control a bouncing ball with a paddle. The ball is bounced off the paddle, it strikes a brick(s) and points are accumulated. It runs in 8 bit version on a 640x480 resolution monitor. Later versions may include a 24 bit version. Various other features that are described later, have been incooperated to make the game more interesting and add varying levels of difficulty. These features allow a player to accumulate more points, to enhance his/her score and to build as high a score as possible. At the start of every game each player is assigned 3 lives. Each time the ball misses the paddle and is lost, a life is lost. After 3 lives the player receives a "game over" message. A player's score at the end of the game is displayed. A high score list is maintained that displays the top five scores before every game. For a score which beats any of the scores on the high score list, this score is added as a new high score to the high score list and replaces one of the existing high scores. At any given time the best 5 high scores are displayed. A sensible objective of the game is to win every level by preserving as many lives as possible and accumulating the maximum score possible. The features incooperated within the multiple levels include different sizes and styles for the paddle, the ball and the bricks. When the ball strikes a brick(s) it will result in "tokens" that fall and may be intercepted with the paddle. Certain "bad" tokens result in loss of points and certain "good" tokens will enhance your score. Hopefully this will be an enjoyable game for the whole family.

II. How to Play.

At the start of a BrickMaster game a player is greeted by a Welcome screen. Pressing any key or clicking the mouse the Home screen containing the game menu is displayed. Options available on the Home screen are Help, Play, Info and Exit. Click on the appropriate choice.
Select and click on "Help" if you would like to learn more about our game features. This is how the Help screen appears.
Select and click on "Play" to start a game. At the start of every game the current score is displayed in the top left hand corner of the screen. The number of lives is displayed in the top right hand corner of the screen. The default level is Level 1. Clicking the mouse will release the ball from the paddle and cause it to travel at an angle towards the brick pattern. The ball may be deflected at various angles towards a brick(s) using the paddle. A level is completed when all the entire brick pattern is cleared and there is at least one life remaining. A life is lost if bricks still remain and the paddle fails to prevent the ball from crossing the lower boundary. During a game, bricks can be struck in any order. There are various colored bricks and even invisible bricks. Each colored brick has a particular point value associated with it. Some bricks may take a single hit and be destroyed while others may take 2, 3 or more hits to be destroyed. Ball speed also varies when it strikes the paddle or the bricks for long periods of time. Therefore it is advisable to watch the screen carefully during a game. At the end of a game select and click "Play" to begin a new game.
Select and click on "Info" to display the highscore list. Click here to see a screen shot. At the end of a game, if a player has a good enough score to be added to the highscore list, this score will be added - like this . If not, the obtained score at the end of the game is displayed.

Select "Exit" to end the game and return to the operating system.

III. Features of the game.

1. Paddle Size = A paddle may be the standard size, small, large and extra large. Its size changes depending upon the type of token that intersects a paddle when the ball destroys a brick and causes the token to descend.
2. Big Ball = Increases the size of the ball on the screen after the appropriate token intersects the brick.
3. Small Ball = Decreases the size of the ball on the screen.
4. Invincible Ball =
5. Dynamite Ball = The ball takes on an explosive quality, destroying the brick it comes into contact with along with surrounding bricks.
6. Decrement one = The feature that decrements after how long a brick will disappear.
7. Extra Life = This will add to the number of lives a player has during a game. These are rare and so players are encouraged to grab as many of these as they can.
8. Bonus Points = Additional points may be accumulated during the game by grabbing the falling tokens during the game.
9. To view the current list of features please click Here. This brings up the help menu on BrickMaster.

IV. Different Levels.

Other features = Invisible bricks appear on levels from time to time. This makes the game more challenging. Furthermore the speed of the ball will change after a random period of time, when it continually strikes the paddle. Keep an eye out for this and don't take your eyes off the screen.

V. Game Enhancements.