Idea How to make a brickbreaker game more appealing?

G

Gedor Games

Guest
So I was just wondering how you make a brickbreaker game more fun, appealing and interesting. What more can I add beside bricks, enemies, bosses and powerups? Is it good to combine different things like pong levels, maybe something with tetris, how can you keep up the variation so that not every level is just about breaking bricks? What more can you do with a ball and paddle?
 
W

Widget

Guest
Breaking bricks is really boring, you don't want the player to know that's all they're doing - hide it underneath something more interesting. Even though you can keep the gameplay pretty much the same, give it various... scenarios? Not sure what to call them, but I'll give examples:

- You're in a wizard dual and you have to deflect spells from the opponent
- You're a knight defending a village from a dragon by blocking it's fireballs
- You're a sculptor chipping away at a marble to reveal your latest piece of art

I'm more or less talking about how the Rhythm Heaven series presents itself, if you're familiar with those. Give it a different coat of paint, even though the gameplay isn't really that varied, it keeps the player wondering what they'll be doing on the next level.
 

Electros

Member
If you want to stick with brickbreaker elements rather than hybrydising with other genres, perhaps think of (1) powerup elements or (2) level elements that change things up a bit and add a bit of freshness.

Not sure what you currently have, but additional elements could be;
-Teleporter nodes, transporting the ball from one area to another, could be used in boss battles
-Cannon pad, ball enters and is fired at speed in a random direction (could be helpful or a hindrance)
-Gravity nodes that exert a pull on the ball

Powerups:
-Mega ball, short timescale powerup that increases the size and it crushes through most bricks bar unbreakables

Enemies;
-Some brickbreakers have enemies that hover around the play area, and introduce some chaos into the mix

All of these things are quite modular, so you can mix and match within the levels to try and provide more variety.

If you wanted to push the boat out, you could try and put a two player co-op mode in, one paddle above the other, where either player has the ability to press a button and switch from front row to back row.

I guess it mainly depends on what you currently have, and how far you want to take the project.
 
G

Gedor Games

Guest
Thanks for the tips, I might combine other elements to the game so that some levels are brick breaker levels and others are not. Oh and dont worry melerski if I make something similar to tetris levels they will look completely different than yours :D
 

Genetix

Member
Give it RPG like elements, leveling and experience. People love to grind and feel like they are making progress towards something. You can reward them at higher levels with more frequent and powerful power ups.
 
G

Gedor Games

Guest
Give it RPG like elements, leveling and experience. People love to grind and feel like they are making progress towards something. You can reward them at higher levels with more frequent and powerful power ups.
Wow, that is actually a really great idea, I have always liked the grinding and gaining experince part of RPGs but to have it in a brickbreaker game would be really cool and something that I have not seen yet. Thanks Genetix, I need to get out of the forums now and start working on it :D
 

Yal

šŸ§ *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
One thing I did in my brick breaker game was to make the bricks start falling down once you get below a certain number left, so that you wouldn't get stuck with a single brick left that you can't hit. The ball also randomizes its bounce angle a bit each time it hits a wall to make sure it can never get stuck in an infinite loop between indestructible blocks.
 
G

Gedor Games

Guest
One thing I did in my brick breaker game was to make the bricks start falling down once you get below a certain number left, so that you wouldn't get stuck with a single brick left that you can't hit. The ball also randomizes its bounce angle a bit each time it hits a wall to make sure it can never get stuck in an infinite loop between indestructible blocks.
Your brick breaker game looks cool, I really like the pixelated graphic and your HUD looks much better than my do. Your idea with the falling bricks is interesting and I remember that I had a code in my game that made sure that if the ball had not hit a brick or enemy in a certain amount of time than the bounce angle changes.
 
Give it RPG like elements, leveling and experience. People love to grind and feel like they are making progress towards something. You can reward them at higher levels with more frequent and powerful power ups.
hey. sorry but this idea has already been taken and done by me.. type in drop blast from demonsoftware. ;)
 
Top