Programming Arkanoid clone or Krakout clone easier ?

[Lord-Chaos]

The problem of programming an Arkanoid-clone , a Breakout game with extras , enemies and different bricks is that 2 players/missiles are not enough.

 

But what do programmers think about a Krakout - clone ?

 

Krakout was similar to Arkanoid , but everything was turned 90 deg.

 

That means , the bat was on the right or left side and the bricks on the left or right (cut be chosen).

 

i´ve played this game on the C64 , it has at least 100 levels , I think more.The bricks were bigger , the ball was bigger , but there still were enemies + different bricks.

 

Would it be easier to create such a game ? You may use one player for the bricks and changing vertical colors isn´t a big problem.

You may use one missile for the bat and one for the ball.

 

And the second player for enemies.

 

On the ATARI 800 it is possible to change the size of players to 4*normal , so if this also possible on the VCS it should be possible to create enough bricks with just one player without flicker.

 

If you build the different levels knowing this limits , it should be possible to create a challenging game.

 

It would be better to use both players and maybe let enemies only move in certain areas.Or accept a little flicker.

 

As long as the bricks don´t flicker this shouldn´t be a problem.

 

BTW : Maybe it´s possible to solve other programming ideas by just turning the playfield 90 degrees ???

 

Thimo

[Cybergoth]

Hi there!

 

The problem of programming an Arkanoid-clone , a Breakout game with extras , enemies and different bricks is that 2 players/missiles are not enough.

 

But what do programmers think about a Krakout - clone ?

 

Krakout was similar to Arkanoid , but everything was turned 90 deg.

 

That means , the bat was on the right or left side and the bricks on the left or right (cut be chosen).

 

That's even worse than Arkanoid. The problem is what you have to display on one horizontal line.

 

While turning the game by 90° won't help anything for the bricks, you have to additionally display the bat on every line. In the normal Arkanoid display the bat and the bricks are at least always clearly separated.

 

I'd rather try adopting the original Arkanoid. As Thomas said, it might be doable with some programming tricks. Some intelligent flicker routine might be able to display every moving object with a single sprite and there might be a clever solution for the bricks too.

 

i´ve played this game on the C64 , it has at least 100 levels , I think more.The bricks were bigger , the ball was bigger , but there still were enemies + different bricks.

 

It's exactly 100 levels, I once beat it.

 

On the ATARI 800 it is possible to change the size of players to 4*normal , so if this also possible on the VCS it should be possible to create enough bricks with just one player without flicker.

 

Well, no chance to create a brickwall with a single player. You can fill the whole screen with a single sprite, but there'd always be horizontal gaps between the bricks.

 

If you build the different levels knowing this limits , it should be possible to create a challenging game.

 

Certainly, both games should be doable somehow.

 

BTW: Maybe it´s possible to solve other programming ideas by just turning the playfield 90 degrees ???

 

No. It's definetely easier with the Arkanoid approach.

 

Try looking at this, if you're looking for a doable, yet still impressive first 2600 game idea to programm: http://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13439

 

Greetings,

Manuel