Breakdown
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Position: Game Designer, Lua Programmer, Pixel Artist
Company/Organization: Independent
Tools: PICO-8, Lua
Company/Organization: Independent
Tools: PICO-8, Lua
My first game created for the PICO-8 fantasy console, and also my first independently developed game overall. After many abandoned projects, I took the time to try to reduce the scope of my endeavors, stripping down games into much more manageable ideas that could be developed in my free time.
Special thanks to my wife Rebekah, who wrote the original tune featured in the game and refreshed me on some of my forgotten 6th grade mathematics.
Special thanks to my wife Rebekah, who wrote the original tune featured in the game and refreshed me on some of my forgotten 6th grade mathematics.
I wrote a brief post-mortem about my experience making my first game, you can read it here.
Simplicity
The overall objective for Breakdown was designing something extremely small in scope that could be developed in the minimal time available to me while I was working and attending school. This meant that the game needed a minimal art-style and a simplistic set of rules that the player could understand at a glance. Classic and recognizable arcade games, such as Pong and Breakout, became primary inspiration points, and ultimately resulted in a game that could be easily discerned as a crossover of the two games.
Like Pong and Breakout, Breakdown uses a minimal and straight-forward control scheme; "left arrow" turns the paddles counter-clockwise around a square track, while "right arrow" turns clockwise. The rules of the game, however, are essentially inverted; like pong, the goal is to keep the ball in play, without it leaving the game's boundaries. However, each time the ball is hit, the paddle that hit it decreases in size, losing a "segment", akin to the destruction of the wall in Breakout. Paddles will continue to shrink until they are a mere 3 segments in size, whereby the end of the game is simply a matter of when the ball can escape from the player's grasp.
Like Pong and Breakout, Breakdown uses a minimal and straight-forward control scheme; "left arrow" turns the paddles counter-clockwise around a square track, while "right arrow" turns clockwise. The rules of the game, however, are essentially inverted; like pong, the goal is to keep the ball in play, without it leaving the game's boundaries. However, each time the ball is hit, the paddle that hit it decreases in size, losing a "segment", akin to the destruction of the wall in Breakout. Paddles will continue to shrink until they are a mere 3 segments in size, whereby the end of the game is simply a matter of when the ball can escape from the player's grasp.
Replay Value
Starting direction of ball.
Earlier concepts of Breakdown involved a standard scoreboard similar to what might have been found in most arcade games; a numbered table representing "placement" that included a 3-letter initial of the player followed by their score. However, in an attempt to scope downward and complete the game on time, I settled for a single "top score" that would be stored between play-sessions, with the player's current score displayed opposite of it on screen. Having this stripped-down scoring system sharing the same screen space as the rest of the game actually seemed to assist in player retention, as they had immediate feedback as to whether they were close to beating a single score, and assisted in creating an easily readable and understood system.
Some smaller game rules were implemented to assist a somewhat different experience with each round. For example, the "ball" will not always move in the same direction at the start. However, it will move in the direction of either paddle's starting point, with some degree of variance. This was intended to help new players on their first play through to determine how the ball and paddle elements will interact with each other from the start, while at the same time avoiding more skilled players from relying on a consistent ball pathway.
The paddles themselves were designed to shrink independently when they made contact with the ball. It's common for the player to have to use the same paddle to consecutively hit the ball back into the playing field, which could result in a significant difference in paddle sizes later in play. This created an interesting dynamic in how the player chooses which paddle to utilize when keeping the ball within the boundaries.
Some smaller game rules were implemented to assist a somewhat different experience with each round. For example, the "ball" will not always move in the same direction at the start. However, it will move in the direction of either paddle's starting point, with some degree of variance. This was intended to help new players on their first play through to determine how the ball and paddle elements will interact with each other from the start, while at the same time avoiding more skilled players from relying on a consistent ball pathway.
The paddles themselves were designed to shrink independently when they made contact with the ball. It's common for the player to have to use the same paddle to consecutively hit the ball back into the playing field, which could result in a significant difference in paddle sizes later in play. This created an interesting dynamic in how the player chooses which paddle to utilize when keeping the ball within the boundaries.
Comprehensive Experience
While I had worked on a few prototypes in the past, this was the first project to be a comprehensive experience that included not only gameplay, but artwork and music as well. This was largely encouraged simply due to the nature of the engine that Breakdown was made in: PICO-8.
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PICO-8 is a fantasy console, a bit of software that is meant to emulate the limitations of the older-generations of consoles. Fantasy consoles typically feature their own in-engine code, sprite, sound, and music editors, all of which is compiled into a single file (or "cartridge") that the console reads from. As I have little to no experience as an artist, musician, or audio designer, having these limited yet easy-to-use tools available encouraged me to put all of the visual and auditory elements together into a cohesive gaming experience. While I designed and programmed the game, I also developed the (albeit minimal) art and animations, sound effects, and transcribed a music composition my wife had written into the game.