Blocktrap GBA

Blocktrap
General
Author	François Pessaux
Type	Puzzle
Version	1
License	Freeware
Last Updated	2005/08/18
Links
Download
Website
Source

Blocktrap is a small puzzle game in which you have to fight against blocks invading your territory from 3 directions.

This version offers numerous changes in the gameplay, with more special blocks, ability to store them and activate them explicitely (no more reserve like a stack), a scoring system much more appealing and sound effects.

The homebrew was presented into the GBADEV.ORG 2004Mbit Development Competition.

User guide

Before starting a game, you will be prompt for which style of game you want to play:

• Normal - In this mode special blocks are available.
• No bonus - In this mode special blocks are disabled.

The game field is comprised of four grids each containing 4 x 4 cells. The central grid is the one you will move in and act. The three others (on the left side, above and on the right side of the central grid) are the ones that will keep you pretty busy.

In these grids, blocks will randomly appear and stack, slightly filling the lines or the columns. Stacking is performed from outside toward inside, that is, coming closer to the player's central grid. For the left and right grids, stacking is done in lines. For the upper grid, it is done in columns.

At each new block adding, the grid and the line in which the block will appear are randomly chosen. In the same way, the colour and the kind of the inserted block are randomly defined.

The aim of the game is to prevent any line or column from reaching your central grid. In order to fight against this intrusion of blocks, you have the entire central grid in which you will move and turn you own bullet block in order to, when wished, launch it onto those of one line or column.

Usually, blocks have a colour. In order to clear a block of a particular colour in a line or a column, you just have to fire your bullet block onto it if it has the same colour. If it has another colour, then it will be also launched, but will come and stack onto those already present in this line or column.

Sometimes special blocks appears. Some of them have a colour, some other don't. The ones having a colour will have to be destroyed by shooting a block of the same colour, the others can be destroyed whatever the colour of the launched block. When such a block gets destroyed, according to its kind:

• Either its effect is immediately activated ,
• Or it is added to the reserve of available bonuses.

List of special blocks

Controls

D-Pad - Move block

L/R - Rotate block

A - Launch block

B - Activate block from reserve

Start - Pause (resume, save, abandon)

Screenshots

Online emulator

Can use gamepad or customise in the control settings.

Game Boy Advance	Keyboard

Compatibility

Tests and debug have been done both on physical console and VisualboyAdvance emulator.

Credits

• Blocktrap has been completely written in C, with the genius DevKit Advance under Linux and under Microsoft Windows.
• Graphics have been designed thanks to the excellent Gimp.
• BMP images BMP conversion to the binary format suitable for the Gameboy has been performed with a self-made tool in Objective Caml.
• Sound samples conversion has been done with Wav2raw written by Sylvain Rochette.

Thanks to the entire free software community thanks to which this little game was able to see the light of day. It is also for this reason that it is freely distributable. Also thanks to my wife who strongly tested Blocktrap and found a certain number of bugs, suggestions and improvements.

External links

• Author's website - http://francois.pessaux.perso.sfr.fr/ (archived)