Surprise surprise, it's BrickBreaker time

I know I have stressed already my love for Brick Breaker but honestly, I could not think of a casual game I played more often than this one. So after analyzing it in detail, I found the following to be of interest.

Brick Breaker is a non violent casual game. This game was originally installed in Blackberry devices originating in Research In Motion although other Motorola devices may have adapted a version of the game. (http://na.blackberry.com/eng/deliverables/2590/BrickBreaker_26062_11.jsp).



Here are the instructions that my Blackberry has for the game: Destroy bricks using a paddle and a ball. Scroll to move the paddle. Press space key or click to launch the ball. That in itself, explains why Brick Breaker is a casual game. It requires only one player and one button to play the game. On a blackberry the button is the white center 'pearl' button called a thumbwheel used as a directional tool for the paddle.


The objective of the game is to aim the ball at the bricks on the screen to break them down and to prevent the ball from stopping by bouncing it off the paddle. Since the ball is bouncing off at every angle from the bricks, the player needs to anticipate where the ball could fall so it can bounce it off with the paddle. Once the ball has hit every brick in the screen you move on to the next level in which there are more bricks and they are arranged differently and slightly harder. As well, the speed that the ball bounces at accelerates with every increasing level.

Procedures:
As you destroy bricks, capsules fall and in order to be unlocked, need to be caught by the paddle. When the ball hits the red brick in the middle of the pile of bricks, certain bonuses are available to you but in order to use them you have to catch the capsule with the paddle (while still keeping the ball in the air). If you are unable to catch the capsule with the paddle you simply miss out on the opportunity but continue to play at the level you were at. It is important to remember that at this point the object of the game is still to keep the ball in the air so to bounce it off with the paddle is more important than a bonus.

Below is a brief description of the capsules and their function.

• The ammo function shows how much ammunition you have obtained from the capsule caught. For instance, you get an ammo quantity of 3 every time you obtain the falling capsule named "gun". The gun is the only bonus with ammo. If you happen to receive more than one gun capsule the ammo does not add, the ammo has a maximum quantity of 3 and anything unused does not carry over for the next level.


• The Wrap capsule allows you to pass through the borders in the screen. The paddle moves horizontally beyond the borders but the ball remains within the borders.


• The flip is a capsule that reverses the original horizontal direction to make left right and right left. The direction you would move the thumbwheel on your blackberry to move the paddle to the left, now moves the paddle to the right because its direction is reversed.
  
• The multi capsule sends several balls bouncing all around the screen to hit more bricks at the same time. The trick is to try to keep them all in the air by bouncing them off the paddle.


• The Laser capsule allows the player to aim the ball when it hits the paddle. This is similar to the way you begin the game by aiming and releasing the ball.


• The capsule called life is self explanatory. When you catch this capsule it gives you another life that you can use throughout the game.


• The bomb is a capsule that empowers the original bouncing ball to act as a bomb. This means that when it is aimed at a brick it will cause a ripple effect and hit more surrouding bricks.
  
• The catch is a capsule that allows the paddle to catch the ball instead of bouncing it right back. This way the ball is caught and you can aim it again at the bricks you wish to break.
  
• The longer is a capsule that extends the length of the paddle thus covering more surface area for the ball to possibly hit. It makes it easier to bounce the ball with the paddle when the paddle is longer.
  

Visuals and Interface:
On the right of the screen your current score is noted, current ammunition for the gun, number of lives left and the highest score ever achieved on the device. Having these updates on the screen state the importance of them to the player. I find that having the highest score recorded and visible while you play the game, a motivator to want to continue to play the game and obtain a higher score.


I think the layout of the visuals is very organized and user friendly. One can easily play the game while being aware of the ammo, lives and current score. I personally like how the game remains constant throughout the levels with incremental difficulty to challenge the player. Yet it also gives opportunites for the player to earn more points by presenting the capsules. A nerve-racking feature is employed after hitting the ball with the paddle 50 times on any level causing the bricks to descend one space every few seconds. This can make it easier to hit the brick but harder to catch the ball with the paddle.

Brickbreaker is a very easy and addicting game to play because even though you can pause the game, if you decide to end the game the highest score is saved and anything below it is lost unless you choose to continue to play until you beat the highest score. The game is not designed for interactions with other players but with objects such as the capsules that affect the immediate performance. The player does not have much choice in the direction of the game since the game is constant.


Brickbreaker provides the player distraction and relaxation while competing and having fun. This game is used mostly for relaxation since it does not have steep learning curves and does not require high levels of involvement. The settings for the game give the player the choice of speed to set the paddle at. This game is played in short time increments specially because it is so accessible in mobile devices but it can also be played for many hours to achieve the highest scores. Because the game allows players to save their progress I think it offers a convenience that most games do not. The current game you are playing can be paused and one does not have to worry about the score because either way the highest score ever achieved is saved on the device. Also, Very high scores get sent to the BrickBreaker website directly from your device. This may add to the sense of competing against other players and beating their highest scores.


Another conclusion one might derive is that as humans we tend to like clear and organized settings and hence the objective of the game to clear the screen of all the bricks that are impeding this. My highest score so far is no where near amazing. I have only gotten to level 14 out of 34. Maybe as an end to a good night and hard work writing this analysis I will relax to a good old game of BrickBreaker...