Breakout clones

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Since the release of the original Breakout computer game, which features a ball bouncing from bricks and the player's paddle, many clones have been created. They include DX Ball for the PC, and Kickoo's Breakout for Palm OS.

1 Fundamental elements
2 Advanced Breakout features
3 Clones

[edit] Fundamental elements

Ball(s) bouncing around the screen
Bricks that break when hit by the ball(s)
Paddle(s) that move on the bottom of the screen
Bonuses that affect game speed, or make the paddle longer
Goals to break the bricks, without letting the ball(s) fall past the paddle and dropping from the screen.

[edit] Balls

Balls can vary in size. Fireballs can destroy bricks, but do not bounce when they hit bricks.

[edit] Bricks

Bricks can be normal, invincible (does not break when hit), and exploding. Exploding bricks will explode when hit, destroying nearby bricks. Some bricks, or other objects, can warp the ball to another location on the screen.

[edit] Paddles

Paddles can vary in size throughout the game. Some paddles act like rectangles, which does not give the player much control over the ball(s). Others act like semicircles, which angle the ball(s) velocity to the left if it hits the left or the paddle, etc.

[edit] Bonuses

In some breakouts, when a ball breaks a brick, a bonus appears. It will either take effect immediately, or fall to the bottom of the screen, in which case you have to catch the bonus with your paddle(s).
Sometimes bonuses are random, but there is typically a different brick for every bonus.

Bonuses that Effect Score, Lives, etc.
- Bonus points / score
- Bonus time (for timed games)
- Bonus lives
- Takes you to the next level
- Causes super gravity that pulls the balls to the bonus
Bonuses for Balls
- Extra balls that are created next to the brick it came from
- Duplicates all balls
- Speeds balls
- Slows balls
- Makes fireballs that don't bounce when hitting bricks
Bonuses for Bricks
- Makes exploding bricks from normal ones
- Turns unbreakable bricks into normal ones
Bonuses for Paddles
- Expands the paddle
- Shrinks the paddle
- Breaks the paddle, so all balls fall, and you lose a life (plus bonuses like superpaddle)
- Adds lasers to the paddle, or increases fire rate
- Makes balls stick to the paddle
- Creates a Superpaddle that angles the ball's velocity based upon the part of the paddle it hit

[edit] Goals

The goal is typically to break all of the bricks to go to the next level. If all of the ball(s) fall of the screen, the player loses a life, and a new ball appears on the paddle.