| Beat Ball | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Imphenzia Games |
| Designer(s) | Imphenzia Games |
| Version | 1.52 |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release date(s) | 2002 |
| Genre(s) | Arcade |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Beat Ball is a freeware breakout clone game PC that was created by Stefan Persson, also known under the alias Imphenzia Games, using the Game Maker software. The player controls a paddle at the bottom of the screen and the objective, as with any breakout clone, is to use a bouncing ball to remove blocks on the upper half of the screen. The player progresses to a new level once all the removable bricks have been removed. In Beat Ball there are a total of 120 levels. As some blocks are removed random pickups, or power-ups, are released which the player may collect in order to modify the attributes of the level, paddle or ball. Some pickups are advantageous whilst others are of disadvantage.
The idea behind this particular clone, which also spawned the name of the game, is the inclusion of 30 minutes of electronic music. The game was purposely created to promote the music of Imphenzia as a marketing strategy to reach a wider audience.
The first version of Beat Ball, 1.0 (2002), contained 60 levels but later the same year with the release of version 1.5 added yet another 60 levels. The current version of Beat Ball is 1.52 with a downsized alternative version also available named Beat Ball 1.52 Lite which does not feature the electronic music.
Beat Ball was featured in the German magazine Computer Bild Spiele and distributed with the accompanying CD-ROM in 2004.
The sequel, Beat Ball 2 (2006), was released as a shareware and also features a level editor and high scores that may optionally be published to the Internet.