Brainstorming Ideas #
When brainstorming ideas for my next phone game, I thought about making a simpler app based after simple .io phone games, such as Agar.io, Slither.io, and Paper.io. ‘.io’ type of games utilize simple control and accessible gameplay loops.
What I decided on was a game about rotating a semicircular slider around the center of the screen. It’s kind of like ball break or brick ball or whatever they call those games about bouncing a ball and breaking a brick. In break.io, a slider blocks balls from hitting the center core. If a balls hits your core, then it’s game over. Users gain coins and score from hitting balls. They can spend these coins in the shop for new sliders and new backgrounds.
App Development #
break.io was developed in Unity Engine 2019.4.12f1. The app uses C# scripts for its game mechanics. The sprites used in the game was either royalty free images taken off of the internet, or homemade art made with Photoshop.
There is nothing particularly special about the code used for the game. The collision was handled with Unity’s built in collider2d. When the ball enemy collided with the slider, the ball would be destroyed with a special animation playing. The score and coin count would also increment. When the ball enemy collided with the center animation, a lose screen would pop up that shows the users score and buttons to play again and to enter the home menu. There is a check every time the score increases to compare it to the high score. If it is higher then the new high score would be set to score.
There is additional code to handle the shop. Coins, high score, and items bought in the shop are stored in PlayerPrefs. When the game is selected, it checks which background and slider PlayerPref variables are active to overlay the correct assets.
There is a light source that shines on slider object and the ball objects. I assigned the colliders against the ball and slide to be affected by the light. This creates highlights and shadows in the game. It is a simple visual effect and I’m proud of it despite it being so simple.
Future Updates #
To be completely honest, I kind of forgot about this app until now. The compiled break.io app bundle targeted Android API 30. Google Play updated the required API version app bundles should target, so as of today, all apps on the Google Play Store must target Android API 34. break.io does not do this, so it is hidden from the Google Play Store. I am working on getting the app updated and set up on newer devices!