DX-Ball
| DX-Ball | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Developer(s) | Michael P. Welch |
| Designer(s) | Michael P. Welch Seumas McNally |
| Platform(s) | Windows Mac OS 6 or higher. |
| Release |
1996 (Windows) 2002 (Mac) |
| Genre(s) | Breakout clone |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
DX-Ball (stylized as DX • BΔLL, sometimes also written as DXBALL) is a freeware computer game for the PC first released in 1996 by Michael P. Welch and Seumas McNally. The game, originally based on an earlier series of Amiga games known as MegaBall, is patterned after classic ball-and-paddle arcade games such as Breakout and Arkanoid. A level editor was also made available as well. DX-Ball has been succeeded by two direct follow-ups: DX-Ball 2 (1998) and Rival Ball (2001).
The game is basically a Breakout clone: the player controls a paddle at the bottom and deflects a single ball, hitting different colored blocks on the top of the screen without having the ball fall below the screen. Clearing all the blocks results in completing the level and going to the next. There are 50 levels to complete. Similarly as Arkanoid and MegaBall, there is an inclusion of power-ups other than extra balls. Various power-ups appear when hitting random blocks, floating downwards towards the bottom and can be picked up by touching it with the paddle. If only a single block remains on a level and it continues to be untouched by the bouncing ball for a minute or so, an electricity sound begins to build and eventually the block is blasted away by a lightning.
In certain levels, the layout of unbreakable blocks may allow the ball to become stuck in an infinite loop without touching the paddle. If this occurs, all unbreakable blocks will eventually replaced with the breakable ones after a minute or so of the ball being stuck in a bouncing pattern.
There are three neutral, ten positive and five negative powerups in the game. Neutral powerups can affect the gameplay in both positive and negative ways, depends on the situation, positive ones help in passing the level, while negative ones make the level more difficult. To alert the player, a loud warning sound will be heard if the player picks up a negative power-up.
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