Bricket (2020)

Bricket or an "inverted Arcanoid".

I designed and built this during a weekend-long online game jam. This was my first attempt to create a game in GameMaker.

While in Arcanoid-like games your main goal is to break the wall by destroying the bricks, in Bricket you build a structure!

Featuring music by Liz Katrin.
DESIGN GOALS:
  • "Invert" the classical Arcanoid gameplay.
  • Race against time.
  • Two modes of using the paddle - shooting and collecting.

DESIGN DECISIONS:
  • This is literally an Arcanoid turned upside down. The paddle is situated near the top of the screen, the ball shoots downward instead of flying upward, and the player must build the outlined structure instead of destroying it.
  • The shooting part resembles Space Invaders also turned upside down.
  • The rising level of water serves as a time limit that urges the player to optimally use all the bricks.
  • There are two main modes of play - shooting the bricks (not to destroy them, but to set them in place), and catching the loose bricks (which in a way also reminds Pong gameplay).
  • The visually growing structure provides a similar level of satisfaction to the player as breaking the brick wall.

Play the game here.