Idea generation for ‘Asteroid’ game

After thorough research, being based on the concept of ‘asteroids’ most of the games I seem to find are very space orientated, such as aliens, spaceships and meteors.

I wanted to break away from this obvious theme and move onto something for a similar audience but with a more original theme. 

Playing the game along the Y axis (vertically)

Playing games on this axis (personally) I believe to be more shoot-'em-up. Meaning that it would be the avatar (typically human) shooting other humanoids.
Personally I don't really like this form of game play for mobile devices and I think there is already enough games on the market in this format to produce anything that could be considered competition and so I will detour  from this.

Playing the game along the X Axis (horizontally)

Playing the game on the X axis is renown for being 'invader' or asteroid based. Basically meaning that it has a very heavy space theme - and so I am going to do something completely different.
                                 
                                                  INSERT MIND MAP HERE                      

From my mind map it is somewhat apparent that in order for my game to be recognized by multiple audiences it will have to be based on something that has had multiple appearances through out the years, and yet still be relevant to those who will want or own an android device. An example of this would be:          Star Wars - Star Wars is still hugely popular by all all/most age groups however it is still a sci-fi or space themed game and so this is not a good choice for my game.

In order to have something relatively original or at least something not particularly common, I have decided for my game to be Pokemon based, and so it will have a large audience in which will want/have an android device and is yet still widely popular. Although it is more common with younger audiences it still has a large impact in the adult population due to the time period it has been around.
I have also decided to make the game more comical and so its graphics will be based on Nintendo hand-held console graphics so the graphics may be 8-bit or something similar to give a retro-feel to my game.

Ideas

Enemies

This is a Diglett, and will be my first enemy, and will either have;
less health, move slower, cause less damage or all of these...
Diglett are a weak Pokémon in the game and I think would be good to have as my basic enemy.

 This is a Dugtrio and will be next hardest enemy, this one may be:
stronger, more health or faster than my Diglett or once again may have all of these qualities.
Within the Pokémon franchise Dugtrio are fairly decent Pokémon not being one of the strongest or one of the weakest

As you can see both enemies are almost popping out of the ground, I want to incorporate this into my flash and have them both bobbing in and out of the ground as they come toward the player - I think this would be a fun little animation and tie it closer to my Pokémon theme as they do this in the anime too.

Initial Player Avatar Sketches

this is my initial sketches for player, I want to make the player a Pokémon trainer and because the enemies are coming towards the player he should be facing them, with his/her back to the player. This sketch is based from the behind view of the male player from the Nintendo DS game:
Pokémon Soul Silver.

This is the finished top half of the trainer, using the colour scheme, and design from the Nintendo DS game: Pokémon Soul Silver
This is going to be my normal trainer and his 'laser' will be pokeballs to capture the wild Diglett & Dugtrio

This is going to be my secondary player, this is a member of Team Rocket, this is a group of thugs and robbers within the game and are the main antagonist of the first and second generation Pokémon games and series. And so I thought it would be cool to also be able to play as a baddie.

After much work, I decided that I didn't want all of the Diglett and Dugtrio to be caught by the trainer as this wouldn't really work - so instead I thought I could use something that would incapacitate or subdue them - for a trainer to do this is inhumane and generally shunned upon within the anime and series and so I thought it would be better to have another Pokémon do this - I decided to use on of the starter Pokémon for the first generation of Pokémon - Squirtle. With this I could make more than one ability some being more powerful than others.

Game Production + Evaluation

Graphics

All the graphics used in my game are all produced by myself using Flash. All of my graphics have been created using the line tool and the warping or curving the line to fit the shape, and then when the outline was finished I would then fill with the paint bucket - All of my images are based on Pokémon and in most cases used images for reference

Player Avatar:

 as I choose to do Squirtle as my players avatar I had to think about how I wanted it to look - seeing as I wanted to have my enemies coming toward my player I thought logically the players avatar should have its back to the screen, and so I created my Squirtle facing away. and so it would be firing its 'lasers' at the enemies.

 After I had finished my outline for the Squirtle I needed to colour it, and so I retrieved an image from the internet of a Squirtle used the Eyedropper Tool and grabbed the main colour of Squirtle and his shell. From I took the main colour  for his body and shell, and made it darker and used this as shading.

I had initially intended on animating my Squirtle so that his legs or arms might move when he does, but I thought that this might distract the player or use up to much processing power and so decided to leave it.
I also decided to leave my Squirtle as a vector image within flash, because he wasn't scaling or moving much and there is only going to be one of him, so I thought I would keep the graphic looking good and clean by leaving him vector instead of importing him in as a jpeg.

These are my enemies. These were all made and coloured in Flash and then imported into Photoshop, then imported back into flash - this was done so that they wouldn't be vector-based images, instead they would be jpegs, this was done, because within my game, because both of them bob in and out of their ground, scale and change contrast. Keeping these vector based would take up too much processing power.

This is technically my Third enemy, as this is within my Enemy movie clip - however I have scripted it so that this is shoot-able and it will earn points to the player, like the other enemies but if the player allows one to hit and fall on it they will earn a button which is ultimately a 'nuke' button in which it will cause a wave animation 'surf' and clear the stage of all enemies, once used the button will disappear.

This is my 'Nuke' visual, a big wave will come and wipe the stage clear of all enemies and will disappear along with the button once the player has gained the power-up. Because this can only be used once every-so often I decided to keep this as a vector image, as I thought it would work nicest.

 This is my 'Laser', this is the most common form of artillery within my game, and is also a move within the Pokémon franchise. As you can see my 'laser' is several bubbles, which scale up and down when fired - because of the frequency of these can be launched and the animation they do I decided to created these in flash, import them into Photoshop and then back into flash. I done this because Flash gives them a very simple look, that doesn't look very real, and yet they don't look cheap, and I believe this would be hard to achieve in Photoshop so I decided to import it back in as a jpeg instead of vector.

This is my background for my game - The dark at the top is supposed to represent the beginning of a cave - Diglett cave.
This is where I am hoping to have all the enemies starting from instead of all over the top. However this may make the game too easy so this will be revised.
This was created in Photoshop and then imported into flash, to save on processing power.


Game Over Screen:

This was the initial outlines for my end-screen  Currently it doesn't make a lot of sense at all the lines are visible but it currently consists of the shadow cast of by my Squirtle, an incapacitated Squirtle and odd rocks around and on Squirtle.

 This is my coloured finished end screen. AS you can see it has the words - "you fainted" which is a term used in Pokémon when a Pokémon is out of health and unable to battle anymore thus tying it closer to the theme.






Start Screen:

This is the main outline of my Squirtle, The idea for my title screen is to have Squirtle surfing or doing some form of water move, and so I started to make my Squirtle.

 This is my finished coloured Squirtle, I have yet to add the graphic of him surfing but the main part of the image is there, from here I can 'guestimate' the size the wave should be.

 Wave graphic has been added, I wanted to try and keep to the style of my wave from my 'nuke' button. This is my finished graphic for my title screen, this can now be re-sized and placed where I want it to be.

 This is my finished title screen, that currently has 3 buttons, the two large ones in bubbles are official buttons that will stay the other is present whilst in editing mode but wont be during game play due to the fact that I've hidden it with script.
The bubble Play button will take you to a rough bit of role-playing which can be skipped once started. And the help will take you to a small tutorial of what to do.

Introductions/Role playing Screens

This is my outline for a character in the Pokémon franchise called Professor. Oak, I thought it would be best to use him to give instructions or a brief overview to the game as it will tie nicely into the theme and also add more characters to the game and bulk it out a bit. I also believe it makes it more interesting.

Finished Professor. Oak, and the outline of my Pokédex - this is how i'm making the Professor visible  through the players Pokédex - this will once again relate back to my Pokémon theme and will also add more detail to my game

Finished Pokédex: this will be the device that relays the message from Professor. Oak to the trainer, will an on-screen visual of the Professor I will type out a brief induction to the game - talking through him.






These next Screen shots are of what he says, along with all the buttons available on stage:

 1                                            2

 3                                             4

 5                                             6

 For these all these buttons to work I had to implement different bits of script:

stop()

starty.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, fl_ClickToGoToNextFrame);

function fl_ClickToGoToNextFrame(event:MouseEvent):void
{
nextFrame();
}
play_btn.visible = false;

 This bit of script talk to my button start button (with an instance name of starty) from my title screen, and tells it to go to the next frame within the movie clip
and then I have also made my play button which will take you to the main game invisible for the time being.


For when the Pokédex comes up I used this script that all the buttons will follow:


NEXTY.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, fl_ClickToGoToNextFrame_8);

function fl_ClickToGoToNextFrame_8(event:MouseEvent):void
{
nextFrame();
}

This script talks to my 'Next' (instance name NEXTY) Button and makes it go to the next page whenever clicked

 SKIPPY.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, fl_ClickToGoToAndStopAtFrame);

function fl_ClickToGoToAndStopAtFrame(event:MouseEvent):void
{
gotoAndStop(8);
}

This bit of script talks to my 'Skip' button (instance name SKIPPY) and will command it to skip the brief induction by going to the last frame of the induction - in this case, frame 8

PREVY.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, fl_ClickToGoToPreviousFrame);

function fl_ClickToGoToPreviousFrame(event:MouseEvent):void
{
prevFrame();
}

This script talks to my 'Prev' button (instance name PREVY) and commands it to go to the previous frame.

And then on the last frame of my induction I have

play_btn.visible = true

and all that does is make the play button visible so that it can be clicked to start the game.

Flash Action script

  //**************VARIABLES**************/

Creates a string variable that is empty and has no value

var gameState:String;

//*********BEGINNING STUFF**************/
Means that that the movie clip endScreen is false (i.e. invisible)

endScreen.visible = false;

//**************INTRO SCREEN**************/

Making the child of the movieclip introScreen a button that is clickable

Looks for the function click away ( this is done with open+closed brackets)

It calls the function to move the movie clip out of the screen to reveal game screen

Also sizes the screen and drags it the x axis and takes the image out of the screen (screen x= (screen.wdith*-1;) (-1 is left and +1 is right)

Gamestate is a variable and in the variable you are putting in INITGAME which shows the value and state of the variable.

AddEventListner means its listening out for the even Enter_FRAME, game loop, meaning it will listen out for a new enterframe event and until then loop the screen.

introScreen.play_btn.addEventListener (MouseEvent.CLICK, clickAway);

function clickAway (event:MouseEvent):void {

      moveScreenOff (introScreen);

}

function moveScreenOff (screen:MovieClip):void {

      screen.x = (screen.width)*-1;

      gameState = "INITGAME";

      addEventListener (Event.ENTER_FRAME, gameLoop);

}

//**************GAME STATES**************/

function gameLoop (e:Event):void {

      switch (gameState) {

             case "INITGAME":

                   initGame();

                   break;

             case "STARTPLAYER":

                   startPlayer ();

                   break;

             case "PLAYGAME" :

                   playGame ();

                   break;

             case "ENDGAME" :

                   endGame ();

                   break;

      }

}

//**************STATE_INIT_GAME**************/

Trace when you run the movie will be printed out on an out movie in flash.

function initGame ():void {

trace("add stuff to initGame")

         gameState = "STARTPLAYER";

}

//**************STATE_START_PLAYER**************/

function startPlayer ():void {

       trace("add player stuff")

      gameState = "PLAYGAME";

//**************STATE_PLAY_GAME**************/

Makes play game a function along with calling on with the 2 smaller ones,

 And then makes the clipboard memory remember Endgame

function playGame ():void {

      makeEnemies ();

      testForEnd ();

}

function makeEnemies ():void {

     

}

function testForEnd ():void {

      gameState = "ENDGAME";

}

/**************STATE ENDGAME**************/

function endGame ():void {

      removeGame ();

      endScreen.visible = true;

      removeEventListener (Event.ENTER_FRAME, gameLoop);

      showResults ();

}

Creates a function called showResults

With the child button

Creating a click event (clickFinalAway)

Calls a function shows results

function showResults ():void {

      trace ("Show Results"); 

      endScreen.play_btn.addEventListener (MouseEvent.CLICK, clickFinalAway);

      function clickFinalAway (event:MouseEvent):void {

             trace ("clickFinalAway");

             moveScreenOff (endScreen);

      }

}

//**************REMOVE GAME**************/

function removeGame ():void {

     

}

>imputed all script

>added movie clips (endscreen + start screen)
>animated start screen
>fixed bugs
>made buttons play_btn
> This allowed the loop actionscript to work

Screen grabs of working Script.

 This first screen shot is of all the beginning things, that need to take place before the game starts. I have added a few things myself that need to be hidden so that you can see the beginning screen properly, without still being able to view my nuke button, the score, lives and level. So by using their instance name followed by: ".visible = false" this will hide them from the screen and can only be made visible again by saying so through script.

This next print screen is things that need to happen within the 'init game' loop - meaning things that should happen when the game initiates. 

As you can see I have made that several things: ".visible = true" which means when the game starts the lives, level and score will now be visible and work as they should.

This next large shot of script is all about how my enemies get larger as they come towards the screen, and that they start off darker and get lighter and other such things that all come from perspective. These are all mathematically scaled and what not and so need to be scaled on the x & y axis, and by a percentage. As you can read this is all implemented through the scripting. Along with the percentage of the saturation.

This part of the script is used to say what happens when the enemies get hit buy the players 'laser' or the player itself. - in this case it causes an 'explosion' and then the enemy, laser and explosion is removed from stage however mine has an alteration and that is that if the 3rd frame within my enemy movie clip hits the player that it doesn't explode when it hits the player but instead provides a new button the the player - this is my nuke button. However I have made it so that the nuke can still be shot for points, but this will not provide the button. 

This is a screen shot of my "make Enemies Function"

This loop will create new enemies, determining their start position, within the parameters I have set ( so they don't go too far off the left or right of the stage)

The script we were given I have made amendments too so that my enemies don't rotate down but instead the go down horizontally  This was done by blanking out several lines of script. 

I also added so that there would be more than one enemy - I have added 2 enemies and a power-up. These are all within the same movie clip and are called out randomly. However I have also altered the speed of which they move. The first enemy and power-up move quite slow however the second enemy moves faster this is from a small bit of script:
"tempEnemy.speed = 2;" and then you put an 'if' statement and then you can do the same for the second and make the number higher to make it go faster.

This last screen shot is of the small bit of script I used for my nuke button. I basically took the script for the end game function and this is to clear the enemies from the stage. Along with this it removes the nuke button away from the stage again, adds 5 points to the score and also displays a 'wave' visual to clear the stage. 

Flash as an IDE

Using Flash as an IDE

Vector based graphics means that all the graphics are mathematically calculated. This therefore means that when scaling and transforming a graphic, it keeps all of its qualities and doesn’t get distorted in the process. This is good because it allows cleaner graphics and also has an input on the file size. Also when graphics are swapped or changed, they are updated in all instances of the file.  If creating graphics on flash, there are many tools and features that allow the creation of images in a much easier way, such as snapping and the use of precise measurements.  The downfall to this is that if you create images in flash, because of the large amount of lines used, it can cause chugging. To overcome this you can import images and movie clips meaning that you can reduce the file size and still have clean graphic. However images you import (bitmaps) cannot be scaled accurately, as flash is not designed for this. This means you have to use a different program such as Photoshop or other image manipulation programs to accurately scale/ change the image.

ActionScript is the scripting language Flash uses to control the objects within the files. If you want to do anything interactive in Flash, you'll need to use ActionScript. It allows you to use various different actions in a flash file depending on what the user wants to happen in each instance. For example you can implement the use of functioning button such as play, pause etc. Flash also has snippets of codes to make it easier for the user; these snippets are useful actions which are more commonly used than others. For anyone who doesn’t know a lot about scripting, it is going to be very difficult to implement in the work they are doing. This is because it is very easy to make mistakes and just a little mistake can cause the whole file to not function properly.

In flash you can create very basic animations without the use of scripting, which is called tweening. This involves using automatic animations between different key frames on the timeline.  There are only 3 forms of tweening available for this animation type. These forms are: classic, which is simply moving the object from one place to another; motion which is moving the object in more complicated ways, such as rotating; and shape, which is changes the original shape to warp it into something different.  Tweening is good as it means that the user doesn’t have to do frame by frame animation themselves, which basically makes it much easier.

In flash you have use of a timeline. The timeline can be used to give the user an idea of how long the file is going to be or alternatively how long different animations are going to play for. In the timeline it shows the different key frames which your work is on, and you can also edit how many frames per second you are viewing, giving you a slower or faster view of your work. This is good because it is very easy to see what time frame you are working in which is useful if an animation has to play for a certain amount of time.

When previewing a file which comes across an error, Flash has a debug function that will lead you to where the error is opposed to having to find it yourself. Not only will it take you to where the problem is, it will also tell you what it is. This is very useful as it means it is very time saving and more accurate when finding a problem.

Flash has implemented a good navigation system within the program. It has a library, which automatically saves every movie clip, tween, button, ect. These saved files are easily looked up or drawn upon at any time. This is very helpful because it saves a lot of time and you don’t have to save them all individually. Also the library has a function which means you can use saved files not only from the piece you are working on, but other files as well. Flash also has a customisable interface which means that it is easy to use and can be change to suit the user.

Flash uses layers to keep everything in order and easy to manage. You can have different elements on different layers so that it is easy to keep track of them and make sure all the actions are correct for each one. It allows you to separate and select different parts more easily.

On flash it is easy to test what you have done using a simple shortcut. This means it can be viewed quicker and therefore changes can be made more easily. Also Flash has the facility to test files on a device simulator, this means that you can test the performance of you file on different devices and systems. 

Comparison between Invaders.swf and Submarine.swf

 Comparison between Submarine.swf and Invaders.swf

They both have very similar movements in the fact that the only moves available is to go left and right, however Invaders.swf has an Auto-fire feature so that you don’t physically have to fire, whereas Submarine you have to manually fire. The auto-fire feature is somewhat inconvenient, and so if available I will ensure that the player has to fire manually. Also you move with your mouse with Invaders.swf and follows quickly with the mouse, although it adds a sense of realism, the submarine moves rather slowly and it is difficult to avoid enemy fire.

The ‘Asteroids’ that feature in the game are different depending on the game, for Invaders.swf the player has to destroy falling alien ships, whereas with Submarine.swf the player has to destroy passing subs whilst avoiding missiles and so The ‘Asteroids’ for invaders.swf are the alien ships and the ‘Asteroids’ for Submarine.swf are the subs.

There are key differences to both of the games; one of them is the fact that you are destroying falling objects, without being hit by the falling spaceships and not allowing them to pass the player. This game has the auto-fire feature and for the type of game is difficult and inconvenient as sometimes you are waiting to fire as they are falling and can make the player fall-short. The other game is that you are on top and firing down at passing submarines, whilst avoiding enemy fire, this game has to ‘press space to fire’ function which is a lot more convenient however I don’t know if the slow movement has taken the fall-back due to this function.

Overall the game I would use as my template would probably be the Submarine.swf as I just think the auto-fire function can be too much of a pain, and the movement speed of the player in the Submarine.swf would be easier to code.

or

Overall the game I would use as my template would probably be the Invaders.swf, although I do find the auto-fire function somewhat of a draw-back the style of the game-play is a lot more flexible than that of the Submarine.swf and I generally believe that it will make better game play.

Task One

Research of at least 6 different 'asteroid game'

"Asteroids"

‘Asteroids’ is simple arcade game, using only 2 colours, a very simple vector graphic interface and a two dimensional view. The player is represented by a spaceship which simply looks like a triangle, or capital A the goal of this simple game is to avoid and destroy meteorites and flying saucers.

The reason for the games’ success is due to the fact it was made in a time when games where new, not only this was made during the hype of the ‘first man on the moon’ thus keeping people interested in the space theme.

The games success wasn’t only due to time of release but was also down to the fact it was one of the first games to implement dynamic play, multiple levels and a competitive AI along with a scoring system which would allow you to compete against friends, the public and your own personal scores. Because of all of this, this game is still widely recognised as a ‘golden arcade game’

The controls are very simple as you use the space bar to fire, and use the normal arrows to move around.

It is very successful due to the fact it is a 5 minute thing that can be done whilst waiting. 

There isn't a backing track to this so the main focus is on the sounds effects. Every time you hit something there is an exploding noise, and every time you fire there is a noise that signifies that you have fired.

Pumpkin Invasion

Pumpkin Invasion is a relatively simple flash game created by the account “NipponMonkey” on Weebls-stuff.  The description given is "The Pumpkins have arrived from another dimension; shoot them down along with the Bats and Skulls to save the universe! Collect the power-ups to improve your ship's weapon strength and shield strength. Collect Candy for bonus points. Happy Halloween!” This clearly shows that it is a Halloween themed game and will have characters accordingly.

Pumpkin Invasion is very simple to play using both ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ or ‘A’ and ‘D’ to move and space to shoot. The aim of the game is to shoot down as many Enemy ships as possible, whilst avoiding their incoming fire and making sure you don’t get hit by them when they come down to low to the floor and collecting power-ups to become more powerful and obtaining candy for bonus points.

This game is Halloween based, and so the graphics for the ‘Asteroids’ for this game is very fitting, in the fact that they are generally bats, skulls and different colour variations of pumpkins.  The avatar play is a space ship, which doesn’t fit with theme so it seems out of place.

The sound for the game is Halloween-based dance soundtrack with explosions for each time you hit an enemy ‘Asteroid’  

The scoring system for this game is determined by how many ships you shoot down, gaining more points when you kill harder enemy and bosses

The difficulty levels are determined by how hard it is to kill the enemies and bosses. The further you get the more times you have to hit the enemy before it goes down.

The animation is simple, with the asteroids coming closer in a swirling effect towards player. This means that is is very easy to see what is going on and is simple to understand.  

Bomb Diver by Hybrid Mind
http://armorgames.com/play/13099/bomb-diver
the description for this game is : “Use your jetpack and grenade launcher to keep your city safe from falling bombs!Every level consists of three stages. First you'll go sky diving and avoid the dropping bombs, then use your parachute and collect the balloons to get more ammo. When you've safely landed on the ground, the goal is to shoot all incoming bombs to protect your city.”

The background noise is techno which fits with the theme as it is a very simple and colourful game. The music is also quite retro, almost giving a nostalgic feel to the game. The sound effects used when your collect ammo or a bomb blows up are very simple, there is a small bang when a bomb blows up and there is the same noise as Mario when you collect coins. They have used the coin collecting sounds from Mario because it is widely recognised as the noise when you collect something so it is easy for people to tell how many balloons they have collected.

The scoring system is counted in $. It is determined by how many bombs you destroy, how much damage the city you’re protecting takes and how much ammo you have left from what you have collected.
The graphic style is very retro, and could easily seem based for an older console (i.e. Sega) and is very well done. It is good like this because it is a simple game and there isn’t any need to complicate it with fancy graphics.

The animations are well done even though they are very simple. In the three stages it uses different animations for the character and in all the stages it is animated smoothly.

The controls are very easy, during the first stage and second stage, when you are avoiding bombs and collecting ammo balloons, your avatar follows the movement of the mouse. It follows the mouse in all 4 directions; up, down, left and right. During the third stage when you are destroying bombs, you aim with your mouse and click to fire and move with either ‘left ‘ and ‘right’ or ‘A’ and ‘D’. It is good that they have used the mouse control throughout as it means that the player doesn’t need to change between mouse and key board.

Intergalatic Rumble by Argene_t

http://armorgames.com/play/7036/intergalactic-rumble

The description for this game is : “Inspired by my favorite game Death vs Monstars. I just added more levels, more weapons, more upgrades, more special attacks and achievements. Join Lirpa as he takes his revenge on enemies who ravaged his planet. Take them down one planet after another. Let them feel your wrath!”

The music is fairly techno-futuristic based which suits the space theme of the game. The sounds are very basic, with explosions sounds for when you are hit, or when you hit the enemy ‘Asteroids’. There are also sounds for when you gather the form of currency making it easy to distinguish between the different actions.

The controls are really simple as it is a simple follow the mouse function, and you have an auto-fire feature, so all you have to do is direct with your mouse. This is good because it means you only have to focus on the moving.

It is space and futuristic based, which the graphics fit well as the enemies are spaceships. These are portrayed by bright easily recognisable shapes so it is simple to recognise what you have to avoid and shoot. The background doesn’t seem to fit in my opinion as it seems to be a creased piece of paper which planets slowly move across. Everything else is cartoony so it seems out of place and irrelevant.

The scoring system is based on how many things you kill per level and how little damage you take.

The levels are determined by amount of ‘Asteroids’ per level and the difficulty of killing them.

Ninja Hamsters vs Robots by Nerdook
http://armorgames.com/play/10552/ninja-hamsters-vs-robots
The description for this game is : “Play as the amazing Ninja Hamster as you kill robots and collect sushi! A fast paced and fun action game, with upgrades and achievements. Collect all 8 Sushi Recipes to win the game! Survive each wave to take on the Boss, and win all 20 levels to unlock a special surprise at the end.”

The Levels are determined by the strength or endurance of the ‘Asteroids’. As you progress the harder they are to kill.

The scoring System is calculated by how many ‘Asteroids’ you kill, and how little damage your platform takes

The theme is very amusing, as it is oriental based with cartoony characters, being the ninja hamster and strange robots. It is very bizarre however it works well as it could be taking place in a parallel universe.

The music has a some-what oriental theme to it, sounding a little Asian or something similar. The sounds when you hit the robots are average hitting/smacking noises, or crashing noises if the platforms get hit.

The animation is quite good, as the hamster does a spinning movement as it travels and the robots rock back and forth as they parachute down, which is more interesting that if it just jumped with no movement. I think this improved that game and made it more interesting.

The controls are very easy, you use the mouse to target and you click to the location, the longer you hold down the more damage you do. This is good as it is a very easy method to get a hang of so it is easier to play and enjoy.

War Robots by Biggerplay
http://armorgames.com/play/12914/war-robots
The description for this game is “Humankinds last hope against the evil Drogs are the battle robots! Face the aliens over 10 levels in this exciting defense game! Build robots and use your battle gun!”

The music sounds futuristic and very sci-fi which seems fitting as the weapons are advanced and suggests that it is set in a futuristic setting. The cannon makes a firing noise when it fires and explosion sound when the bullet has landed and also when you buy more men there is a sign to signify that you have click and you have received the new man.

The animation is fairly simple, with constant walking figures coming towards the player, and a recoil effect on the artillery gun when it fires. The graphics are also simple; the main theme being at night/in space so everything is silhouette, but it is easy to make out distinctive figures and the ammunition against the coloured background scene.

The scoring system is quite simple, you gain several credits whilst playing for kills and these are used to buy more men on the battle ground. At the end of the level the overall score is determined by the time taken to destroy the base of the enemies and how many credits overall you earned in the game.

Each level you complete gets harder. There are different enemies which are harder to kill and the quantity of enemies increases.

The controls are easy, use up and down to angle your Cannon and space to fire. You can also use ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ to toggle over the screen to see how many enemies are approaching and to see where your cannon is hitting.