30th August 2004
Did some more essential work on the interface. The screen below shows the Level Select screen. The arrows move through all the installed level packs - each pack contains 10 levels. Previously completed levels can be played without going through the sequence, these can be selected by clicking the numbered spheres.

There is still some work to be done on the interface. And I have started putting together a number of levels. I plan on having 6 packs in total (60 levels!).

22nd August 2004
This weekend I have been working on the title mode. Now there is a working interface to change the display / audio settings etc. It was fairly dull work, but you cant have a game without it! There's an interesting effect in the background - where spheres rotate in the manner of a 3 dimensional object. Demo coders may recognise this as the classic '3D bobs' effect. Screenshot below..

8th August 2004
Its been a few weeks with no update, but I have been working on PB. I've added a user interface, a tutorial mode and designed a number of final levels. At the moment I'm working on 'mini-games'. I plan to have around 6 little games that are unlocked when you complete a number of levels. The first one - kind of a shooting gallery game - is featured in the screenshot below...

27th June 2004
Another weekend brings the usual graphical refinements and sound fx additions. The one-way tiles have become more glossy and the exploding barrels have become rotating dynamite.

I've added 'ice' blocks. These slide when they get hit by the ball. If the ball hits a line of ice, the block on the end moves - like a Newton's cradle. Since the ice can hit other blocks of ice, and set off the dynamite it can be used to create interesting chain reactions.

The screenshot below shows a level I created to experiment with some puzzles. It came together rather quickly, but I had a lot of fun playing it. :)

Next week I plan on implementing the level progression, so I can play through a number of levels. I also have to do a little work on the level editor, so next weeks screenshot may be of that, rather than the game again..

20th June 2004
True to my word, I've added sound effects. I have pings, explosions, crunches and beeps.

I've added slime that spreads around the screen and generally makes a nuisance of itself. Its hard to tell from the screenshot but it pulsates across the screen like jell-o.

I've also refined some more of the graphics and optimised a few blitter routines.

13th June 2004
I've been busy this weekend! Added lots of new features and PingBall is looking much more like a game - there is even a functional score now. I also re-rendered a lot of the graphics to a higher quality and added more frames. Since the sprites are small, I can create very smooth animations.

The particle effect has changed to a 3D firework, which looks superb in motion.

I've added demo recording, so I can record a game then watch it play later, with the mouse moving uncannily about the screen.

Added new tile types; one ways, transporters and exploding barrels. The barrels have a big explosion effect that you can see in the screenshot below. They destroy surrounding blocks.

Next week - sound effects!