Breakout (video game)

For other uses of this term, see Breakout (video game) (disambiguation).

Breakout
Developer(s)	Atari Games
Publisher(s)	Atari Games
Designer(s)	Nolan Bushnell
Release	1976
Genre(s)	Arcade
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, alternating turns

Breakout is a Pong-like arcade game introduced by Atari in 1976, with a follow-up, Super Breakout, appearing in 1978.

In the game, a layer of 'bricks' lines the top third of the screen. A ball travels across the screen, 'bouncing' off the top and side walls of the screen. When the ball hits a brick, the ball bounces off and the brick disappears. The player loses a life when the ball touches the bottom of the screen, and to prevent this from happening, the player has a movable paddle that the ball can bounce off.

Breakout used a black and white monitor. However, the top part of the monitor had tinted strips of transparent material placed over it so that the bricks appeared to be in color.

Development

Breakout, a discrete logic (non-microprocessor) game, was developed by Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak, while he was employed by Hewlett-Packard.

Wozniak's friend Steve Jobs worked at Atari, and he enlisted Wozniak to design the game, which he did in four days. Jobs took credit for the work and reportedly earned US$5000, but paid Wozniak only $350, which he said was half. [1] Reportedly, Steve Jobs' inflated share comes from the amount of circuitry Jobs was able to eliminate, making the game much cheaper to produce, for which Nolan Bushnell paid a handsome bonus which Jobs kept for himself.

The success of the game resulted in the development of Super Breakout a couple of years later. While ostensibly very similar to Breakout – the layout, colour overlay, sound and general behaviour of the game is indentical – Super Breakout is a microprocessor game instead of discrete logic, programmed using an early M6502 chip. Super Breakout is thus emulated in MAME and has also featured in a number of different Atari compilation packs, while the original Breakout has not (since there is no processor in Breakout, the game would have been more "simulated" than emulated).

The key difference in gameplay between Super Breakout and the original is the three different and more advanced game types which the player can choose between. 'Double' gives the player control of two bats at the same time, one placed above the other, and two balls. Losing a life occurs only when both balls go out of play, and points are doubled while the player is able to juggle both balls without losing either. 'Cavity' retains the single bat and ball, but the wall contains two other balls trapped inside which the player must reach and free, before they too can be used to destroy additional bricks like the second ball in Double. Again, points are increased for this, but triple points are available if the player can keep his original ball and both freed ones going at once. The last option, 'Progressive', has but the single standard bat and ball throughout the game, but as the ball hits the paddle, the entire wall gradually advances downwards step by step, gaining in speed the longer the ball lasts. This is by far the most interesting of the three variants, and adds an whole new level of skill and urgency in breaking through the lower bricks to reach the higher-scoring ones above before the wall overwhelms the player.

Variants

This amazingly simple yet addictive game is the basis of countless remakes, many bearing the name "breakout".

Arcade remakes include Atari's own Super Breakout and Taito's Arkanoid, not to mention Namco's Quester.

A vast number of freeware and commercial remakes were released for microcomputers, the most notable include Blitz, Poing, Winbrick, and BreakQuest.

Some handheld devices have had a variant ported to them as well. Especially notable remakes are for devices which include a rotary control, such as the iPod and the BlackBerry's Brick Breaker.

Breakout 1999

There is also a 1999 Breakout game featuring Bouncer who must rescue Daisy and his friends from the evil Batnix. With advice of Coach Steel, he travels these different lands to rescue his friends:

• Tutorial: This is a tutorial level where Bouncer must break out of Batnix's prison to rescue his friends. After that, you'll have to escape a wolf.

• Egypt: Set against a backdrop of Egyptian desert sits a giant pyramid, its secret hidden from view. Only total destruction will unlock all its treasures. Revealed beneath the pyramid is a series of secret tombs through which Bouncer must battle in order to reach the Mummy's Lair where a final battle will rescue his first friend.

• Farm: This chapter is set around a farm, and involves a number of barnyard animals. Bouncer must use his Breakout skills to defeat sheep, chickens, and ducks to rescue his second friend. After that, you must outrun another wolf.

• Castle: A majestic, towering medieval castle surrounded by a deep moat forms the setting for this chapter. The scene is set by a real-time cut-scene of a giant Dragon carrying a captive into the castle. Bouncer must first defeat the knight guards on the drawbridge before entering the castle. Once Bouncer has completed several different challenges, he must climb the castle tower to the Dragon’s nest where he must do battle with the dragon to save one of his friends.

• Factory: Batnix has devised an evil robot henchman to guard his captives in his diabolical factory. A series of devious, puzzle like levels must be negotiated before Bouncer does battle with the deranged robot to complete his mission.

• Space: Bouncer launches a rocket into space. He chases the evil Batnix, and rescues Daisy. Bouncer must use his skills to deflect killer asteroids.

External links

• Open Arkanoid Open Source Arkanoid/Breakout clone made in FreeBASIC
• Flash version of Breakout
• MobyGames' entry for Breakout
• Brickout - an Atari 2600 Breakout replica.
• The LGames Project includes two Breakout implementations, LBreakout and LBreakout2.
• The Dot Eaters entry on the development of Breakout
• Another breakout clone one of the many clones of the original breakout.