FizzBall - A well designed enjoyable game for Linux

Anybody who has played games on their PC will be familiar with a classic game called Breakout where you have to bounce a ball with a paddle and smash all the bricks. While this game in its original make does not sport any special features, it has helped spawn a number of breakout clones which provide additional special effects such as power-ups that provide more power to the ball for a short while - and which make it far more entertaining and enjoyable to play. A couple of years back, I enjoyed playing a breakout clone called DxBall. But most of these so called breakout clones are developed to be run exclusively on Windows. And one of the standing grouse of Linux users is the dearth in quality professional games which run on Linux.

But that is bound to change as more and more professional game developers are seriously considering Linux as a viable platform alongside Windows to release their games. One such professional game development company is Grubby games - founded by Ryan Clark and Matt Parry, which has been developing games which entertain as well as educate the players.

FizzBall one of the games developed by Grubby games and released for Linux is a game with a little similarity to the classic Breakout game in that you have to bounce a bubble using a machine which has the same functions as a paddle in Breakout. But barring that, the game play is entirely different. The aim of the game is to collect all the animals from the wild by directing the bubble towards the animals. In the beginning of each level, the bubble will be small and will bounce off the animals which are larger than the bubble. So you have to collect food in the form of apples, coconuts, acorns and so on littering the area; and as the bubble gobbles up these things, it grows in size and is able to collect larger animals. The level is completed once all the animals are collected inside the bubble in which case, you are taken to the next level. There are over 180 levels in this game.

Fig: You have to break the crates to get to the animals inside.

Fig: Another game level.

What I really liked about the game is that the developers have kept a sharp eye for details. The game is gorgeously animated and illustrated. For example, the animals do not remain stationary but move around. When the bubble bounces off an animal, the animal emits a sound - for example if it is a cow, it moos, if it is a lion, it roars and so on. And if at all the bubble when it is tiny, hits a skunk, it will release a smell.The animals you have collected in each level are kept in an animal sanctuary. All along the game play, you get lots of money and power-ups which you have to collect by directing the machine to them. The money you collect helps you to hop from one island to another (there are seven of them) and also to feed the animals residing in the sanctuary.

Fig: Animal sanctuary

And the power-ups provide additional power to the bubble. Some of the extra powers that are available are the gravity bubble, energy shield, faster bubble, wacky weather ... just to name a few. There are bonus levels after every few regular levels which allow you to gain additional points and money. And each island has offbeat paths that introduce a new animal. And in some levels, you come face to face with an alien which shoots at you and the animals. And it is your duty to capture the alien by directing the bubble towards it.

Fig: View your trophies in the trophy room

The game has two modes - the regular mode and the kids mode. In the kids mode, you do not lose the bubble even if you miss hitting it with the machine. And each new level in the kids mode is preceded by a fun quiz. Just to give a taste, these are some of the questions I encountered in the fun quiz:

• Which baby animal can be called a kid? Goat
• A group of these animals can be called a Mob. - I forgot the answer ;-)
• A group of these animals can be called a pride. Lions
• Which baby animal can be called a gosling ? Goose
• Which animal's baby can be called a snakelet ? snake
• A group of these animals can be called a Parliament. Owl
  

It is clear to see that the developers behind this game, had dual purpose in mind while creating this game - which is, to educate and entertain. For instance, there are bonus levels in the game where the player has to break the numbered objects in the right order - a good way to teach the little kids how to count.

Fig: Break the numbered crates in order

The story is good, the game play is simple but entertaining and the graphical effects are outstanding which makes this game a very good one for both adults and children alike.

FizzBall game features

• Over 180 unique levels of game play.
• The game stage is automatically saved once you exit the game and you can continue where you left off the next time you start playing.
• Multiple users can be created and each user's game is saved separately.
• There are two modes - Regular mode and Kids mode. The kids mode does not allow you to lose the balls and includes fun quizzes between levels.
• If you lose all your bubbles, you can still continue with the game, though all your scores will be canceled.
• Get trophys for achieving unique feats. For example, I recieved a trophy for capturing an alien without getting hit by a laser :-) .
  

Running FizzBall in GNU/Linux

This game for GNU/Linux is packaged as a gzipped archive. And all you have to do is unpack the archive and run the script named run.sh and the game will commence.

Pros of the game

• Eye catching design and excellent graphics.
• Is educative for little kids as well as entertaining for all ages.
• Over 180 levels in both the regular and kids mode of the game.
  

Cons of the game
Is not released under GPL, with the full version of the game costing USD $19.95. A time limited demo version of the game is available though for trying out before buying. But having played the full game, I would say that the money is well spent.

The good news is, professional game developers are seriously eyeing the Linux OS alongside Windows as a viable platform to release their games, FizzBall being a case to the point.