Bugout!

Bugout! to the pumping digital soundtrack and enchanting visuals of Bugout.

One evening, while taking a break from working on my general-purpose game engine, I stopped to play one of the standard X11 tetris games (the gnome-games builtin, I believe). As much as I loved tetris, I found it a bit limited, and wondered how long it would take me to make my own.

A day later, the first version of Bugout was born. Over the course of a couple weeks, I added more and more features. XMOD2 found itself modified to become a general-purpose sound playback system and glued in, providing the sound effects and the old-school digital soundtrack (credits for the song itself go to u4ia).

A partial list of the notable technical achievements involved in the game:

MMX-enhanced alpha blending, chromakeying, and alpha-chromakeying, where available. On CPU's without MMX, a slower generic version takes over.
Dynamically scrolling game grid, powered by a software PID controller.
True FFT-based spectral audio visualizer, in parallax to the game grid.
Completely from-scratch graphics engine, sitting atop SDL's raw framebuffer interface.

More madness, as an Earthshaker falls. This and many other special blocks add spice to the gameplay.

This version makes the first released milestone of Bugout. Try to get over 4 lines for special bonuses, but watch out for the Bit Hose!

And a sneak preview at what's coming in future versions:

A port to a newer version game engine core. This will bring:
- Graphical fade transitions
- Light effects
- A faster and curvier visualizer
- A move to the new XMOD3, complete with stereo panning delays, interpolation, and the possibility of adding a higher-quality S3M soundtrack.
A faster FFT and a more visually appealing visualization.
Bigger blocks, roller blocks, and a variety of other nasties to make gameplay harder and more interesting.
Intro screens and high score screens.

Download

Download Bugout! for Windows or Linux here:

Bugout Win32 - Bugout 0.6 Win32

Bugout Linux - Bugout 0.6 Linux

Donate

Contribute to the development of Bugout! If you enjoyed the game, drop a tip into the bin, and suggest a feature while you do so. The more donations, the more motivated I am to make this game the best it can be.