JezzBall
Encyclopedia
JezzBall is a video game in which red-and-white balls, referred to as atoms, bounce about a rectangular field of play, or room. The player advances to the next level (with correspondingly higher numbers of atoms and lives) by containing the atoms in progressively smaller spaces, until at least 75% of the area is blocked off. One gains a bonus at the end of each level, which is calculated using lives, time left and the area cleared percentage. A certain amount of points is given for each percentage between 80 and 90 and even more points are awarded for each percentage between 90 and 100 (although the highest possible percentage is 99.6, which can only be obtained on level 1). Percentages below 80 does not add any bonus points. JezzBall is similar to Qix
, which was released during the Golden Age of Arcade Games
.z
JezzBall was programmed by Dima Pavlovsky and introduced in 1992 as part of the Microsoft Entertainment Pack
, and also in the later Best of Windows Entertainment Pack
. The game is named Jezzball after Jez San
, who was a contemporary of Dima at the time. Despite Microsoft
withdrawing support in 1996, it still has a dedicated fan base. While JezzBall is available from many abandonware
sites, there are several open source
and shareware
clones of the game that can be legally obtained. No fewer than eight such clones exist, covering nearly every major desktop and PDA operating system
.
The player begins each level with the same number of lives as there are atoms in that level. The location of the cursor
on the screen defines where the wall will originate, and this position can be termed the WBD. When initiated, two beams of "potential-wall energy" extend from the WBD as rays (in the mathematical sense) until reaching the perimeter of the current room. These two rays operate independently of each other. Upon reaching the perimeter without being hit by an atom, a potential energy ray (depicted in either red or blue) turns black and now serves to further section the room as a proper wall. Should an atom collide with only one of the extending energy rays, that energy ray disappears and a life is lost, but the other energy ray continues extending towards the perimeter. Should an atom collide with the other energy ray, another life would be lost. However, should the second energy ray reach the perimeter of the room, a partial wall will be produced. Two lives are also lost if an atom collides with the energy rays at their combined source (where they meet). The corners of the head of each energy ray are protected from being hit by an atom. This historical game description is therefore quite similar in rules (if balls are substituted for atoms) to the one used in a current clone game at The KDE Games Center.
Many of these clones are shareware
, limiting non-paying users to only a handful of levels. Many of these are found on JezzBall.com, an unofficial JezzBall page that is at least partially funded through the sale of these clones. Others, including IceBreaker and KBounce
, are cross-platform
, free software
, open source
games that are available on a number of operating systems. Some are skinable; The open source Icebreaker's default skin varies radically from JezzBall, using Tux
, the Linux mascot, in place of balls. Silverware Games' Jezz Cubed offer dramatically different interfaces from the original JezzBall, adding three dimensional play, giving the player a cube to reduce by growing planes instead of a plane reduced by lines. Another mobile clone is Ice Ball for Windows Phone 7
"JezzBall Classic" was released for Android early July 2011. Built using Adobe AIR
it was made to be exactly like the original JezzBall, both gameplay-wise and graphically.
Qix
Qix is an arcade game, released by Taito America Corporation in 1981.-Gameplay:The objective of Qix is to fence off, or “claim”, a supermajority of the playfield...
, which was released during the Golden Age of Arcade Games
Golden Age of Arcade Games
The golden age of video arcade games was a peak era of video arcade game popularity, innovation, and earnings. Although there is no consensus as to its exact time period, most sources place it around the early 1980s.-Overview:...
.z
JezzBall was programmed by Dima Pavlovsky and introduced in 1992 as part of the Microsoft Entertainment Pack
Microsoft Entertainment Pack
The original Microsoft Windows Entertainment Pack is a collection of simply-designed 16-bit computer games for Windows. These games were somewhat unusual for the time, in that they would not run under MS-DOS. Many of the games were later released in the Best of Windows Entertainment Pack...
, and also in the later Best of Windows Entertainment Pack
Best of Windows Entertainment Pack
The Best of Windows Entertainment Pack was a collection of thirteen 16-bit simple games sold separately from Windows. It was published in the Microsoft Home series of software. They were selected as the best games from the previously released Microsoft Entertainment Pack series...
. The game is named Jezzball after Jez San
Jez San
Jeremy 'Jez' San OBE is an English game programmer and entrepreneur who founded Argonaut Software as a teenager in the 1980s. He is also a writer and helped design the Super FX chip for the Super NES.-Biography:...
, who was a contemporary of Dima at the time. Despite Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
withdrawing support in 1996, it still has a dedicated fan base. While JezzBall is available from many abandonware
Abandonware
Abandonware are discontinued products for which no product support is available, or whose copyright ownership may be unclear for various reasons...
sites, there are several open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
and shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
clones of the game that can be legally obtained. No fewer than eight such clones exist, covering nearly every major desktop and PDA operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
.
Gameplay
The purpose of the game is to contain the atoms within a room at most 25% the size of the initial room. By using the left click to create walls and the right click to rotate the direction of the wall-building device (WBD), the user must contain atoms in smaller and smaller rooms. When a room is made that contains no atoms, the room disappears. The amount of black on the screen is displayed as a percentage, and when this percentage reaches over 75%, the level is won and play proceeds to the next level. The first level has two atoms, and each subsequent level has an additional atom. There are an infinite number of levels during play, so that one can never "beat" the game. However, there are only 49 distinct levels, and upon beating the 49th level (containing 50 atoms), the subsequent level is merely a repetition of the 49th level.The player begins each level with the same number of lives as there are atoms in that level. The location of the cursor
Cursor (computers)
In computing, a cursor is an indicator used to show the position on a computer monitor or other display device that will respond to input from a text input or pointing device. The flashing text cursor may be referred to as a caret in some cases...
on the screen defines where the wall will originate, and this position can be termed the WBD. When initiated, two beams of "potential-wall energy" extend from the WBD as rays (in the mathematical sense) until reaching the perimeter of the current room. These two rays operate independently of each other. Upon reaching the perimeter without being hit by an atom, a potential energy ray (depicted in either red or blue) turns black and now serves to further section the room as a proper wall. Should an atom collide with only one of the extending energy rays, that energy ray disappears and a life is lost, but the other energy ray continues extending towards the perimeter. Should an atom collide with the other energy ray, another life would be lost. However, should the second energy ray reach the perimeter of the room, a partial wall will be produced. Two lives are also lost if an atom collides with the energy rays at their combined source (where they meet). The corners of the head of each energy ray are protected from being hit by an atom. This historical game description is therefore quite similar in rules (if balls are substituted for atoms) to the one used in a current clone game at The KDE Games Center.
Tactics
The fact that the two energy rays produced by the WBD act independent of one another is the basis for the stovepipe method of atom capture, and may speculatively be the only method of play that will allow advancement to higher levels. This is because, as the number of atoms increases, it becomes increasingly more difficult to remove parts of the room. Stovepipes are made by intentionally allowing an atom to hit one of the expanding energy rays (thus sacrificing a life) while making sure the other energy ray does in fact succeed in producing a partial wall. The closer the WBD is to one side of the room, the higher the risk is of losing one energy ray to an atom collision, and at the same time, the higher the chance is of securing the other energy ray of producing a partial wall.Clones
Clones of the original JezzBall normally offer updated graphics but vary slightly in timing and scoring from the original.Many of these clones are shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
, limiting non-paying users to only a handful of levels. Many of these are found on JezzBall.com, an unofficial JezzBall page that is at least partially funded through the sale of these clones. Others, including IceBreaker and KBounce
KBounce
KBounce is a clone of the computer game JezzBall, developed as part of KDE. Following the original concepts of JezzBall, KBounce requires the user to adapt to its increasing difficulty by applying an array of critical thinking, intuitive thinking and reflexes....
, are cross-platform
Cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
, free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
, open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
games that are available on a number of operating systems. Some are skinable; The open source Icebreaker's default skin varies radically from JezzBall, using Tux
Tux
Tux is a penguin character and the official mascot of the Linux kernel. Originally created as an entry to a Linux logo competition, Tux is the most commonly used icon for Linux, although different Linux distributions depict Tux in various styles. In video games featuring the character, female...
, the Linux mascot, in place of balls. Silverware Games' Jezz Cubed offer dramatically different interfaces from the original JezzBall, adding three dimensional play, giving the player a cube to reduce by growing planes instead of a plane reduced by lines. Another mobile clone is Ice Ball for Windows Phone 7
Windows Phone 7
Windows Phone is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, and is the successor to its Windows Mobile platform, although incompatible with it. Unlike its predecessor, it is primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market...
"JezzBall Classic" was released for Android early July 2011. Built using Adobe AIR
Adobe Integrated Runtime
Adobe Integrated Runtime, also known as Adobe AIR, is a cross-platform runtime environment developed by Adobe Systems for building Rich Internet Applications using Adobe Flash, Adobe Flex, HTML, and Ajax, that can be run as desktop applications or on mobile devices...
it was made to be exactly like the original JezzBall, both gameplay-wise and graphically.
External links
- Jazzball - highly accessible version of Jezzball.
- Jezzball.org
- Jezzball Flash Remake
- Jezz Cubed official site
- Icebreaker official site
- iPhone Version from Pixio Software
- Jezzball for Palm
- BurnBall - iPhone game with same gameplay
- Jezster / SuperJezzin- iPhone and WM games
- Trap!, a Jezzball clone for the Android OS
- JezzBall Classic - version of JezzBall for Android made out to be exactly like the original game