BB (Blockbomber) is a really good bomberman clone packing some of its own twists. The gameplay while not unique, is
quite entertaining as a multplayer party game. To me, it's well-executed but it lacks innovating that makes it distinct
from a 2D implementation. Having an involved 3D element in bomberman would make BB a really unique game. Right now, it
stands as just a clone.
Graphics-wise, it's wonderful. Nothing sticks out like a sore thumb. The UI/UX is just as well implemented, perhaps
missing some style. The music and sounds are also quite fitting. If anyone asks me what game made the most complete and
thematic assets of all, BB would sit high up in that list. The small scope of BB paid off, allowing the developer to
focus on other elements of BB like UI/UX and models.
Anyways, my truly serious suggestion is to add A.I. non-players so BB can be played even in "singleplayer" (still hosted
of course). Not really necessary to BB, but being able to play around in while waiting for players is nice.
In BB, you play (alongside other players) as blockers, the little colourful frog-like thing. Once there's more than one
player, you'll play in one of the randomly selected arenas. Press JUMP to place bombs which explode in orthogonal
directions. Move to dodge explosions, otherwise your blocker lose and become a spectator. That's the basic gist of this
bomberman clone. There's also powerups, handicaps and server leaderboards. There's builtin instructions inside the game,
so you can take a look at that too!
BB is not entirely original, but it's not really necessary to have fun. An arcade party game like this should be
enjoyable, and BB delivers on that promise. The rules are simple and somewhat faithful with BB's own mechanics. There is
however a unique take that comes with BB as a result of MTE - and that is the discrete movement and 3D perspective.
Maybe that's a negative to you, I'm not confident in categorizing it either. If there's a tip I'd like to share, it
would be to use the third-person camera instead of first-person camera. It makes more sense, at least to me.
Very polished and charming. The textures are very well made (nitpick: except for the explosions themselves - I had hope
for something more flashy with particles). If someone were to ask me the goals of making a texture, it would be to
achieve what BB did: coherent, consistent, aesthetic, thematic and functional.
The models for both bombs and the blocker are also well designed with clear intentions and purpose. Players
must be one-block tall for the game board, so instead of shrinking Sam like some developers would (I'm looking at you
Box World 3D), the developers took the extra effort of making their own unique model. Not only that, animations are also
implemented though I wish it was a little more flashy.
The skybox is a nice touch, i'd hate to see the bland disorientating blue sky with the stock MTE day/night mechanic
leftover. Not sure if the space theme is suitably thematic with a bomberman clone, but it's good enough to enhance your
sense of direction on a floating game board in the vacuum of space.
Like many other minimal UI games, BB need not good UI to stand on its own. The developers of BB did it anyways:
Change player colour (I rather have a color picker tbh), with its own charming animation for your blocker.
Explain the rules in-game, something I noticed is not prevalent enough in other games in MTE.
Give something to see while waiting for players. Again, the animations really carried this part.
Display the leaderboards. My only issue being that this isn't really scalable if more players join. I recommend a
button to display a seperate formspec for the leaderboards.
The UI looks great on both PC and my phone, but falls short on being unique. I half expected a pixel-art based menu.
Minor nitpicks, I know, but I just want to point out improvements where possible. Still the effort here is already
impressive for a clone that doesn't need much UI.
BB also did not need to have music or sounds, but the developers did it anyways. Using audio cues as indicators for
picking up good and bad pickups are good design chocies. Hearing my little frog die is also a nice touch. The music
while fine on its own, it can be better. I suggest playing a faster paced music when the timer hits a certain duration -
say 1 minute - and continues into sudden death.
All of the arenas present are quite unique. However, my gripe with it is that there's not a lot to do with it since the
node choices are somewhat restricted. I suggest adding more aesthetical or thematical nodes. Think of how CTF (Capture
The Flag) has lots of ways to decorate the map. Of course, the developers might instead add more nodes that interacts
with the mechanics.
Previously, there's no documented way of creating an arena for BB. Well, now there is through BlockbomberEditor! I was
expecting more of an integrated suite so I can test what it might feel like playing on my own arenas. Nonetheless, you
can make arenas, even though it involves opening files in your favourite editor and other such techincal details. Maybe
I'll put in the work of making PRs for my own arenas, I'm not really involved in MTE stuff anymore as I used to be.
My only serious suggestion is to add A.I. non-players so BB can be played even in "singleplayer" (still hosted of course)
Yes, this was one of my ideas for future developemnt. However, AI to tell the NPC to place a bomb might be more chalanging than it looks. Time constraints realy killed this one.
@TheEnemyStando , Id really be interested in your detailed thoughts of how to make blockbomber 3d. I have implemented 3d floors that allow multiple levels, but I have some major concerns. First is the addition of extra surface area. If the arenas allow players to walk on top of walls, then its harder to reach the players with bombs, and therefore gameplay is less likely to be as intense. Gameplay intensity is one of the major requirements of this game. If I make bombs explode in 3d, then that really changes the gameplay style, and it is ugly. Soo... yeah.
While I await suggestions I will be trying to implement 3d mode, and see how it goes. Of course the original arenas will remain as "classic" arenas.
Its also quite easy to have themed nodes, so Ill be adding that too!
Conclusion
BB (Blockbomber) is a really good bomberman clone packing some of its own twists. The gameplay while not unique, is quite entertaining as a multplayer party game. To me, it's well-executed but it lacks innovating that makes it distinct from a 2D implementation. Having an involved 3D element in bomberman would make BB a really unique game. Right now, it stands as just a clone.
Graphics-wise, it's wonderful. Nothing sticks out like a sore thumb. The UI/UX is just as well implemented, perhaps missing some style. The music and sounds are also quite fitting. If anyone asks me what game made the most complete and thematic assets of all, BB would sit high up in that list. The small scope of BB paid off, allowing the developer to focus on other elements of BB like UI/UX and models.
Anyways, my truly serious suggestion is to add A.I. non-players so BB can be played even in "singleplayer" (still hosted of course). Not really necessary to BB, but being able to play around in while waiting for players is nice.
More in the comments...
Gameplay
In BB, you play (alongside other players) as blockers, the little colourful frog-like thing. Once there's more than one player, you'll play in one of the randomly selected arenas. Press
JUMPto place bombs which explode in orthogonal directions. Move to dodge explosions, otherwise your blocker lose and become a spectator. That's the basic gist of this bomberman clone. There's also powerups, handicaps and server leaderboards. There's builtin instructions inside the game, so you can take a look at that too!BB is not entirely original, but it's not really necessary to have fun. An arcade party game like this should be enjoyable, and BB delivers on that promise. The rules are simple and somewhat faithful with BB's own mechanics. There is however a unique take that comes with BB as a result of MTE - and that is the discrete movement and 3D perspective. Maybe that's a negative to you, I'm not confident in categorizing it either. If there's a tip I'd like to share, it would be to use the third-person camera instead of first-person camera. It makes more sense, at least to me.
Graphics
Very polished and charming. The textures are very well made (nitpick: except for the explosions themselves - I had hope for something more flashy with particles). If someone were to ask me the goals of making a texture, it would be to achieve what BB did: coherent, consistent, aesthetic, thematic and functional.
The models for both bombs and the blocker are also well designed with clear intentions and purpose. Players must be one-block tall for the game board, so instead of shrinking Sam like some developers would (I'm looking at you Box World 3D), the developers took the extra effort of making their own unique model. Not only that, animations are also implemented though I wish it was a little more flashy.
The skybox is a nice touch, i'd hate to see the bland disorientating blue sky with the stock MTE day/night mechanic leftover. Not sure if the space theme is suitably thematic with a bomberman clone, but it's good enough to enhance your sense of direction on a floating game board in the vacuum of space.
UI/UX
Like many other minimal UI games, BB need not good UI to stand on its own. The developers of BB did it anyways:
Change player colour (I rather have a color picker tbh), with its own charming animation for your blocker.
Explain the rules in-game, something I noticed is not prevalent enough in other games in MTE.
Give something to see while waiting for players. Again, the animations really carried this part.
Display the leaderboards. My only issue being that this isn't really scalable if more players join. I recommend a button to display a seperate formspec for the leaderboards.
The UI looks great on both PC and my phone, but falls short on being unique. I half expected a pixel-art based menu. Minor nitpicks, I know, but I just want to point out improvements where possible. Still the effort here is already impressive for a clone that doesn't need much UI.
Music+Sounds
BB also did not need to have music or sounds, but the developers did it anyways. Using audio cues as indicators for picking up good and bad pickups are good design chocies. Hearing my little frog die is also a nice touch. The music while fine on its own, it can be better. I suggest playing a faster paced music when the timer hits a certain duration - say 1 minute - and continues into sudden death.
Arenas
All of the arenas present are quite unique. However, my gripe with it is that there's not a lot to do with it since the node choices are somewhat restricted. I suggest adding more aesthetical or thematical nodes. Think of how CTF (Capture The Flag) has lots of ways to decorate the map. Of course, the developers might instead add more nodes that interacts with the mechanics.
Previously, there's no documented way of creating an arena for BB. Well, now there is through BlockbomberEditor! I was expecting more of an integrated suite so I can test what it might feel like playing on my own arenas. Nonetheless, you can make arenas, even though it involves opening files in your favourite editor and other such techincal details. Maybe I'll put in the work of making PRs for my own arenas, I'm not really involved in MTE stuff anymore as I used to be.
Changelog
Yes, this was one of my ideas for future developemnt. However, AI to tell the NPC to place a bomb might be more chalanging than it looks. Time constraints realy killed this one.
--threehymns, assistant maintainer of blockbomber
P.S. Thanks for the review!
BTW, you can now make your own maps for blockbomber using the editor: https://content.minetest.net/packages/MisterE/blockbomber_editor/
Thank you for your in-depth review!
We plan to add more asthetic nodes soon!
@TheEnemyStando , Id really be interested in your detailed thoughts of how to make blockbomber 3d. I have implemented 3d floors that allow multiple levels, but I have some major concerns. First is the addition of extra surface area. If the arenas allow players to walk on top of walls, then its harder to reach the players with bombs, and therefore gameplay is less likely to be as intense. Gameplay intensity is one of the major requirements of this game. If I make bombs explode in 3d, then that really changes the gameplay style, and it is ugly. Soo... yeah.
While I await suggestions I will be trying to implement 3d mode, and see how it goes. Of course the original arenas will remain as "classic" arenas.
Its also quite easy to have themed nodes, so Ill be adding that too!