GBAJewel is a simple game similar to JewelToy for the MAC or Bejeweled for
Windows. It was simple to develop, simple to play, but is not simple to put down.
Initially I was just looking for a GBA project, as I got into it (the core took
one sitting to write) I realized I might be able to get this into the
GBA 4KB Demo Competition. The killer was
a couple of divides and the data for fonts, I cut the thing almost in half by
using the GBA BIOS to divide and removing all the fonts but the numbers 0 - 9.
Then cut it down some more by changing my standard -Otime optimization (ARM ADS)
to -Ospace (duh). It sat at 12 bytes more than 4KB for quite a while before I found
a couple more places to cut corners. Now its under 4KB with some breathing room.
Binary will be available after the competition is over...
How to play GBAJewel
Because I dont have any fonts you dont get the "PRESS ANY KEY" message anymore,
so when it comes up...press any key...(this sets the randomizer so it doesnt start
the same every time).
The object is to build "lines" of tiles of the same color three or more in a row
vertically or horizontally. You can only swap two adjacent tiles and the swap
must create a line of three or more tiles in a row. If there are no more moves
the cursor will disappear. To swap tiles place the cursor on one of the tiles
you want to swap, hold and press the A button, and move the cursor in the direction
of the tile you want to swap with. The completed line or lines will disappear and
the tiles will fall down from the top to fill in. If another line is created when
the tiles fall, those lines will dissapear and the process continues until there are
no more complete lines.
Scoring increases slightly on every move so the longer you play the more you are
rewarded. You will get rewarded for creating longer or multiple lines in a single
move. You will be greatly rewarded for lines that are created when tiles fall
to fill in gaps.
The game ends when there are no more moves, again no fonts so no "game over" message,
instead the cursor will disappear. At this point you can press the start button to
start a new game
Works just fine with VisualBoyAdvance if you dont
have a GameBoy Advance.
- 2002-04-21 Updated binary (submitted to 4kb comp)
- 2002-04-03 First posting
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