Ball and Chain
endless runner game for Commodore 64, 2022
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Deep down in the dark and gloomy dungeons of the Spike Empire, an innocent
bouncy ball has been held in captivity, chained to…. a ball, a heavy iron
ball that is!
Ball and Chain is an endless runner where the difficulty ramps up until you
inevitably “drop the ball.”
One day, after a generous helping of helium (no idea where he found it), our
hero decides to flee the Spike Empire and return to the land of fun and
games.
You control the helium filled hero and while the iron ball limits your
movement, it can also be used as a weapon! Your escape for freedom comes to
an end when you either collide with an enemy, or are crushed by a wall.
Pressing the fire button shortens the chain and gives tighter control over
the iron ball, releasing the button pushes the iron ball to the opposite
direction.
The score increases the longer you stay alive. Collect coins and stars along
the way to increase your score further. Stars improve the time base scoring
factor, but come at a cost. They also increase the mass of the iron ball,
thus increasing its weight and inertia until you are unable to spin it or
even lift it from the ground.
Destroying enemies release powerup bubbles with one of four color coded perks:
Yellow: Coin magnet
Grey: Iron skin - Protects the rubber ball for a short time
Blue: Changes the iron ball into a balloon with no weight or inertia
Green: Slows the scrolling down
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Some useful keyboard shortcuts
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[PAUSE] - stop/continue game
[F9] - quick load game state
[F12] - quick save game state (still stored after leaving the site)
[F11] - toggle fullscreen mode
[ScrollLock] - quick switch control ports
[PageDown] - make a screenshot (320x200)