NeoFlash Spring Competition 08: Bugz – bug-popping, feature-filled game

While rummaging through several 2008 Neoflash Spring Coding Competition entries, we’ve plucked another great homebrew game for your PlayStation Portable: Bugz. Sony PSP coder Insert_Witty_Name “professionalized” a simple game concept with collection of features similar to those from a commercial casual title. But find out how the game plays out and other reasons why this game’s worth a peek at the full story.

Download: Bugz
Visit: QJ.NET’s PSP Development Forums

English homebrew coder Insert_Witty_Name introduced us to Bugz, one of many official entries to the 2008 Neoflash Spring Coding Competition. The homebrew game sports an art style on a visual level comparable to SCEJ‘s LocoRoco, although this one doesn’t involve singing blobs of cuteness. Instead, it keeps to its namesake and features colorful bugs – bugs that you’ll have to blow up.

Sad as it may sound, its Boomshine-reminiscent gameplay is actually fun in its own sub-violent, cutesy way. In Bugz, “popping” adorable creepy crawlies isn’t a blastfest affair. Insert_Witty_Name added a little twist to the game that’ll have you thinking before you make your next and only move.

In Bugz, your goal is to create a chain of explosive reactions and you’ll have to detonate as many critters as you can using just one initial explosion – yours, of course. The more you progress through the levels, the more bugs appear.

But the level goals also increase steadily, so you’ll have to consider both timing and positioning (and also a memory of how big the blast radius is and how long it takes to reach maximum radius) to get higher scores. Other features of Bugz include (but are not limited to):

• 17 levels of addictive gameplay.
• Online high score table – view and upload scores in game.
• Save & load of player and autosave feature.
• Game share ability.
• Official PSP dialogs.
• Custom soundtrack.
• Play MP3 files in game from MUSIC/ or PSP/MUSIC/ folder.

Insert_Witty_Name also enclosed a demo video of just how Bugz would play out, which you can view below. The game was made using the Phoenix Game Engine and PSPSDK, and the author says it holds code that will serve as a platform for the next LuaPlayer. See why:

 

 

 

 

Course through the game’s bundled documentation for a reminder on installation location, and you’re off to bug popping heaven. Last one on the score list is a rotten lady bug!

Download: Bugz
Visit: QJ.NET’s PSP Development Forums