Online Breakout Game

Breakout is an arcade game where a paddle keeps a ball in play to clear bricks. It rewards quick tracking and steady aim, and each run invites a little more precision.

A breakout game with difficulty levels lets you choose how fast the action feels and how forgiving the paddle is. You move the paddle, the ball rebounds from edges, and bricks disappear when struck, so the screen opens up and your score climbs.

Pick easy for a wider paddle or hard for a faster ball, then steer clean angles off the paddle to sweep rows. Clearing every brick advances the stage and raises the pace, while hearts show remaining chances.

Near edge hits bend the return sharply, so line up early and stay centered when the ball drops low. Keep inputs consistent across plays to compare scores cleanly.

Technical Details:

The playfield is a rectangular space measured in abstract world units. Game objects are simple geometric bodies: a circular ball and axis‑aligned rectangles for the paddle and bricks. Motion updates every animation frame and rebounds conserve speed while reversing the component that meets a boundary or surface.

Collision detection uses overlapping bounds. Two bodies intersect when their projections overlap on both axes, which turns contact into a clear yes or no without ambiguous grazing states. This keeps rebounds predictable and allows fine control of the return angle from paddle contact.

Progression is incremental. Each cleared layout advances the level, adds a brick row, and slightly increases vertical speed, so time to clear shrinks while decision pressure rises. Scoring awards 10 points per brick; lives decrease when the ball crosses the bottom boundary.

Comparisons across attempts are fair within a chosen difficulty because paddle width and initial ball speed are fixed per setting. The initial horizontal direction is chosen at random, which varies opening trajectories without affecting total difficulty.

\begin{array}{l} Overlap (x) & = & [max (a_{\min}, b_{\min}) \leq min (a_{\max}, b_{\max})] \\ Overlap (y) & = & [max (a_{\min}, b_{\min}) \leq min (a_{\max}, b_{\max})] \\ Contact & = & Overlap (x) \land Overlap (y) \end{array}

Symbols and units
Symbol	Meaning	Unit/Datatype	Source
amin, amax	Lower and upper bounds of object A on an axis	world unit	derived
bmin, bmax	Lower and upper bounds of object B on an axis	world unit	derived
v_x, v_y	Ball velocity components	world unit per frame	derived
r	Ball radius	world unit	constant

Worked example: Paddle center at x=0, half‑width =0.75. Ball center at x=0.3, radius r=0.15. Overlap on x holds because max(-0.75, 0.15)=0.15 is not greater than min(0.75, 0.45)=0.45. With vertical overlap also true, contact occurs and the ball reflects upward.

Difficulty mapping
Difficulty	Initial \|v_x\|	Initial \|v_y\|	Paddle width	Notes
Easy	0.015	0.02	2.0	Wider paddle favors recovery.
Normal	0.02	0.03	1.5	Balanced baseline.
Hard	0.03	0.04	1.2	Narrower paddle raises precision demands.

Score increases by 10 per brick; lives start at 3 and decrease on a bottom exit.
Level clears add a brick row and nudge vertical speed upward each time.
Rebounds from the paddle add a small horizontal tweak based on impact offset.

Units, precision & rounding

Positions and velocities are floating‑point numbers in world units per frame. Updates run per animation frame; no special rounding rules apply beyond standard floating‑point behavior.

I/O, networking & storage

Input is from keyboard arrows and mouse movement, with optional pause and fullscreen toggles. Game state lives in memory only; there is no use of local or session storage and no server requests during play.

Performance & complexity

Each frame checks paddle contact and scans the remaining bricks for a hit, which is linear in the number of bricks. Visual effects are lightweight and bound to frame cadence.

Diagnostics & determinism

Identical inputs produce the same rebounds once launched. The opening horizontal direction is randomized, so starts vary while difficulty stays consistent.

Privacy & compliance

No data is transmitted or stored server‑side. Outcomes are purely random and have no monetary value.

Assumptions & limitations

Axis‑aligned bounds approximate contact; grazing hits are binary, not graded.
Very high speeds combined with low frame rates may reduce collision reliability.
There is no spin, friction, or energy loss beyond programmed tweaks.
Layouts add rows uniformly; there are no power‑ups or special bricks.
Hearts indicate chances only; there is no mid‑run save or resume.
Audio is not included; feedback is visual.
Fullscreen depends on device policy and user gesture rules.
Heads‑up Window resizing changes the view; it does not reflow bricks mid‑level.

Edge cases & error sources

Alt‑tab during held keys can leave a direction flagged until the next keyup.
Pointer leaving the window pauses mouse steering until re‑entry.
Display refresh lower than animation cadence reduces smoothness.
Stutter on resource‑starved tabs may affect collision timing.
Fullscreen prompts can be blocked by device settings.
Very small windows shrink the playfield and tighten reaction time.
Rare simultaneous contacts pick the first resolved body in the scan.
Floating‑point precision can accumulate minor drift over very long runs.
Background throttling in inactive tabs slows or halts updates.
Reload resets score, lives, and level with no persistence.

Step‑by‑Step Guide

The goal is to clear every brick by steering the ball with the paddle while keeping it in play.

Choose a difficulty: Easy, Normal, or Hard.
Move with Arrow keys or guide with the mouse.
Press Space or P to pause or resume.
Press F to toggle fullscreen when supported.
Return the ball to the bricks, clear the layout, and advance to the next level.

Example: On Hard, a narrow paddle needs early positioning. Aim off‑center to add a touch of horizontal speed and sweep the last column.

Keep the paddle near center as the ball drops to reduce long dashes.
Use small corrections rather than large swings for cleaner angles.

Clear all bricks to complete the stage and push your score higher.

FAQ

Is my data stored?

No. The game keeps state in memory only and does not write to local storage or send information to a server.

Nothing persists after a reload.

How accurate is collision?

Contacts use overlapping bounds on both axes. This is robust for arcade play, though extreme speeds and frame drops can reduce reliability.

Keep frame rate steady for best results.

What are the controls?

Arrows or mouse to move, Space or P to pause, and F to toggle fullscreen where supported.

Some devices restrict fullscreen prompts.

Does it work offline?

Gameplay runs entirely in the device once loaded. If a network was required to load assets, play continues without additional requests.

Refreshing may require connectivity for external assets.

What does a borderline hit mean?

A near edge strike still counts if bounds overlap on both axes. Expect a sharp angle and prepare for a quick follow‑up.

Practice reading approach angles.

Is there any cost or license?

Play is provided as is for entertainment. No sign‑in, keys, or quotas are used during gameplay.

Check the site footer for any licensing notes.

Troubleshooting

No sound: audio is not included; visual cues indicate hits and levels.
Fullscreen blocked: try pressing F after a recent click on the playfield.
Laggy input: close heavy tabs and ensure power saving is off.
Mouse feels slow: reduce long sweeps and use short corrective moves.
Stuck key movement: tap the same arrow again to reset the state.
Window too small: expand the window to restore a wider view.

If the display is blank after choosing a difficulty, reload the page to reset the rendering surface.

Glossary

World unit: Arbitrary coordinate used to place game objects.
Bounds: Minimum and maximum coordinates on each axis.
Overlap: Condition where projections intersect on an axis.
Rebound: Velocity component reversal after contact.
Level: Current stage; adds rows after each clear.
Difficulty: Preset for paddle width and initial ball speed.

Online Breakout Game