luminesweeper is still $220 cheaper

Contents

1. Rationale
2. Download
3. Installation
4. Game left
5. Game right
6. Discuss

Rationale

Where I come from, nobody I know can afford Sony's new portable video game system. So I decided to criticize the high price of the PSP and save my fellow players the 220 USD + tax that a PSP system with a memory card and game costs by making a homebrew game for the Game Boy Advance handheld video game system. It appears that a lot more people have a GBA or Nintendo DS than have a PSP, and GBA compatible flash devices capable of running multiboot games have come down far in price.

It's pronounced like "luminous sweeper" or (if you speak Japanese) ルミネスイーパー. Another reason for making this video game is to make fun of those who mispronounce "Lumines" as "Loo-mines" as if it were Minesweeper.

It has two modes: left and right.

Download

• Latest work in progress version (.gba and .mb binaries)
• Skin compiler (source and Microsoft Windows binaries)
• Latest source code under GNU GPL

You are free to reproduce and distribute verbatim copies. Here is a brief changelog:

• New in 20050605: | Variable board size
• New in 20050616: First public demo (graphics only; no gameplay) | Rudimentary board size selection (set to intermediate by default; hold for xp beginner, + for classic beginner, or for expert); + for clicking unflagged spaces around a space; better sweeper graphic
• New in 20050619: Gameplay! |
• New in 20050620: Scoring system (not the same as other versions); fix for a falling bug |
• New in 20050629: Randomize the first game; move playfield and next pieces up 4 pixels to prepare for skin system; longer delay before piece drops | Randomize the first game
• New in 20050701: Changes based on comparison with PSP version. These include sweeping partial squares; instant formation of squares; even longer delay before piece drops; new scoring; increase sweeper's delete counter only at the end of a sweep group |
• New in 20050718: Music! Also added quick sideways movement |
• New in 20050818: Basic sound effects; background image; increasing difficulty over time |
• New in 20050904: Now switches between two skins |
• New in 20050912: Much slower increase of difficulty; destroyer works; new skins; sound effect pitch is controlled by skin |
• New in 20051009: Skin builder; correct scoring; difficulty increases somewhat faster (but not as fast as before) |
• New in 20051210: Now distributed as free software under GNU GPL

Installation

With music

To run luminesweeper on a home computer, use a GBA emulator such as VisualBoyAdvance or NO$GBA. To run it on a GBA or a Nintendo DS, use a GBA flash card such as Flash2Advance, EFA-Linker, EZ-Flash, or G6, or a "ROM compatible" CF or SD card adapter such as SuperCard or M3 Perfect. As it is a GBA program, it does not require any of the DS passthrough methods.

Without music

A version without music is also included (file name suffix .mb). On a slower PC, running this version may result in smoother emulated gameplay. It is also capable of running on "multiboot" methods such as the MBV2 cable (GBA and GBA SP only), the XBOO cable (GBA and GBA SP only), or the inexpensive GBA Movie Player. Note: GBAMP users should delete the .gba file, rename the .mb file to end in .mb.gba, and then look in the Game menu.

Game left

This mode of luminesweeper will be familiar to anybody who has played Lumines.

Square pieces, each made of four blocks where each block is colored dark or light, are falling into a 16x10 block well. Move and rotate them to arrange them into squares (four blocks of the same color arranged in a 2x2 square) so that the sweeper, which moves from left to right across the well every 3 to 6 seconds (depending on the tempo of the song), will erase them as it passes. Let the blocks fill to the top, and the game is over.

Controls

• : Move falling piece
• : Rotate falling piece clockwise
• : Rotate falling piece anticlockwise
• or : Move falling piece as far sideways as it can go

Scoring

There are three ways to earn points:

• Moving the falling piece downward gives 1 point per space
• Erasing each square gives 40 points, or more if at least four squares are erased in one pass of the sweeper.
• Keeping a clean playfield gives 1000 points for "monochrome" (all remaining blocks one color) or 10,000 points for "empty" (no remaining blocks)

Done

• Background image controlled by skin
• Falling pieces, with appearance controlled by skin
• Sweeper animation, with appearance and speed controlled by skin
• Marking, sweeping, and scoring squares
• Marking and sweeping destroyer fuses
• Tile falling animation
• Scoring for "monochrome" and "all clear"
• Game over detection
• Basic sound effects, with pitch controlled by skin
• GSM♫Player integration, with music controlled by skin
• Progressive difficulty
• Skin cycling

Not done

• Sampled sound effects
• Continuing comparison of corner cases to Lumines game for PSP (if you own one, please report any substantial differences in playfield behavior)
• Demo/help screen
• Time trial mode
• More skins
• Tracked music player

While you wait

Play Gleam for GBA, Verticube for Microsoft Windows OS, Sweep for Java applet platform, Zoomines for Microsoft Windows OS and Mac OS X, or any of several Puyo Puyo clones.

Game right

This mode of luminesweeper will be familiar to anybody who has played Minesweeper.

The playfield is between 8x8 and 30x16 spaces, some of which contain a hidden explosive. Click on a space, and it'll tell you how many explosives are in the 3x3 square centered on that space. You can place a flag to mark where an explosive is so that you don't accidentally click it. The sweeper passes from top to bottom and extends the area you have uncovered, pointing out the location of explosives. Click a space with an explosive that hasn't been swept, and the game is over.

Some experienced winmine players may not understand the rationale behind the sweeper in this game. It's needed in part because play with a D-pad isn't as fast as play with a mouse.

Controls

• : Move cursor
• : Click the space under the cursor
• : Place or remove a flag on the space under the cursor
• +: If correct number of flags surround the space under the cursor, click all unflagged spaces around that space

Done

• Board generation
• Sweep evaluation
• Moving cursor
• Sweeper animation
• Variable difficulty

Not done

• Bonuses and penalties for flagging
• Sound effects
• Menus
• Demo/help screen
• Skins
• GSM♫Player integration

While you wait

Start > Run > winmine

Discussion

• Contact the author
• luminesweeper thread on n-philes.com (primary)
• luminesweeper thread on gbatemp.net (members only)
• gbadev.org forum - homebrew for Game Boy Advance
• pocketheaven.com - handheld gaming and emulation community

© 2005 Damian Yerrick. Luminesweeper is not sponsored or endorsed by the following trademark owners: Lumines is a trademark of Bandai. Microsoft Windows is a trademark of Microsoft. Arial is a trademark of Monotype. Game Boy is a trademark of Nintendo. Sony and PSP are trademarks of Sony. Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems. Minesweeper is a trademark of Warterfield Holdings (but not for computer games).