Icebreaker (game)
Encyclopedia
Icebreaker is a 1995 strategy
/action
video game developed by Magnet Interactive Studios for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
console. Despite the critical acclaim, the game did not sell well (mostly because of 3DO
's failure on the 32-bit video game market). Later, the game was also ported to Mac and PC
, where it found a similar fate.
Despite the name, ice appears only in a fraction of the game's levels, and cannot be broken by any means. The game was so named because it was thought that its combination of simple objectives, intense action, and intellectually challenging design would make it appeal equally to casual gamers, hardcore gamers, and even non-gamers, and thus serve as a social icebreaker.
Icebreaker 2 was created but never released and, until recently, could only be played at creator Andrew Looney
's house in a custom built arcade style machine. Andrew Looney's Icebreaker 2 was made available for the 3DO by Older Games on August 3, 2007. By December 2007, Older Games had been purchased and is no longer selling the game.
(called a "Dudemeyer") on an isometric
/diametric projection level. The goal is to eliminate all other pyramids (called "dudes"), starting with the stationary pyramids which line the field, and then the mobile pyramids (called "seekers") which move towards the white pyramid. Each kind of pyramid has its own weakness and specific form to be destroyed.
The game consists of 150 levels. A demo version was created which contains 5 representative levels from various parts of the game.
Features present in the game include:
The game has a "peppy" soundtrack of simple electronic music.
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
/action
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
video game developed by Magnet Interactive Studios for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
console. Despite the critical acclaim, the game did not sell well (mostly because of 3DO
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
's failure on the 32-bit video game market). Later, the game was also ported to Mac and PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
, where it found a similar fate.
Despite the name, ice appears only in a fraction of the game's levels, and cannot be broken by any means. The game was so named because it was thought that its combination of simple objectives, intense action, and intellectually challenging design would make it appeal equally to casual gamers, hardcore gamers, and even non-gamers, and thus serve as a social icebreaker.
Icebreaker 2 was created but never released and, until recently, could only be played at creator Andrew Looney
Andrew Looney
Andrew J. Looney , better known as Andy Looney, is an award-winning game designer and computer programmer.- Biography :...
's house in a custom built arcade style machine. Andrew Looney's Icebreaker 2 was made available for the 3DO by Older Games on August 3, 2007. By December 2007, Older Games had been purchased and is no longer selling the game.
Gameplay
The player controls a sliding white pyramidPyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
(called a "Dudemeyer") on an isometric
Isometric projection
Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings...
/diametric projection level. The goal is to eliminate all other pyramids (called "dudes"), starting with the stationary pyramids which line the field, and then the mobile pyramids (called "seekers") which move towards the white pyramid. Each kind of pyramid has its own weakness and specific form to be destroyed.
The game consists of 150 levels. A demo version was created which contains 5 representative levels from various parts of the game.
Features present in the game include:
- White Pyramid - The unit controlled by the player, which can move in eight directions and shoot fireballs from its point.
- Blue Pyramid - Stationary pyramids. They shatter when touched by the white pyramid.
- Red Pyramid - Stationary pyramids. When shot with a fireball, they vaporize. If the player's white pyramid touches a red pyramid, it "dies".
- Green Pyramid - Stationary pyramids. Cannot be destroyed by the white pyramid, only by seekers.
- Red, green and blue pyramids change into each other over the course of the game, with early levels being an exception as they "teach" the concepts of the pyramid types separately. Every few seconds, a randomly selected pyramid shifts color. The new color is dependent on the pyramid's old color; the shifts go from red to blue to green to red.
- Purple Pyramid - Stationary pyramids. When shot with a fireball, they turn into a pit.
- Concrete Pyramid - These are gray in color, and take a total of 10 fireballs to destroy.
- Rainbow Pyramid - When touched by the white pyramid or shot with a fireball, they turn into either a Red, Green, Blue, Purple, or Seeker pyramid. If they turn into a Red or Seeker Pyramid, they will immediately be destroyed.
- Seekers - Mobile pyramids which consistently move towards the white pyramid. Touching one is death. They can be destroyed with fireball shots, and in some cases by luring them into hazards, but will respawn the same instant that they are destroyed unless all immobile pyramids on the field have been wiped out. Seeker types are differentiated by color (yellow, pink, light blue, light green, green, light purple, mottled, and orange), speed, AIAiAI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
, and "death" animation. In addition, while most seekers are destroyed with one shot, mottled seekers (called "zombies") take 3 shots to destroy, and orange seekers (called "meanies") split into halves and then quarters when shot, changing both speed and AI with each split. Though AI varies among types, all seekers move in a straight line towards the white pyramid until they encounter an object. The differences are in how the seeker acts when it encounters an object; depending on AI, it will either run into it, slowly work its way around it, or hide behind it until the white pyramid comes near.
- Hazards - Pits, pools of lava, and carnivorous green slime appear as board hazards; they also destroy certain seekers.
The game has a "peppy" soundtrack of simple electronic music.
External links
- Icebreaker page at Wunderland.com — Site of the creator of the game. Includes download links for the demo versions (PC & Mac)