Switchball
Encyclopedia
Switchball is a 3D action-puzzle game, made by Swedish developer Atomic Elbow, which was released for Microsoft Windows
on June 26, 2007, on Xbox Live Arcade
for the Xbox 360
on November 7, 2007 and on PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3
on September 17, 2009.
The game puts the player in the role of a marble
, which is guided through a narrow winding course suspended in mid-air in five different environments: Skyworld, Iceworld, Caveworld, Cloudworld and Lavaworld.
Using PhysX
as its core physics engine, the marble can be "morphed" into different balls with unique physical properties, like a Marble Ball, a Power Ball (which can be charged and have an accelerated "dash", a "jump" ability or switchable "magnetism" properties), a Steel Ball (which can push heavy objects around), and so forth. Each course contains obstacles and traps, such as wooden blocks, sheets of cloth, spinning fans, magnets, and cannons. The game uses physics-based puzzles as well, such as moving boxes or weighting ramps; also, different balls react differently to the environment; Steel Balls, for example, will tear cloth platforms.
Each level is timed, and players are rewarded with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, depending on how quickly they complete the level.
and was a finalist in the "Technical Excellence Class" during the 2006 Independent Games Festival
.
awarded the PC version of Switchball 8 out of 10, praising the AGEIA physics engine, commenting "...the rolling and bumping and knocking and flinging are all exquisitely well done. And physics, the best thing to happen to games since explosive barrels, has a way of making you care." Out of Eight gave it a 7 out of 8 score, praising "There are some creative portions of the game requiring reasonable solutions that will challenge without frustrating." Team Xbox awarded the Xbox 360 version a 9.4 of 10, stating "Switchball is certainly one of the best puzzle games on XBLA
." IGN raved about the AGEIA physics engine, commending, "The real star of Switchball throughout the entire experience, online or off, is the physics system."
CVG
criticized the difficulty of the later level puzzles in its review of the PC version, saying, "It doesn't run out of brains, but in later chapters it does succumb to that misguided urge to crank up the pressure. This goes badly. Switchball is a thoughtful puzzle game, but neither its camera nor controls are up to the dexterity-driven tasks it sets here."
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
on June 26, 2007, on Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
on November 7, 2007 and on PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
on September 17, 2009.
Gameplay
Marbles
A marble is a small spherical toy usually made from glass, clay, steel, or agate. These balls vary in size. Most commonly, they are about ½ inch in diameter, but they may range from less than ¼ inch to over 3 inches , while some art glass marbles fordisplay purposes are over 12 inches ...
, which is guided through a narrow winding course suspended in mid-air in five different environments: Skyworld, Iceworld, Caveworld, Cloudworld and Lavaworld.
Using PhysX
PhysX
PhysX is a proprietary realtime physics engine middleware SDK developed by Ageia with the purchase of ETH Zurich spin-off NovodeX in 2004...
as its core physics engine, the marble can be "morphed" into different balls with unique physical properties, like a Marble Ball, a Power Ball (which can be charged and have an accelerated "dash", a "jump" ability or switchable "magnetism" properties), a Steel Ball (which can push heavy objects around), and so forth. Each course contains obstacles and traps, such as wooden blocks, sheets of cloth, spinning fans, magnets, and cannons. The game uses physics-based puzzles as well, such as moving boxes or weighting ramps; also, different balls react differently to the environment; Steel Balls, for example, will tear cloth platforms.
Each level is timed, and players are rewarded with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, depending on how quickly they complete the level.
History
Originally called CrazyBall, the game won "Best PC Game" during the 2005 Swedish Game AwardsSwedish Game Awards
Swedish Game Awards is Sweden's largest video game development competition. It has been held annually since 2002 and is organized by the student-driven, non-profit entrepreneurship association at the Royal Institute of Technology, Excitera. The competition's audience is students at Swedish...
and was a finalist in the "Technical Excellence Class" during the 2006 Independent Games Festival
Independent Games Festival
The Independent Games Festival is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference, the largest annual gathering of the indie video game industry. It was founded in 1998 to assist and inspire innovation in video game development and to recognize the best independent video game developers...
.
Reception
GamesRadarGamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
awarded the PC version of Switchball 8 out of 10, praising the AGEIA physics engine, commenting "...the rolling and bumping and knocking and flinging are all exquisitely well done. And physics, the best thing to happen to games since explosive barrels, has a way of making you care." Out of Eight gave it a 7 out of 8 score, praising "There are some creative portions of the game requiring reasonable solutions that will challenge without frustrating." Team Xbox awarded the Xbox 360 version a 9.4 of 10, stating "Switchball is certainly one of the best puzzle games on XBLA
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
." IGN raved about the AGEIA physics engine, commending, "The real star of Switchball throughout the entire experience, online or off, is the physics system."
CVG
Computer and Video Games (magazine)
Computer and Video Games is a video game magazine and website published in the United Kingdom.- History :...
criticized the difficulty of the later level puzzles in its review of the PC version, saying, "It doesn't run out of brains, but in later chapters it does succumb to that misguided urge to crank up the pressure. This goes badly. Switchball is a thoughtful puzzle game, but neither its camera nor controls are up to the dexterity-driven tasks it sets here."