Introduction

I began work on Particulation in December of 2005. The game started out vastly different, with you moving only while holding the right mouse button, and shooting bullets with the left mouse button. However, after the concept didn't work out well, the game evolved into a form much closer to what it is now. The charging system was created, although the game lacked powerups at that point. Music was also a difficult area. At first, I recorded .wav files of me playing drums for the music. I had to use .wav, as Game Maker cannot change the volume of MP3 files, and I wanted a smooth transition. .wav files, are, obviously, large in filesize. As the powerups were added in, I wanted to have a different beat for each one. The fading .wav system simply would not work while maintaining a small filesize. Therefore, I decided to take what I considered to be a more innovative approach to the problem of music. I liked the drums, so I used one sound for each piece of the drumset I wished to use (snare and bass drums as well as ride, crash, and hi-hat cymbals). Using these individual sounds, I strung them together using timelines. That is why, if the framerate of the game drops, the music slows as well. Obviously, the code within the timelines is executed slower at 45 FPS as opposed to the ideal 60 FPS. The timeline system also allowed the music transitions to be smoother than had ever been plausible with the .wav recordings. Since all the beats are at the same tempo, when the beat changes, it merely continues where it was in the previous one, playing the new one. It does not have to go back to the start of the measure, and I like how this works a lot.
Looking back at how this game started, I'm amazed to see how it has changed through development. I hope that others enjoy the game as well, since enjoyment is obviously what a game should provide. Give it a try, and if you don't like part of it, tell me so that I can avoid making a similar design mistake in the future.

Gameplay

The objective of Particulation is to score points by ramming into large enemies while you are charged up, and flashing different colors. In order to get charged up, smash four small enemies. The charge bar will then drop down, below the health bar, on the far left of the screen. Now, you can large enemies to score points. If you hit a large enemy when you are not charged up, you will take damage, and the size of your health bar will decrease. When the health bar is gone, the game is over. In addition to scoring points through hitting large enemies while charged, you can also gain points through the use of some powerups. There are explained fully in the powerups section of this readme. The two difficulty levels that the game offers allow you to play a shorter game if you want to. In "hard" mode, enemies do double the damage that they typically do. However, points scored are worth twice as much as usual to balance the levels on scoring.

Enemies

There are four enemies in Particulation, and each has a specific purpose:

- Small Enemies - These enemies are very small, and are harmless to you. However, they are critical in that they must be used to charge yourself up.
- Powerup Enemies - The Powerup Enemies are very similar to the Small Enemies visually. However, unlike the white Small Enemies, the Powerup Enemies are multicolored. When you smash a powerup enemy, you will be given a random powerup, as explained in the Powerups section, below.
- Large Enemies - Unlike the Small Enemies, these enemies can damage you. That being said, they are also the only way to score in the game, but be sure to be charged up before ramming into them!
- Charged Enemies - Formed of multicolored rings, Charged Enemies are the rarest enemy in the game. They appear only after you have scored 100,000 points, and only when you are charged. However, with their rarity comes danger. Charged enemies move quickly and in a straight line at you. If you dodge them, they will not return, but if they hit you, you will take damage.

Powerups

Although not all powerups allow you to score points, powerups are the second method of scoring in Particulation. To get a powerup, find a small enemy that is multiple colors, and smash into it. For almost all powerups, the powerup bar will slide down and count off the time the powerup has remaining, allowing you to plan your motion with the knowledge of when the powerup's benefit will end. The powerups are as follows:

- Defense - Makes you invulnerable, even if you are not charged. Even though it seems to not have much use, keep in mind that you can smash through large enemies to get to small enemies however you want.
- Acceleration - Charges you up instantly. Then, without any control, the player quickly moves to the nearest large enemy and smashes it for points. With large amounts of enemies on screen, this can score you a good amount of points.
- Pulsation - Sends energy away from you in eight directions at once, until the powerup runs out. The energy destroys large enemies for points, but be careful, if you are not charged, the large enemies can sneak through at certain angles. Large enemies destroyed with this powerup yield less points than those smashed while you are charged.
- Cascade - Energy constantly streams away from you in the direction you are heading. Just as with Pulsation, the energy destroys large enemies, but earns you less points than when you smash a large enemy while charged.
- Bonus - Unlike other powerups, this has no time limit. A score counter will appear in the bottom left of your screen, and will count up points until you are damaged by hitting a large enemy without charge. When the powerup ends, the value in the score counter is added to your score.
- Freeze Frame - Instantly stops all small and large enemies (but not charged enemies). While they are stopped, you can do smash them at will, but be careful when you are not charged up.
- Multiply x2 - While Multiply x2 is active, any points you score are doubled. Note that this powerup does not automatically charge you up, so don't go smashing all the large enemies you see once you get the powerup, unless you know you have gained charge.
- Mirage - Creates a red duplicate of you that wanders around. All large enemies slowly follow after it, allowing you to smash them quickly as a group, or collect charge without much danger of hitting a large enemy.
- Maximize - Charges you up, and gives you a massive size, allowing you to smash enemies easily.

Options

In addition to the two difficulty modes availible on the title screen, there are other settings that can be changed by clicking on "Options".

- Music - Simply turns the game beats on or off, by default they are on.
- Player Color - Some players found it difficult to identify the player from the enemies. Therefore, this option allows you to turn the player a lime green color, making it easily distinguishable, even in a large group of enemies.
- Low Effects - If your PC is lagging below 60 FPS a lot of the time (you can press F1 at any time to have the FPS displayed, as well as other information), try turning this on. Although the game will not have all of the effects that are typically present, this option will allow it to be played at a smoother framerate on slower PCs.
- Reset Game - Resets all highscores, as well as options, and take you back to intro you see when you first start up the game.