DX-Ball

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DX-Ball
Developer(s)	Michael P. Welch
Designer(s)	Seumas McNally
Version	1.09 (December 1998)
Platform(s)	Windows
Release date	1996
Genre(s)	Arcade
Mode(s)	Single player
Input methods	Keyboard

DX-Ball is a shareware computer game for the PC first released in 1996 by Michael P. Welch. The game, an updated version of an earlier series of Amiga games known as Megaball, is patterned after classic ball-and-paddle arcade games such as Breakout and Arkanoid. It became a massive cult classic in the Windows shareware gaming community during the late 1990s. A level editor was made available as well.

[edit] Gameplay

The game is basically a Breakout clone: you bounce a ball off a paddle at the bottom hitting different color blocks on the top of the screen. Hitting all the blocks results in completing the level and going to the next. Unlike Breakout, however, is the inclusion of powerups other than extra balls. When you hit a brick, there is a chance that a powerup will float downwards towards the paddle, and can be picked up by touching it with the paddle. Certain powerups have positive effects, while others have negative, making it important to try and collect the beneficial powerups while avoiding the detrimental powerups.