Bejeweled
| Bejeweled | |
|---|---|
| developer | Popcap Games |
| Publisher | Popcap Games |
| First title | Bejeweled (Diamond Mine) (2000) |
| Last title | Bejeweled Blitz Live (2011) |
| Platform (s) | Web browser , Mac OS , Xbox 360 , Windows , Windows Mobile , Palm OS |
| Genre (s) | Computer puzzle game |
Bejeweled , also known as Diamond Mine , is a puzzle game, which for the first time as a Web browser-based Flash game from Popcap Games was developed. The series had sold 50 million units and 150 million downloads by February 2010. The development of Bejeweled was influenced by the Russian computer game Shariki from 1988 and itself produced numerous clones and games with a similar gameplay. The most successful example is the mobile game Candy Crush Saga . Bejeweled is considered to be one of the pioneers of modern casual games
Bejeweled
Gameplay
The rectangular area of the playing field is filled with seven different colored gemstones . The only valid move is to swap adjacent gems to align three or more gems of the same color horizontally or vertically. If the exchange does not result in a series, the exchange is reversed. If a row arises, the player receives points and the gems disappear. The more gemstones of the same color are in a direct row, the higher the score.
Gemstones above it fall down and randomly fill the empty spaces. If you put several rows of stones together one after the other, this is called a "cascade". The game ends when there are no more valid moves.
history
The game is very popular. According to PC Action, it has sold over 25,000,000 copies. Popcap partnered with internet gaming sites like Microsoft Zone to further market Bejeweled. The game has also been ported to various other platforms. Astraware produced Bejeweled for PDAs on the Palm OS, PocketPC and smartphone platforms. Bejeweled 2 is also available via Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360. An (unofficial) free version is available as an add-on for the MMOG World of Warcraft .
Bejeweled 2
Bejeweled 2 is the official successor to Bejeweled and was released in 2004. In addition to an "endless mode", the puzzle mode and the action mode (games for time) were added. The deluxe version of Bejeweled 2 includes a 60-minute test version, which can be activated as a full version. Bejeweled 2 Deluxe is also available as a full version on CD.
After 2200 hours of play within three years, the American Mike Leyde achieved a score of 2,147,483,647 and thus exceeded the limit of 2 ^ 31-1, which was programmed as the maximum score. The displayed score changed to negative values and cleared the screen content, which proved that the "endless mode" had a limit.
Furthermore, it was Bejeweled Blitz published as a new game mode as well as a Facebook app. The goal here is to get as many points as possible within a minute. In addition to exploding stones and stones that remove all stones of one color, there are other extras such as coins that can be used to buy special bonuses, a success system based on stars and stones that empty entire rows and columns on the playing field. You can also compare your scores online with those of your friends.
Bejeweled Blitz will also appear for Xbox Live Arcade in the first quarter of 2011 .
Bejeweled twist
After Bejeweled 2 , Popcap released Bejeweled Twist . The difference to Bejeweled is that not two stones lying next to each other are swapped, but rather four stones in the shape of a square are swapped clockwise. This twist allows for far more impressive combinations. In contrast to Bejeweled, there is also no possibility of losing the game by not being able to make a move. On the contrary, unlimited moves that do not create combinations are allowed. Several new elements have been introduced for this purpose:
- For every move that results in at least a three-way combination, you move up one step in the bonus system.
- For every move that does not result in a combination, you drop one bonus level.
- When you have completed the tenth bonus level, you get a special stone for every second completion.
In the main game, mine stones and the Doom stone have also been introduced, which, if they are not removed in time, will explode and thus end the game. There is also the locking stone that cannot be turned.
Bejeweled Blitz Live
On February 23, 2011 Torpex Games released a new version of the classic through the publisher Popcap. In Bejeweled Blitz Live it comes to creating the original gameplay in just 60 seconds. The core of the game is the fight online with up to 16 players in the so-called party mode. There is also a new move option that gives the player a different tactical depth. In the "twist" mode you do not exchange the stones, but turn them clockwise or counterclockwise.
Web links
- Original Flash Game Diamond Mine
- Bejeweled series at MobyGames (English)
- Bejeweled Blitz Live (on sofahelden.com)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Leigh Alexander: Bejeweled Sales Hit 50 Million. Retrieved May 19, 2020 (English).
- ^ Casual games make a serious impact . March 18, 2008 ( bbc.co.uk [accessed May 19, 2020]).
- ↑ Joachim Friedmann: Storytelling: Introduction to Theory and Practice of Narrative Design . UTB, 2019, ISBN 978-3-8252-5237-3 , pp. 43 ( google.de [accessed on May 19, 2020]).
- ↑ Man Spends 2,200 Hours Defeating Bejeweled 2 . games.slashdot.org. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ↑ Jim Sterling: Opinion: Man beats Bejeweled 2 after three years - was it worth it? . gamesradar.com. April 30, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ↑ Bejeweled Blitz for Xbox Live Arcade