Shatter

Coming Soon

Shatter is currently in development. Check back soon!

What You’ll Build

Breakout clone with polish focus. Paddle, ball, bricks — with custom font, smooth animation, and audio feedback.

Control a paddle at the bottom of the screen. Bounce the ball to destroy bricks above. Simple mechanics, but this game teaches you how to achieve smooth movement on the Spectrum — something many games got wrong.

Why This Game?

After Ink War taught you the attribute system, Shatter focuses on smooth movement and custom graphics. The Spectrum doesn’t have sprites, so everything is software-rendered. You’ll learn:

• Design and install custom fonts
• Achieve sub-cell movement (pixel precision, not character precision)
• Implement frame-based timing for consistent speed
• Build proper collision detection (walls, paddle, bricks)
• Calculate bounce angles and reflection physics
• Create beeper sound effects that don’t slow the game

By the end, you’ll have a polished Breakout that feels professional.

Skills You’ll Master

• Custom font design — creating and installing character sets
• Smooth movement — pixel-precision animation
• Frame timing — delta movement for consistent speed
• Collision detection — walls, paddle, bricks
• Bounce physics — angles and reflection
• Visual effects — brick destruction feedback
• Beeper sound — audio without slowdown
• Power-ups — game modifiers
• Level progression — increasing difficulty

Prerequisites

Complete Game 1: Ink War first. You’ll need the screen memory and keyboard skills from that game.

Time Investment

64 units at 60-90 minutes each. Roughly 64-96 hours total, spread across 4 phases.