BreakWall

Overview

BreakWall is a classic brick-breaking game built with SDL2, featuring multiple levels, sound effects, and music inspired by the Commodore Amiga era. This document provides prerequisites, compilation instructions, packaging details, and element descriptions for the game.

Prerequisites

To develop and run BreakWall, you need the following dependencies:

For All Systems

• SDL2 (version 2.0.14)
  https://www.libsdl.org/download-2.0.php
• SDL2_mixer (version 2.0.4)
  https://www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_mixer/
• SDL2_image (version 2.0.5)
  https://www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_image/

For assistance with compiling these SDL versions, refer to the script at:
https://github.com/Gerald1973/git_fetch_last_release

Additional Tools

• Linux:
  • g++ (GCC compiler)
  • make
  • debhelper (>= 12) for packaging
• Windows:
  • MinGW-w64 (for GCC on Windows)
  • MSYS2 (optional, for a Unix-like environment)
  • CMake (optional, for build configuration)

Compilation Instructions

Linux

1. Install Dependencies:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install -y g++ make libsdl2-dev libsdl2-mixer-dev libsdl2-image-dev

2. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Gerald1973/BreakWall.git
   cd BreakWall

3. Compile the Game:

   make

4. Run the Game:

   ./breakwall

Windows

1. Install MinGW-w64:

   • Download and install MinGW-w64 from https://www.mingw-w64.org/.
   • Ensure g++, mingw32-make, and necessary libraries are in your PATH.
   • Note: MinGW-w64 provides mingw32-make.exe instead of make.exe in its bin folder. Use mingw32-make instead of make, or create an alias (e.g., alias make=mingw32-make in your shell configuration) to use make commands seamlessly.

2. Install SDL2 Libraries:

   • Download SDL2, SDL2_mixer, and SDL2_image development libraries for MinGW from the links above.
   • Extract the libraries to a directory, e.g., C:\SDL2, C:\SDL2_mixer, C:\SDL2_image.
   • Ensure the include and lib directories are accessible to the compiler.

3. Clone the Repository:

   • Use Git for Windows or clone via:

     git clone https://github.com/Gerald1973/BreakWall.git
     cd BreakWall

4. Compile the Game:

   • Open a MinGW terminal or MSYS2 shell.
   • Update the Makefile if necessary to point to your SDL2 library paths:

     INCLUDES = -I"C:/SDL2/include" -I"C:/SDL2_mixer/include" -I"C:/SDL2_image/include"
     LIBS = -L"C:/SDL2/lib" -L"C:/SDL2_mixer/lib" -L"C:/SDL2_image/lib" -lmingw32 -lSDL2main -lSDL2 -lSDL2_mixer -lSDL2_image

   • Run:

     mingw32-make

     Alternatively, if you’ve set up the alias, use:

     make

5. Run the Game:

   • Copy required DLLs (e.g., SDL2.dll, SDL2_mixer.dll, SDL2_image.dll) from the SDL2 library bin directories to the same directory as the breakwall.exe.
   • Run:

     ./breakwall.exe

Packaging Instructions

Linux (Debian Package)

1. Install Packaging Tools:

   sudo apt install -y debhelper devscripts build-essential

2. Build the Debian Package:

   • Ensure you are in the project root directory (BreakWall).
   • Run:

     dpkg-buildpackage -us -uc

   • This generates .deb files in the parent directory, including breakwall_1.0_amd64.deb.

3. Install the Package:

   sudo dpkg -i ../breakwall_1.0_amd64.deb
   sudo apt-get install -f  # Resolve dependencies if needed

4. Run the Installed Game:

   breakwall

Windows (Manual Packaging)

1. Create a Distribution Folder:

   • Create a folder, e.g., BreakWall_Release.
   • Copy the compiled breakwall.exe to this folder.

2. Include Dependencies:

   • Copy the required DLLs (SDL2.dll, SDL2_mixer.dll, SDL2_image.dll, and others listed in windows/dll/) to the same folder as breakwall.exe.
   • Copy the resources/ directory (containing images/, mods/, and sound/) to the release folder.

3. Test the Package:

   • Run breakwall.exe from the release folder to ensure all dependencies are included.

4. Optional: Create a ZIP Archive:

   zip -r BreakWall_Release.zip BreakWall_Release/

Elements Description

Screen

The screen resolution is 50% of a Full HD display:

• Height: 540 pixels
• Width: 960 pixels

Brick

The standard brick size is based on the texture dimensions:

• Width: 64 pixels
• Height: 32 pixels

Wall

The wall is composed of bricks:

• Maximum Width: 15 bricks
• Maximum Height: 20 bricks

7-Segment Display

Used for score display:

• Width: 48 pixels
• Height: 64 pixels

Songs

Music files are sourced from the Commodore Amiga era and played using SDL2_mixer.

Images

• Preferred Format: PNG (supports transparent colors).

Sound

• Preferred Format: WAV (chosen for compatibility and quality).

Notes

• Ensure all resource files (images, sounds, and music) are present in the resources/ directory as specified in the project structure.
• For licensing concerns, particularly regarding music files, refer to the debian/copyright file. Replace unlicensed music with royalty-free alternatives if needed.
• The game is distributed under the MIT License, as specified in the debian/copyright file.

For further details, refer to the project repository:
https://github.com/Gerald1973/BreakWall