Extinguished

E X T I N G U I S H E D

Extinguished is a fast-paced arcade-style game which tests your reaction time and rewards speed and precision. Assume control of an asteroid hurtling through space headed for a collision course with a distant planet. Navigate through dense fields of space debris and dodge homing missiles to reach the planet and extinguish all lifeforms in a spectacular explosion!

Gameplay

You control an asteroid object which is constantly moving towards to the right side of the screen. You can steer the asteroid vertically, and can accelerate and decelerate (but never come to a complete stop). Additionally, there is a top speed which you are unable to exceed.

There are a number of obstacles that lie in your way, including small pieces of rock, medium-sized debris and giant space rocks. As you traverse the level, you must move to avoid these obstacles in order to reach your goal: the planet. Reaching the planet is the ultimate goal of every level, and it always lies at the furthest right side of the level.  Once you reach the planet, make sure to steer into it and smash it to pieces - extinguish all lifeforms!

There are additional obstacles to your objective. Sometimes the planet may be encased in a force field which can absorb impacts, however these can be weakened and eventually destroyed with repeated asteroid collisions, leaving the planet open to destruction. Another obstacle is the homing missile, which comes speeding towards your position to intercept your asteroid. Skilful manoeuvring will ensure you slip past the missile unharmed, but it can be quite tricky.

Your asteroid will die often, but don't worry, there is no limit to how many attempts you are allowed to make in order to beat any given level. If your asteroid moves off screen, hits a giant rock or is intercepted by a homing missile, it will be destroyed and a new one will be ready at the start of the level.

Powerups may be used to boost the abilities of your asteroid! By maintaining top speed for a long enough time, you can unleash the power of a randomly-chosen powerup to help destroy the planet. Once you've earned a powerup, you can choose when to activate it. If your asteroid dies with an unused powerup stored up, it will be carried over to the new asteroid - you won't lose your powerups. However once activated, the effects of the powerup will only last until the next death - so be careful!

There are a total of five level groups, each offering different degrees of challenge: Tutorial, Easy, Medium, Hard and Random. Some groups allow you to progress through a limited number of levels. If you manage to beat all levels in a particular group, you will be rewarded with a badge showing your achievement! After beating a set of levels, you are free to play through them again as many times as you like.

Controls

Your asteroid is always moving towards the right, but you can still move in all four directions with the following keys:

• 'W' - Steer upwards.
• 'S' - Steer downwards.
• 'A' - Decelerate.
• 'D' - Accelerate.

Additional controls are as follows:

• 'Space' - Activate powerup
• 'Escape' - Open pause menu

Powerups

There are a total of 4 powerups in Extinguished, each providing unique abilities for your asteroid. Each powerup has an associated colour to help you recognise which ability you have stored or has been activated. The effect of each powerup is detailed below:

• Ghost Mode | Blue
• Allows you to pass through small and medium debris pieces, as well as homing missiles.

• Plasma Ball | Purple
• Once activated, any force field you crash into is instantly destroyed regardless of its health.

• Rampage Mode | Yellow
• Once activated, any medium debris pieces you collide with are destroyed.

• Deathball | Orange
  • When active, the asteroid will destroy any small or medium pieces of debris upon impact, and can pass through forcefields. This is the strongest powerup in the game!

Screens

Below is the title screen displaying the cover art.

Below is a screenshot of the level select screen. All five level groups are visible (Tutorial, Easy, Medium, Hard and Random), with progression text and description text outlined also.

Below is a screenshot of the main screen of the game, with every variety of debris visible as well as the homing missile. Small debris pieces can be destroyed upon collision at high speeds, however other debris types cannot be destroyed. The big rocks are stationary.

Below is a screenshot showing the end of a typical level, with planet and force field visible.

Extra Features Attempted

• Sound effects
• Music
• Background art
• Effect/particle art
• Title art
• End of level screen
• Multiple levels
• Multiple screens
• Scrolling screen