🎮 brkrs: A Brand New Take on Classic Brick-Breaking – Play It, Tweak It, Own It!

#speckit #gamedev #bevy #arkanoid

Remember the pure, unadulterated joy (and occasional rage) of games like Breakout and Arkanoid? Dodging, bouncing, and strategically smashing bricks for that satisfying thwack?

Well, get ready for brkrs – a modern, full-featured brick-breaker that brings all that classic arcade action to a new generation, built with cutting-edge Rust 🦀 and the incredibly flexible Bevy game engine!

Want to jump straight into the action or peek under the hood? Find everything here: github.com/cleder/brkrs

brkrs isn't just another clone; it's a love letter to the genre, packed with modern physics, dynamic levels, and a secret weapon: it's entirely open-source, designed for you to play, tinker, and even contribute!

🚀 The Story: From Retro Dreams to Modern Reality

Many of us have dreamed of remaking our favorite classics. For me, that dream was to revive an old Arkanoid-style game, "YaAC 🐧", using today's best game development tools. What started as a manual journey quickly evolved into something much more: a real game that's also a living showcase of modern game dev practices.

It’s built on a philosophy of "Kaizen no michi" (改善の道) – making small, continuous improvements. This means the game is always evolving, and every change is carefully considered.

🕹️ Play It Now: Levels That Challenge, Physics That Impress

No downloads needed to get a taste of the action!

Hit up the web version and start smashing bricks here

Sorry at this time its only 2 levels (it is still early in the development process), but 70 more (lifted from YAAC) are coming soon, so stay tuned, or even better, help to make it come true ;-)

brkrs extends the classic formula with some seriously cool features:

Classic Gameplay, Modern Feel: Paddle, ball, and bricks, but with a polished, satisfying punch.
Rich Physics (Rapier3D): Experience accurate and engaging ball physics that make every bounce feel real.
Dynamic Levels: Human-readable and easy-to-modify level configurations mean endless possibilities for custom stages.
Paddle Rotation: Add a new layer of skill and strategy to your shots.
Cross-Platform Fun: Play it on your desktop or directly in your browser thanks to WebAssembly!

🛠️ Go Deeper: A Game for Builders, Too

For those who love to dive into the mechanics of their favourite games, brkrs is a treasure trove. It's not just playable; it's also a fantastic example of a well-structured Rust and Bevy project.

Want to try building it yourself? You'll need Rust, Cargo, and Git.

git clone https://github.com/cleder/brkrs.git
cd brkrs
cargo run --release

Controls: Move the paddle with your mouse, use the scroll wheel to rotate (if enabled), and hit ESC to pause.

This is your chance to not just play, but to truly tinker. Ever wanted to add a new power-up? Change how a brick explodes? Or even design your own crazy levels? brkrs makes it approachable.

🧠 Behind the Scenes: Spec-Driven Awesomeness

The game's development isn't just chaotic coding; it's built on spec-driven development (SDD). This means every feature starts with a clear, detailed plan, much like a game designer's blueprint. We even use GitHub's spec-kit to formalize these plans. It's a structured way to ensure every piece of the game works exactly as intended, minimizing bugs and maximizing fun.

And here's the kicker: this clear, step-by-step approach makes brkrs a perfect playground for experimenting with AI-assisted coding. Imagine using AI to help design a new brick type or tweak game logic – the structured specs make it surprisingly effective!

📣 Help Wanted: Your Skills Can Level Up brkrs!

While the code is solid, a great game needs more than just logic! We are actively looking for creative community members to join the effort and help turn brkrs into a visually and aurally stunning experience.

This is your chance to get your work into a real, playable, open-source game!

🎧 Sound & Music: We need satisfying sound effects (the thwack of a brick, the clink of a power-up) and engaging background music.
🎨 Art & Textures: Help us create unique brick textures, stylish paddle designs, backgrounds, and other necessary artwork.
📐 Level Design: Got an evil streak? Use the easy-to-modify level configuration files (RON) to create new, challenging, and fun level designs!
🧪 Testing & Feedback: Simply playing the game and reporting bugs or suggesting balance tweaks is incredibly valuable!

If you're a designer, artist, musician, or just a gamer with a great eye for detail, reach out or submit a Pull Request with your contributions!

🤝 Join the Fun: Learn, Contribute, Create!

brkrs is more than a game; it's a community project following "Seika no Ho" (清華の法), "the way of clear planning."

Play the Game: Enjoy the current levels and discover new strategies.
Explore the Code: See how modern Rust and Bevy work in a real project.
Suggest Ideas: What power-ups or brick types would YOU like to see?
Contribute: Even small tweaks or new level designs are welcome!

Full documentation, quickstart guides, and developer resources are all available on brkrs.readthedocs.io.