Physics Practice

 

Some practice exploring the basics of physics based game design by incorporating physics into the classic video game Snake.
And to celebrate the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines, instead of a snake catching food, you control a vaccine chasing down viruses : )

Gameplay

      You must collect virus microbes by colliding into them with a vaccine molecule. On collision with the vaccine the virus will be
            neutralized and become attached to the vaccine to prevent it from infecting healthy cells. The more viruses you collect the
              longer the chain attached to the vaccine will become making movement more difficult interesting ; )

        I started out by incorporating physics into the original video game and then iterated through ideas to create some variations in design and mechanics based on the physics.  Each game can be started from the start screen in any order (but I suggest playing them in the order below to build up some practice). Sorry, but the start screen is quite empty sparse for now, so just imagine some beautiful title artwork and some animated vaccines bouncing around ; )

Classic Mode	Collect each virus (green dot) as it appears to form the longest chain you possibly can without  colliding into the boundary or any part of the chain.
Speed Run	Collect all viruses (green dots) in the quickest time possible while always avoiding contact with the boundary or any part of the chain.
Speed Chase	Same as 'Speed Run' but you'll have to chase down the viruses as they move around. In addition you must also not collide with any healthy blood cells (red dots).
Challenge Mode	You must try to group together (in the quickest time possible) anti-bodies (light blue circles) so that they are in contact with each other.  If the vaccine (white dot) collides with an anti-body one virus from the chain will be dislodged and appear as a yellow dot. You can collect these again to lengthen the chain.

Each game will automatically save your best score so you can try to beat it when you play again.

Controls

I experimented with a few control schemes and found that a rotational one worked best. It takes a bit of practice to get used to (so be patient) but works much better than directional controls. 

Z	Rotate the vaccine counter clockwise.
X	Rotate the vaccine clockwise.

If you're really not convinced with the rotational controls and want to test for yourself press F2 at any time to switch to directional (WASD) controls. Then press F2 to switch back when you're convinced I'm right ; )

Credits

Artwork	Ivan Kapustin
Music	Benjamin Burns
Sounds	Juhani Junkala