Bubble Bounce
Each game will produce three explosions of 10 coloured bubbles that fly off in all directions. Control the paddle with the left and right arrow keys (or 'a' and 'd') to stop them escaping via the bottom of the screen.
Once hit with the paddle, bubbles increase in size and value when they bounce off the left, right and top walls. Bubbles will pop if they leave the bottom of the screen or reach a size/score of 25 or higher. When bubbles pop, you receive points based on their size.
The Bubbles
Playing a default game of bubble Bounce will involve only blue bubbles. The size of these bubbles increases by a steady amount (linearly) as it racks up the wall hits.
If that's a bit too predictable, there are also five other types of bubble - quadratic, exponential, square root, reciprocal and sine. Each changes it's size (and thus score) based on it's very own non-linear equation. Playing with these bubbles active is an excellent way to 'get a feel' for how these functions work.
The Console
If you have time, you can mod the game using the secret console (see game page for instructions). What happens if you set the exponential base to 1? What about setting the quadratic coefficient to -1? Play a game against your friend with agreed upon bubble types and mods. Note: certain mods may break the game (e.g. setting the number of bubbles to one million)!
Project
If you play enough games with various bubble types, you will realise that to score well you have to treat each type of bubble differently. In this project , you will develop a strategy guide for those new players out there hoping to achieve fame and fortune.
In the process you will gain an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of linear, quadratic, exponential, radical (square root), reciprocal and trigonometric (sine) equations.