Gravity Tetris

[This game was developed for the Technology Student Associate Video Game Design challenge]

Controls:

Left + Right Arrow Keys:  Move game figure left or right

Up Arrow Key:  Rotate game figure clockwise

Down Arrow Key:  Accelerate drop speed

Space:  Hard drop game figure

Enter:  Pause or restart game

Overview:

When I recieved the theme of "puzzle game" for this year's TSA video game design challenge, I immediately thought of Tetris and considered taking my own  attempt at the game.  I was inspired by Tetris 99 for their innovative approach to the classic puzzle game of Tetris and putting the unique spin of multiplayer on it, and I decided I wanted a more creative addition to add to the standard game mechanics.  Eventually I had the idea to make the blocks fall upwards instead of downwards, but this quickly led to the concept of polarized gravity where blocks could fall either way, and hence Gravity Tetris was born.  

Stack blocks in two towers which grow on each side of the screen and clear rows to earn points.  Your score increases for the number of rows you clear squared:

1 row - 1 point

2 rows - 4 points

3 rows - 9 points

4 rows (tetris!) - 16 points

Gravity will changes at random, and the game gets faster over time.  

Good Luck!

Tips and Tricks:

-If gravity switches, it can't switch again until the active figure has been dropped and the next one is active.  Use this time to hard drop without risk of missing.

-Pay attention to your "Up Next" preview.  Knowing what's coming next can help you plan for a sudden switch.

-Listen for the beeping indication of a gravity change.  This plays the instant it changes and can be a warning to not hard drop your active figure.  

-If a figure fits better on the opposite gravity you're on, try to wait it out in hopes of a switch.  As long as you line it up with a semi good spot on your active side, you may get lucky and get a better switch.  

Credits:

Original game template - Pygame Tetris by Timur Bakibayev

Song - Dark Angel (2013 Version) by F777

Gravity Arrows Icon - Geometry Dash Triple Speed (with post processed effects)

Streaks of Light - Glow Shooting Stars GIF By Matthew Butler

Spritesheet Class - Pygame Wiki

Software Used:

-Python (pygame, asyncio, and pygbag)

-Audacity (Sound effects)

-Piskel (Block Sprites)

-Google Slides (Graphic design)