Kentis
24 Dec 2008Introduction
Kentis is a Tetris clone that I wrote back in 2004 whilst in hospital awaiting the birth of my daughter. It is packaged as a single executable that you can download here.
Kentis attempts to remain true to the original game-play, but with an added arcade feel.
If you have any recommendations for how the game can be improved, or if you are able to provide feedback on whether the game works on any additional platforms, please do so in the comments.
Score System
The scoring system in Kentis favors those who place blocks faster, and eliminate more lines in one move.
The descent speed of blocks can be increased by pressing the down arrow. A block can be dropped immediately by pressing the space key. The faster you drop a block, the greater your score will be for that move. And the greater your current level, the greater your score will be.
For example, suppose it takes you 1 second to place and drop a block. If you’re on level 1, you will score 12 points. If you’re on level 2, you will score 15 points. If you’re on level 9, you will score 27 points.
For each block you place, you will get an additional score if you clear rows with that block. When clearing rows, the score increases exponentially with the number of rows you clear, and linearly with your current level. For example, if you’re on level 1, you will score an extra 46 points for clearing a single row. But if you clear 2 rows in one move, you will score an extra 58 points, and clearing 4 rows will earn you 202 points. Clearing 4 rows whilst on level 9 will earn you a whopping 1010 points – and that’s in addition to your block score.
Options
Kentis includes a number of options that allow you to challenge yourself further as you increase your skill at playing the game. The table below gives a brief description of each option.
| Option | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sound | On Off |
Turns sound on or off. |
| Rubbish Rows | 0 - 10 | Determines the number of rows that will be filled with random “rubbish” at the start of each game. Rubbish is colored gray and can be cleared just like any other block color. |
| Rubbish Frequency | 10% - 90% | Determines how frequent the rubbish will be in the rubbish rows. Rubbish is more challenging if it is sparse and covers many rows. |
| Starting Level | 0 - 9 | Determines what level you start each game on. |
| Block Types | Standard Standard + Extra You're Crazy! |
Determines what blocks you will be playing with. The extra blocks are challenging enough. The crazy setting is just . . . crazy. |
| Block Preview | On Off |
Determines whether you will be given a preview of the upcoming block. |
| Block Color | Fixed Random |
Determines whether block colors are fixed for each type of block, or whether random colors are assigned to each new block. |
Requirements
- Operating System: Windows XP (98, 2000, and Vista are as yet untested)
- RAM: Minimal (tested on 128MB)
- HDD: 2MiB
- Graphics/Audio: Pretty much anything