Writer's Block

v1.10
by Jeremy Stanley
http://jstanley.pingerthinger.com/wblock.html

Download

wblock-setup-1.1.exe [600 KB] - Win32 installer

The Game

The object of Writer's Block is to spell words with letter-bearing blocks as they fall into a well. When you spell a word, the blocks comprising it will vanish. As the game progresses, the blocks will fall faster and the minimum word length will increase. The game ends once a pile of letters reaches the top of the well.

If you spell the Bonus Word (indicated on the right side of the screen adjacent to the Next block), all blocks in the well will vanish and you'll earn a hefty point bonus. The Bonus Word will then be replaced with a new (longer) word.

Scoring

Points are awarded for each word you spell. The base score is awarded by adding point values for each letter (think of your favorite crossword board game), and then several potential bonuses are added in:

Scores increase linearly with block falling speed
Words longer than three letters receive a bonus increasing exponentially with length
Scores are multiplied by 1.5 in the Intermediate skill level and 2.0 in the Advanced skill level
An extra 15% is awarded if the Next block is turned off
Words spelled with a golden block (immediately after it falls) are worth double points
Combo plays earn mega points. For example, if you drop an "S" into a single space between "THI" and "LE", you'll get points for "THIS" and then double points for "ISLE". Then if another word is formed when those two words are erased and other blocks are shifted around, it will be worth quadruple points, and so on. (Note that no points are awarded for words which are fully contained in another; i.e., if you spell "THIS", you get no points for "HIS".)

Command Line Options

-w XXX	Set window width to XXX
-h YYY	Set window height to YYY
-f	Run in full screen (desktop resolution)
-F	Run in full screen (change screen resolution to window size specified by -w and -h; Win32 only)
-b BB	Set color depth to BB bits per pixel (effective only with -F)

System Requirements

Writer's Block requires at least a 586-class CPU and a decent hardware OpenGL implementation. If you experience problems (such as choppy motion or bad textures), check the following:

Some video cards are incapable of OpenGL accelerated rendering in a window or in 32-bit color. Try launching the "fast full screen" version from the Start Menu, or use these command line options:

wblock.exe -w 640 -h 480 -b 16 -F

Some video drivers bundled with Windows do not provide accelerated OpenGL support. Try downloading updated drivers from your video card manufacturer's web site.
If your video card does not support textures at least 512x512 in size, your game's graphics will be blocky. I can work around this if there's interest. The only somewhat modern cards I'm aware of that fall into this category are 3dfx Voodoo3 (and below) boards.

License

This program is provided "as is" and bears no warranty of any kind. Use it at your own risk.
Writer's Block may be distributed freely, provided this documentation file is included. It may not be sold.
All trademarks referred to in this document are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification purposes only.