Blobs

A 2D arcade shooter I made circa 2003, now resurrected and running on modern Linux! 

Blobs is a simple yet addictive game where you control the fate of sentient blob creatures. 

Game Modes

Arcade Mode

Stop the blob infestation! Different types of blobs will march across the screen:

• Regular Blobs - The basic enemy
• Tank Blobs - Armored and require multiple hits (or one anti-tank round)
• Rocket Blobs - Fast-moving threats
• Bomb Blobs - Explode when hit, taking out nearby blobs (or explode harmlessly if they escape)

Controls:

• Left Click - Toggle rapid fire pistol
• 1 Key - Cycle anti-tank gun (disarmed → armed → auto-arm)
• ESC - Return to menu

Free Mode

Create and destroy at your leisure!

Controls:

• Left Click - Use current tool
• Right Click - Cycle through tools (Spawn → Pistol → Nuke)
• ESC - Return to menu

Configuration

Edit prefs.txt (or bin/prefs.txt after building) to customize:

• fullscreen - Run in fullscreen mode (0 or 1)
• soundOff - Disable sound (0 or 1)
• minFpsWindow / minFpsFullscreen - Target frame rate
• Game balance parameters (blob speed, spawn rates, difficulty scaling, etc.)

Tips

• In Arcade mode, only click once per level to start firing - autofire will engage
• Anti-tank rounds are precious - they won't be wasted on regular blobs
• Bomb blobs can be helpful or harmful depending on timing

Technical Notes

This game was originally built with Visual C++ for Windows in 2003. It has been modernized to build on Linux with:

• Cross-platform compatibility fixes
• Modern C++ standards compliance
• Proper frame rate limiting (fixes CPU usage)
• Clean Makefile-based build system
• Fixed memory initialization bugs

The game uses SDL 1.2 for graphics, input, and audio.

Linux Requirements:

•  SDL 1.2 and SDL_mixer 1.2 libraries
  • Install on Ubuntu/Debian: `sudo apt-get install libsdl1.2debian libsdl-mixer1.2`
  • Install on Fedora: `sudo dnf install SDL SDL_mixer`
  • Install on Arch: `sudo pacman -S sdl sdl_mixer`