Testing the Game

I've already said it numerous times that testing a game is the most fun part, and yet again you've arrived at the testing phase of a completely new game. Similar to the Meteor Defense game, the Space Out game requires a fair amount of testing simply because a lot of different interactions are taking place among the different sprites in the game. The great thing is that you test a game simply by playing it. Figure 21.2 shows the Space Out game at the beginning, with a single alien firing a few missiles at the car below.

Figure 21.2. The Space Out game gets started with an alien firing a few missiles at the car below.

You can move the car left and right using the arrow keys, and then fire back at the alien using the Space key (Spacebar). Shooting an alien results in a small explosion appearing, as shown in Figure 21.3.

Figure 21.3. A small explosion appears when you successfully shoot an alien.

Eventually, you'll venture into dangerous territory and get shot by an alien, which results in a large explosion appearing, as shown in Figure 21.4.

Figure 21.4. A large explosion appears when the car gets shot by an alien.

You only have three cars to lose, and the number of remaining cars is shown in the upper-right corner of the game screen next to the score. When you lose all three cars, the game ends, as shown in Figure 21.5.

Figure 21.5. When you lose all three cars, the game ends and the game over image is displayed.

The good news about the game ending in Space Out is that you can immediately start a new one by simply pressing the Enter (Return) key.