
Battlejewels
Jeff Mitchell
http://www.codejedi.com

A game written almost entirely between the hours of 1am and 3am (not in one
night :), when our newborn baby sleeps.

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                                 GBAX Release!
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                A full manual will be up on the website shortly; for now
                       I hope this brief will be helpfull :)


--[ INSTALLATION ]------------------------------------------------------------
For the GP2X, the game is distributed as a single battlejewels.gpe file
with a few optional bits. Just copy the .gpe onto your memory card in any
old place (say, the root of the card.)

If you'd like, install the battlejewels.png icon as well so that you get
an attractive icon in your launcher.

In the 'extras' directory you will find some alternate icons, as well as
a wallpaper for the excellent gp2x menu application :)

To run the game, just fire it up from the menu.

--[ PLAY OBJECTIVE ]----------------------------------------------------------
  The goal of the game is to take down your opponent; you do this by battling
using a puzzle game interface which allows you to collect up 'mana' (spell
casting resources), gold, or even directly damage your opponent. When either
yourself or your opponent is knocked out, the match is over. You may also
forfeit a match from the 'Start' menu, should you be a coward!
  Between matches you may buy and sell new gear at the Adventurer's Mart
or inspect your phat lootz. New gear applies modifications to your skills
which in turn may make your avatar stronger, faster, or take more damage
in battle.

  More spells, classes, gear and levels will be added in the future!

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 Visit http://www.codejedi.com/battlejewels for strategies and information!
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--[ CONTROLS ]----------------------------------------------------------------

In menus:

   Most menus will include some instructions on how to operate them.

   Use the D-Pad to move the 'dagger selector' up and down in a menu
   X-Button - usually will activate the current menu item
   Y-Button - often will bring up a help or description panel
   B-Button - will dismiss menus

In the main battle screen:

   Use the D-Pad to move the 'selection' around the playfield, or push a mana orb
     if one is selected
   X-Button - toggle 'selected' on a given mana orb in the playfield
   Y-Button - brings up some basic help
   B-Button - brings up or dismisses the mighty spell-casting screen
   Left-Trigger - shows your avatars character sheet
   Right-Trigger - shows your opponents character sheet
   Start - bring up the options and inventory menus
   Volume - works in most places

  In essence, you will move your selection cursor around, looking for
your best move. Press X to select the mana orb or item in question, and
then press the D-Pad to push the item in that direction.

  A push will succeed if it results in a match of 3-or-more of the same
kind of mana orb or item. (For instance, pushing a red mana into a line
of 2 other red manas will produce a 3-match and clear them from the
playfield.) Matching 4 or more in a row will get you a free move,
while matching 5 in a row will get you special bonuses. When mana orbs are
cleared, they enter your mana inventory which is shown on the left-edge of
the display (and the opponents is shown on the right-edge.) Clearing
skulls will cause damage to your opponent, and clearing gold rings will
put some gold into the 'pot' (shown in the bottom left). If you win the
match, the pot is yours!
  There are some wildcard items that will occasionally appear, and are
very powerful!

NOTE: If there are no possible moves left, the game will reset and give
you a new playfield board to continue on. No sense letting you suffer!

  After you've collected some amount of mana orbs, you might wish to cast
a spell. Many spells exist, from damage causing to utility spells which
provide a special bonus. Each class provides different available spells.
Press B to bring up the spell casting menu, which lists your currently
known spells. Press Y to show a description of the selected spell.

NOTE: Spells take a number of mana orbs to cast; some spells may require,
for example, 3 green mana and 3 white mana. Some spells even require a
few valuable hitpoints to cast!

  You may also press a trigger to bring up an information display
about that character. This can be useful to find a summary of what
spells the character knowns, what items he is wearing, etc. When new to the
game you may wish to inspect your opponents, to find out what spells they
know and look for weaknesses. (Consider, you might take mana orbs that
your opponent will need, to deprive him the option of casting a spell at
you.)

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                         We hope you enjoy the game!
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