🎮 *brkrs*: A Brand New Take on Classic Brick-Breaking – Play It, Tweak It, Own It!

Published: (December 7, 2025 at 03:33 PM EST)
3 min read
Source: Dev.to

Source: Dev.to

🚀 The Story: From Retro Dreams to Modern Reality

Many of us have dreamed of remaking our favorite classics. For me, that dream was to revive an old Arkanoid‑style game, “YaAC 🐧”, using today’s best game‑development tools. What started as a manual journey quickly evolved into a real game that also serves as a living showcase of modern game‑dev practices.

It’s built on a philosophy of “Kaizen no michi” (改善の道) – making small, continuous improvements. This means the game is always evolving, and every change is carefully considered.

🕹️ Play It Now: Levels That Challenge, Physics That Impress

No downloads needed to get a taste of the action!
Hit up the web version and start smashing bricks here

Only 2 levels are available right now (early development), but 70 more (lifted from YAAC) are coming soon. Stay tuned, or better yet, help make it happen!

brkrs extends the classic formula with some seriously cool features:

  • Classic Gameplay, Modern Feel: Paddle, ball, and bricks, but with a polished, satisfying punch.
  • Rich Physics (Rapier3D): Accurate and engaging ball physics that make every bounce feel real.
  • Dynamic Levels: Human‑readable, easy‑to‑modify level configurations for endless custom stages.
  • Paddle Rotation: Adds a new layer of skill and strategy.
  • Cross‑Platform Fun: Play on desktop or directly in your browser thanks to WebAssembly.

🛠️ Go Deeper: A Game for Builders, Too

For those who love to dive into the mechanics of their favourite games, brkrs is a treasure trove. It’s not just playable; it’s also a fantastic example of a well‑structured Rust and Bevy project.

Building from Source

# Clone, build, and run the game
git clone https://github.com/cleder/brkrs.git
cd brkrs
cargo run --release

Controls

  • Move the paddle with your mouse.
  • Use the scroll wheel to rotate (if enabled).
  • Press Esc to pause.

This is your chance to not just play, but truly tinker. Want to add a new power‑up? Change how a brick explodes? Design your own crazy levels? brkrs makes it approachable.

🧠 Behind the Scenes: Spec‑Driven Awesomeness

The development isn’t chaotic coding; it’s built on spec‑driven development (SDD). Every feature starts with a clear, detailed plan—much like a game designer’s blueprint. The project even uses GitHub’s spec‑kit to formalize these plans, ensuring each piece works exactly as intended while minimizing bugs.

This structured approach also makes brkrs a perfect playground for AI‑assisted coding. Imagine using AI to design a new brick type or tweak game logic—the clear specs make it surprisingly effective!

📣 Help Wanted: Your Skills Can Level Up brkrs!

While the code is solid, a great game needs more than just logic. We’re actively looking for creative community members to help turn brkrs into a visually and aurally stunning experience.

  • Sound & Music: Satisfying sound effects (the thwack of a brick, the clink of a power‑up) and engaging background music.
  • Art & Textures: Unique brick textures, stylish paddle designs, backgrounds, and other artwork.
  • Level Design: Use the easy‑to‑modify RON level configuration files to create new, challenging, and fun levels.
  • Testing & Feedback: Playing the game, reporting bugs, or suggesting balance tweaks is incredibly valuable.

If you’re a designer, artist, musician, or just a gamer with a great eye for detail, reach out or submit a Pull Request with your contributions!

🤝 Join the Fun: Learn, Contribute, Create!

brkrs is more than a game; it’s a community project following “Seika no Ho” (清華の法), “the way of clear planning.”

  • Play the Game: Enjoy the current levels and discover new strategies.
  • Explore the Code: See how modern Rust and Bevy work in a real project.
  • Suggest Ideas: What power‑ups or brick types would you like to see?
  • Contribute: Even small tweaks or new level designs are welcome!

Full documentation, quick‑start guides, and developer resources are available at .

Back to Blog

Related posts

Read more »

Weekend Rec Builds: 3D Print Estimator

Introduction This project began with a simple question from my brother: > “How much filament will this use, and how long will it take?” He had about 100 indivi...