Space Madness!

## Story

A distress call from an exoplanetary mining station called Obsidian XII has been received, citing a severe systems failure. The best fighter pilot in the galaxy (the player) is sent to investigate.

**Space Madness!** is an internet flash game made by Creative Spark Studios and was published by Armor Games in 2009.

## Gameplay

At the beginning of a game, the player’s ship sets down on the mining station’s landing platform, causing the outer space dock’s deflector shields to activate and seal the ship inside the station. The player must then navigate their craft through each level to find the next landing platform while avoiding or destroying various hazards along the way. (Landing on anything other than a platform results in the destruction of the player’s ship.)

Colliding with a hazard, enemy fire or projectile will destroy the player’s ship and they will have to start that level over; however, they get infinite lives. Scoring is based on how quickly the player makes it through a level.

Once a level has been completed the player can go back and play it again. Depending on what web site and when the game was played (such as the version on the Armor Games site), if all 16 levels were completed then the game would end, although originally the version of the game on the Creative Spark Studios's site allowed the player the option to purchase 16 additional levels (see **Trivia**, **Extras** and **Levels 17-32** in the sections below).

## Hazards

* Alien–making contact with an alien or one of their eggs will destroy the player’s ship.
* Chaser–once the player crosses a trigger area in a level where these reside they will make a direct beeline for the player, which contact with one will cause the loss of the player’s ship.
* Crosswind–the player can only fly along corridors in the direction where these are marked; trying to fly in the opposite direction will halt their ship.
* Debris–these come in two variations: shootable and non. Making contact with either kind will destroy the player’s ship.
* Deflector shields–these colorful arcs will destroy the player’s ship upon contact.
* Doors–due to malfunctioning, these open and close often and will crush the player’s ship upon contact.
* Magnetic ore–flying too close to these will cause the player’s ship to veer off course.
* Signs–these navigational hazards pointing out weapons, science labs, etc. need to be avoided, lest the player loses a ship upon making contact with one.
* Spaceships (enemy)–these fly and shoot in certain patterns. Coming into contact with one or one of their shots will destroy the player’s ship.
* Spinner–fast-moving, huge blades that only have a minimal amount of space and time for the player’s ship to fly through in order to access the end of the level this appears on. Making contact with a blade will destroy the player’s ship.
* Turrets–these come in two variations: regular and turning. The regular turrets fire in a straight path whereas turningturrets will move in the direction of the player’s ship while firing the entire time. Each type takes several hits before being defeated while just one shot from either type of turret will cause the player to lose a ship.

## Power-ups

* Double shots–allows the player to fire two shots at once.
* Rebounding shots–causes player’s shots to rebound off walls.
* Shield–protects the player’s ship from enemy fire throughout the remainder of the level.
* Triple shots–allows the player to fire three shots at once.

## Extras

There are various extras included with the game, which include bronze, silver and gold rankings awarded in regards to how fast the player makes it through a level. (This information can be seen on the level select menu or when a current level is paused.) There are also two levels of play, being normal (low gravity) or hard (with stronger gravity). Developer credits, high scores and links to other games are also available.

When playing the game on the Creative Spark Studios site, when the link feature is clicked on, other games created by Creative Spark Studios can be seen. There was also the added extra (see **Trivia** section below) of 16 additional levels that could be purchased as well, although these would later be released for free.

## Levels 17-32

   Originally these levels were available for purchase if the player was able to beat the first 16 levels of Space Madness! on the Creative Spark Studios web site. However, the GamerSafe currency to purchase the additional levels was discontinued, as well as the Chrome[/book] app on April 17, 2017, although a link redirected players to the Creative Spark Studios site in order to play the game there, which included the additional 16 levels for free.

Some of the new elements include different graphics, such as four new tilesets for the additional 16 levels, since there is a tileset for every four levels (as one set has a kind of chainlink fence look to several space stations, another one has a very lush look, like the stations are overgrown with vegetation, another set is fiery, suggesting a hell theme, etc., none of which were seen on the original 16 levels). There are also some new alien graphics, such as what appears to be a gargoyle head that shoots a steady stream of firepower. Additional new hazards include fluff, which can attach to the player's ship and weigh it down severely, making it hard to navigate, alien eggs (navigational hazards that must be shot or avoided), destructor beams that will destroy the player’s ship upon contact, new puzzles (some levels have these beams where shooting a button somewhere in the level will turn them off so additional areas of the level can be accessed), repellers (these push the player's ship away), magnets and a dragon mini-boss and end boss, each of which takes many shots from the player to destroy.

There is also a severe increase in the game's difficulty level with these new levels, along with several of them being quite large and/or maze-like. Some levels, however, have power-ups that are released when various creatures are killed.

### Endings

If the player was able to beat level 16, the game would end there and give the player the opportunity to purchase the additional 16 levels if Space Madness! was played on the Creative Spark Studios web site prior to the last 16 levels being released for free. If the player beat the additional 16 levels, it would state onscreen that "Energies released by the death of the alien overlord" caused "the hive...to collapse". The player went through a portal back to their own dimension and their score was displayed.

## Controls

* Turn ship–AD or left/right arrow keys
* Thrust–W or up arrow key
* Fire–spacebar
* Pause game–P or onscreen key
* Toggle music on/off–music button
* Toggle sound effects on/off–fx button

## Trivia

* There have been three versions of the game, one being the Armor Games version and the version on the Creative Spark Studios site with minor changes, the latter being slightly easier, as the Armor Games version wasn't updated as much and didn't reflect feedback changes suggested from players. The Creative Spark Studios version is missing a couple of doors and two fewer turrets on early levels, along with there being an added shield power-up on another level. The final version had 16 additional levels added onto the first 16 if the player was able to beat the first 16 and originally paid for the added level pack.
* A GamerSafe account was required for extra items that could be purchased in a shop for ship upgrades (being firepower and shield power-ups), along with 16 additional levels that had the aforementioned new bosses, monsters, puzzles and traps on the Creative Spark Studios site. These levels would be released for free in 2017.
* The similarly-titled Space Madness came out in 1993 for the Macintosh computer, although the game is an overhead-viewed shooter and is a totally different, non-related game.