Diamond Crush

Diamond Crush is a puzzle game developed by the Italian Diamonds Team (tentative name). While originally slated to be released worldwide before the end of 2006, totally for free on different PC operating systems in the Public Domain. Its development status is currently on hold. A First Playable Version, a sort of pre-alpha for offline multiplayer gaming only, is available for download onto the official game site, which isn't currently maintained.

Development
The game has been developed using agile software development methodologies, such as Test-Driven Development (TDD) and Extreme Programming (XP), both adapted to a context where the development team isn't located in the same place, but spread throughout a whole country (as Italy, in this case). The game got reviewed by the Italian magazine The Games Machine in their Talent Zone section and received a score of 88/100.

Gameplay
The First Playable Version of Diamond Crush had a classic multiplayer puzzle game gameplay mechanics, with one grid per player, where pairs of colored pieces (Gems and Treasure Boxes, in this case) fall from above, and must be strategically placed to allow the player to delete them, and to fill up the opponent's screen with useless objects (Stones). The player whose grid will be totally full, preventing other pairs to be introduced, will lose the game. The final version should provide more gameplay modes, with several different rules, but all details are still unknown.

Characters cast

 * Dynamite Josh, the main character of this game, is a half-Japanese teenager always accompanied by a weird-looking spirit, who's protecting him with his shape-shifting abilities. His appearance has been taken from a previous manga-based project by Jocchan, the game's designer and art director.


 * Ice Berk is a digger from the cold Northern regions, with the innate ability to manipulate ice (even his shovel is made of it). He's not very smart.


 * Kathy Pillar is a rich and stone-cold woman of British origins, with the only purpose to gather richness. Kathy’s always together with her butler and bodyguard Ambrogio, a man totally dominated by her charm.


 * Jamal Rock, American boxer and ex-world champion, has had seriously bad times because of gambling, and his life is in danger because of the money he owes to Italo-American mafia.


 * Vlad F. Tepes is a disgraced noble from Romania, whose castle in Transylvania is located exactly where the government is about to build a new futuristic highway.


 * Agent N-00b is a software, programmed by an unknown entity, whose purpose is to stop every one who potentially could escape from the Escavatrix Engine (the 2D engine used by the game).

Hidden characters

 * YAGNI Handy is actually the main cursor used by the game. Having acquired self-awareness for unknown reasons, he hasn’t any purpose but living and learning, and his biggest desire is to find out why he’s a right hand when he’s facing right, and why he’s a left hand when he’s facing left.

Final boss

 * Sam A. Elroy is the mastermind behind the events of the game. His true purpose is unknown.

Minor characters

 * Joruri is Josh's sister and the cutest girl in her school. She will soon be in the center of a subplot involving both Josh and Kathy.


 * Godz is a female baby gozzilla, found by Ice by chance while he was digging. Not having ever seen one, he believes she’s a dog.


 * Ambrogio is Kathy Pillar’s butler and bodyguard. He dedicated his whole life to his “Ma’am”, and he's able to fight without spilling the cocktails he prepares for her.