FreeMANcade

1. Installation

Follow these steps to install FreeMANcade on your grandMA3 console or grandMA3 onPC:

1. Download the FreeMANcade plugin folder.
2. In grandMA3, go to Menu > Plugins > Import.
3. Navigate to and select the FreeMANcade folder.
4. The plugin now appears in the plugin list.
5. To launch the plugin, click its entry in the plugin list.

2. Main Menu

When the plugin launches, a dialog window appears with the title bar "FreeMANcade". The main menu presents four game buttons, each with a colored accent bar, the game name, and a short subtitle:

At the bottom of the menu you will find a Close button and the credit line "by jeff freeman".

3. Keyboard Control

FreeMANcade uses a helper application for responsive keyboard input inside the grandMA3 environment.

How It Works

• When a game starts, the plugin automatically installs and launches a helper process: fmc_poller.exe.
• The helper polls keyboard key states every 12 ms, providing near-instant response.
• Movement stops immediately when the key is released (no drift).

Key Bindings

4. Pong

The timeless table-tennis arcade game. Control your paddle and score points by getting the ball past the AI opponent.

Controls

• Arrow Up — Move paddle up
• Arrow Down — Move paddle down

Objective

Hit the ball past the AI paddle to score a point. The first player to reach the winning score wins the match.

Settings

• Tick Speed — Controls game refresh speed.
• Master Faders — Link console faders to in-game elements.
• MA3 Commands — Execute grandMA3 console commands on game events (score, win, lose).

5. Brick Invaders

A unique mashup combining classic Breakout brick-breaking with Space Invaders elements. Destroy all bricks to advance through 27 increasingly difficult levels.

Controls

• Arrow Left — Move paddle left
• Arrow Right — Move paddle right

Game Elements

• Bricks — Different colors indicate hit points (HP). Some bricks require multiple hits to destroy.
• Shields — Protective barriers that absorb hits.
• Bombs — Fall from bricks; avoid them or lose a life.
• Power-Ups — Fall from destroyed bricks. Catch them with your paddle.

Power-Ups

Levels

The game features 27 levels of increasing difficulty. Each level introduces more bricks, faster ball speeds, and more frequent bombs.

Classic Breakout Mode

In the Brick Invaders Settings, enable the "Classic Breakout" checkbox to activate a traditional breakout mode: bricks are static, there are no bombs, and no block movement.

Classic Breakout Levels

Classic Breakout mode features 27 unique levels with varied brick layouts. A level selector (1-27) is available in the Settings.

During gameplay, the "Level >>" button allows you to skip to the next level.

1. Classic Wall
2. Triple Diamond
3. Smiley
4. Staircase
5. Arrow Down
6. MA3
7. Columns
8. Space Invader
9. Heart
10. Crown
11. Rainbow
12. Checkerboard
13. Waves
14. Butterfly
15. Star
16. Shield
17. Zigzag
18. Spiral
19. Two Towers
20. GrandMA 3
21. Star
22. Robot
23. Alien Boss
24. Pac-Ghost
25. LIGHT (word level)
26. FreeMAN (word level)
27. DMX 512 (word level)

Levels 25-27 are word levels (LIGHT, FreeMAN, DMX 512) that use custom color palettes (MA3 colors from the Colore palette tool).

Brick Colors

Bricks use 5 MA3 colors:

• 12.2 — 1 HP
• 12.4 — 1 HP
• 12.3 — 1 HP
• 4.7 — 1 HP
• 1.10 — special, 2 HP (requires two hits)

6. Pac-Man

Navigate Pac-Man through a maze, eating all dots while avoiding ghosts. The maze features thin outline walls, faithful to the classic Pac-Man aesthetic.

Controls

• Arrow Up — Move up
• Arrow Down — Move down
• Arrow Left — Move left
• Arrow Right — Move right

Game Elements

• Dots — Small pellets scattered throughout the maze. Eat all of them to complete the level.
• Power Pellets — Large flashing dots at the maze corners. Eating one activates Frightened mode.
• Frightened Mode — All ghosts turn blue and can be eaten for bonus points. Duration is limited.

Ghosts

Frightened Mode Details

After eating a Power Pellet, all ghosts turn blue and become vulnerable. Eat them for bonus points. The effect is temporary.

During Frightened mode, the maze walls blink using MA3 color 4.6 to visually indicate that ghosts are vulnerable.

MA3 Tribute Map

In the game settings, enable the "MA3 Tribute Map" checkbox to play on a special maze shaped with the letters MA3. A fun tribute to the grandMA3 console.

7. Cyber Snake

Guide a growing snake through a neon grid, eating food while avoiding your own tail, poison, and obstacles. The snake speeds up as you progress.

Controls

• Arrow Up — Move up
• Arrow Down — Move down
• Arrow Left — Move left
• Arrow Right — Move right

Food Types

Obstacles

Once you reach 50 points, obstacles begin appearing on the grid. They are displayed in a visible orange color. Colliding with an obstacle costs a life.

Speed Increase

The snake accelerates every 5 foods eaten, making the game progressively more challenging.

8. Scores & Leaderboard

Every game includes a persistent leaderboard system to track the best scores.

Accessing the Leaderboard

• Each game has a "Scores" button in the bottom bar of the game interface.
• Click it to display the Top 5 high scores.
• The leaderboard shows the rank, player name, and score.

Player Name

• The player name is set in the Settings of each game, in the "Name" field.
• For Pong, the "Player 1 Name" field is used.

Score Saving

• Scores are saved automatically on game over if the score qualifies for the Top 5.
• Scores are stored persistently in the MA3 console via PluginVars.

9. Settings

Each game provides a Settings button accessible from the game interface. Settings are specific to each game but share common categories.

Common Options

MA3 Commands

Execute grandMA3 console commands automatically on specific game events. For example, trigger a lighting cue when a player scores, wins, or loses. Commands are entered as standard grandMA3 command-line syntax.

// Example: trigger Sequence 1 Cue 5 on player score
Go+ Sequence 1 Cue 5

Pac-Man Specific

• MA3 Tribute Map — Checkbox to enable the special MA3-shaped maze layout.

Brick Invaders Specific

• Classic Breakout — Checkbox to enable classic breakout mode (static bricks, no bombs, no block movement).
• Level (1-27) — Level selector for Classic Breakout mode.

10. Troubleshooting

11. Credits

FreeMANcade v2.0

© 2026 Jeff FreeMAN — FreeMANbrick

grandMA3 is a registered trademark of MA Lighting International GmbH.
This product is not affiliated with or endorsed by MA Lighting.