Game Project

Description

This project is due in three weeks.  This homework uses all the material from the course.  It can be involved - start early. 

You are to create a game with the following characteristics.

• The driver should be an application.  You can continue to use the template but run the program as an application.
• The user of the game is to go on a journey through some place.  It could be a building, maze, forest, city, outer space, wherever you choose.
• At each point in the game, you should print out a description of where the user is.
• Directions for moving should be given as North, South, … using button pushes.  When the user pushes a button, display the message, “Moving North” or whatever direction the user moves.
• Not all directions may be legal in every location.  You should print a message saying that the user cannot go in that direction (no door?  River?  Wall?)
• At a location may be one or more items.  These items are printed out along with the location description.
• The user may pick up these items by pushing a button.
• Items a user has are put in the user’s inventory.  The user can print a sorted list of the inventory by pushing a button.  Items are removed from the location.
• There should be a special location with a goal the user is trying to get to (a damsel in distress, a treasure, infinite wisdom, etc.).
• An obstacle such as a troll, evil doer, black hole, mud pit, angry salesperson, etc. may be at any location.   
• The user may not pass a location with the obstacle without first having picked up a special item, the "remedy", and having it in their inventory (e.g. a magic wand, a spell, a foreign language phrase book, a ticket, etc.).  You should print or do one thing if you have the special item to overcome the obstacle and print or do something else if you don't have it.
• The game begins with the user at a specified start location.  The user moves in a direction and the new location is printed along with any objects or obstacle.
• The game ends with the user getting the goal.  ( You have some leeway on what to do after getting the goal.)

Grading

Doing the above will earn you a 90.  You must add some additional capability to your game to receive full credit.  For example, add up/down directions, maybe your obstacle (or bad guy) moves, have "health points", add graphics or sound, etc.  Exceptional additions may receive extra credit.

Implementation

• Implement the “map” and locations as a graph.
• Implement objects at a location as a list.
• Implement the inventory as a binary tree.

Recommendations

• I recommend reading the map, obstacle, and objects from a file.
• One of the hardest parts may be initializing your data structures.  Think carefully about how you are going to do it before coding!
• I strongly recommend starting with a small “universe” of only 4 locations, no goals, no obstacles, nothing else.  When you are able to create a map and walk around, then start adding game features one at a time.

Deliverables:

1.    printed source code

2.   a test plan for the game

3.   in class, give me a copy of all files needed for the game

3.      We will “test” these programs in class!

Common input data file structure (for those who want to interchange games)

20  <start with the number of nodes you will have>

1    <node #> <optional but good for readability of data file>

You are at the edge of a forest.  A river flows to the south and there is a path running east and west.           

2    <node to the north>      // note: need all four directions, can loop back to yourself!

3    <node to the east>

-1   <node to the south -1= no path>

8    <node to the west>

2    <number of items at this location>

a bow and arrow

a shiny penny

… < for other nodes>

2    < number of obstacles>

5    <node where first obstacle is>

A hungry grizzly bear.

a steak

You’ve been eaten

The bear eats the steak and leaves you alone.

8

A troll

a bow and arrow

The troll clubs you over the head.

You shoot the troll with the bow and arrow and it runs away.

17  <node where the treasure is>

A free pass to Great Adventure.      <description of treasure>

Algorithm to read in data:

FileReader datafile = new FileReader(“gameData”);

Scanner input         = new Scanner(datafile);

// Read # of nodes

numNodes = input.nextInt();

// use the next line to throw away the rest of the line, e.g. any comments we put on it

input.nextLine();

Gnode map[numNodes];

for(i = 0; i<numNodes; i++)

{

// read nodes into an *array*.  Do the reads similar to reading the number of nodes

// to read string descriptions, use input.nextLine();

read node #

create a  new node in the array

read description, put in node

read lines for N,E,S,W, and put in "links" to nodes     // can do because array

read # of items at this location

for(j=0; j<numItems; j++)

{

read object description

put in list at map node

}

}

read # of obstacles

for(i = 0; i < numObstacles; i++)

{

read node #

read description, put in node

read “remedy” put in node

read description of what to print if no remedy

read description of what to print if you do have the remedy

}

read treasure node#

read treasure description, save or put in node (if use more than one treasure) (must at least mark the node as having the treasure)