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White Rabbit

layout: default title: Project: White Rabbit

The most successful video games are those with short-, medium-, and long-term goals.

We will be coding a game with the short term goal of getting past an Obstacle.

Story

In the context of a story (which you will create), the character will be presented with an Obstacle. The character's height is either too big or too small for the height of the Obstacle, so the character must interact with food to change their height.

Obstacles and Food

The user can try to move the character past a single obstacle. * To move past a SMALL Obstacle, the character's height must be less than or equal to the Obstacle's height. * To move past a BIG Obstacle, the character's height must be greater than or equal to the Obstacle's height.

The user will be presented with food, and can choose whether the character will eat it. * If the character does not eat the Food, the food is discarded. * If the character eats the Food, the Food alters the character's height.

When the character's height is adequate, the character can move past the Obstacle, and the game ends.

Gameplay

The user is prompted for a character name, and is then able to choose actions from a menu.

What is your name?
Alice
What would you like to do?
1. Examine your surroundings.
2. Look around for help.
3. Move.
4. Quit.

Examining surroundings displays data about the character and the obstacle.

Your choice:
1

You are Alice and your height is 10.
You are standing in a field. Before you is a door which appears to be 5 SMALL.
What would you like to do?
1. Examine your surroundings.
2. Look around for help.
3. Move.
4. Quit.

When the user looks around for help, Food is presented, and the game enters a submenu.

Your choice:
2

You see a Cake.
It says EAT ME.
What do you do?
1. Examine it.
2. Eat it.
3. Ignore it.
Your choice:

If the user ignores the Food, it is no longer usable. * The supply of Food in the game is limited.

If the user eats the food, it alters the character, and the character is presented with the main menu.

2
You decide to try the Cake.
You're bigger!
What would you like to do?
1. Examine your surroundings.
2. Look around for help.
3. Move.
4. Quit.
Your choice:

The user can attempt to move, but success depends on the character's height.

3
You attempt to traverse the door.
But your height is 20!
What would you like to do?
1. Examine your surroundings.
2. Look around for help.
3. Move.
4. Quit.
Your choice:

(Note: This is just an example, and could use improvements. For example, how much bigger did the Cake make the character? Why wasn't the user able to traverse the door? These are good things to explain to a user.)

Classes

Descriptions of the game's classes are below, with UML diagrams.

Obstacle

An Obstacle has a name, height, and type. type is either BIG or SMALL.

This class is provided in the com.example.games.whiterabbit.obstacles package.

A UML diagram for the Obstacle is below.

Obstacle

Food and GameItems

GameItem can alter the character via its alterGameCharacter(GameCharacter c); method.

GameItem

Food is a type of GameItem. It is abstract, and Food alters the character's height by using its alterationFactor. * The basic implementation of Food is PlainFood.

Food

LabeledFood is a specialization of Food which allows it to have a label (e.g. "EAT ME", "DRINK ME"). * If the game is going to attempt to read a label, it must check if the Food is a LabeledFood (using the instanceof operator).

LabeledFood

FoodFactory

FoodFactory is an interface for getting Food. The game engine will not create new Food items. Instead, it requests them from the FoodFactory.

FoodFactoryImpl HAS-A List<Food> named foods. * This object should be initialized with 8 to 10 Food items of various degrees of character alteration. * The FoodFactoryImpl can run out of food. When the FoodFactory has no more food, there is nothing left to do, and the game ends.

The entire UML diagram is below.

Items

  • The GameItem and Food classes are provided for you.
  • The FoodFactory interface is provided for you.
  • TODO: Complete Food.
  • TODO: Build the remaining classes in the items package.

GameCharacter and GameApp

The GameCharacter class is simple. Its most complex method is useItem, where it must interact with a GameItem. * Look at GameItem's method for changing a GameCharacter.

GameApp is the game engine, so it contains logic for managing the game. It handles gameplay events, like getting Food from the FoodFactory, and printing menus or getting input.

Game

  • The GameCharacter is provided for you.

  • TODO: Create GameApp. Initialize its fields in launch(), and then build in small steps.

  • Start with asking the character's name, and creating a GameCharacter object.
  • Then print menus and accept input (with scanner.nextLine()).

  • Add the game logic, such as displaying a submenu and attempting to move past the obstacle.

  • TODO: Test functionality.

Where to Start?

Build out the Food-related classes and interfaces from the UML diagram.

Then you can build GameApp according to the UML diagram, and then add game logic. * Review the gameplay example above to understand the progression of the story.

Where to Go?

Despite all the classes, there is not much functionality. If you have time, try stretch goals.

Stretch Goals

  1. Can you implement an inventory? GameCharacter would need a way to take an item, then choose which item to use.
  2. Multiple obstacles?
  3. A weapon system to alter Obstacles?
  4. Enemies?
  5. Why height? Isn't that more of a level for things in the game?
  6. A story that branches?

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