More Design and the First Basic Prototype

In this journal entry, I'll talk about the prototype that I have written. Prototyping is a way to test concepts without committing to anything. Many like to use prototypes to test potential features. I think this is a good idea and I also do it. I also like to prototype code. Sometimes I do this in conjunction with UML to establish relationships and make sure the code structure makes sense. I think it's pointless to just start making the "final" production code right away unless you're working with an established framework or you're a crazy genius. Otherwise you'll end up

re-factoring

a lot.

Re-factoring

isn't always bad, but if I have to

re-factor

I rather find problems and do it earlier.

In my opinion, every prototype should have a clear and well defined purpose. The code doesn't have to be pretty and the same goes for the output, but after the prototype, I should learn something. I'm always careful about using code from a prototype. Usually the code sucks and at best should only be used as a guideline.

In this prototype, I want to quickly make a sample text-based game just so I can get a feel for what I'm about to make. I want to show 4 main things: the main menu, the world map, the battle system, and dialog. To prototype this, I'll make a simple function for each one. I'll code the real game in C++, but for this prototype at least, I'll use more of a C-style code. Why? For me, it's just easier to prototype simple console apps in C.

I'll explain some of the things I did in the code.

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WARNING: The code you're about to read is bad. Proceed with caution

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I'll start with some forward function declarations.#include /* declare our forward definitions. */void DoMainMenu();void DoWorldMap();void DoBattleSystem();void DoDialog();bool DoTownOne(); /* true - goto next town */bool DoTownTwo(); /* false - quit world map */int main(){ DoMainMenu();}


As you can see, I'm using separate functions to handle the game states and places. In a real game some sort of a state system should be used, but remember, I'm not making a "real" game yet.

Here's the main menu code. It's very simple. Just a few loops for checking input.void DoMainMenu(){ bool finished = false; while(finished != true) { /* display the menu */ printf("\n============================================================================\n"); printf("You Got Punk'd\n\n"); printf("1) Play\n"); printf("2) Quit\n"); printf("\n"); printf("\n============================================================================\n"); /* get the user's input */ char input = _getch(); /* check for valid input */ bool valid; do { /* initialize valid for this loop */ valid = true; /* the user wants to play */ if(input == '1') { DoWorldMap(); } /* the user wants to quit */ else if(input == '2') { finished = true; } /* invalid input */ else { printf("Invalid Input\n"); } } while(valid == false); }}

The world map is also just a loop and it goes back and forth between the towns.void DoWorldMap(){ // the current town int cur_town = 0; // the return value from the town function bool town_return; printf("\nYou enter a strange new world.\n"); do { /* go to the town */ if(cur_town == 0) town_return = DoTownOne(); else town_return = DoTownTwo(); /* set to the next town */ cur_town = 1 - cur_town; } while (town_return == true);}
Here's the code for the two towns.bool DoTownOne(){ while(true) { /* display the menu */ printf("\n============================================================================\n"); printf("Welcome to Bean Town\n\n"); printf("1) Talk to a stranger. \n"); printf("2) Go to Gotham City\n"); printf("3) Quit\n"); printf("\n"); /* get the user's input */ char input = _getch(); /* check for valid input */ bool valid; do { /* initialize valid for this loop */ valid = true; /* the user wants to talk */ if(input == '1') { DoDialog(); } /* the user wants to go to the other city */ else if(input == '2') { return true; } /* the user wants to quit */ else if(input == '3') { return false; } /* invalid input */ else { printf("Invalid Input\n"); } } while(valid == false); }}bool DoTownTwo(){ while(true) { /* display the menu */ printf("\n============================================================================\n"); printf("Welcome to Gotham City\n\n"); printf("1) Fight for your life\n"); printf("2) Run to Bean Town\n"); printf("3) Quit\n"); printf("\n"); /* get the user's input */ char input = _getch(); /* check for valid input */ bool valid; do { /* initialize valid for this loop */ valid = true; /* the user wants to talk */ if(input == '1') { DoBattleSystem(); } /* the user wants to go to the other city */ else if(input == '2') { return true; } /* the user wants to quit */ else if(input == '3') { return false; } /* invalid input */ else { printf("Invalid Input\n"); } } while(valid == false); }}

I think it's very easy to see a lot of redundancy in the code. Noticing this will help me decide on a future code architecture.

And for lazy ones like me that never feel like downloading zips to look at code:void DoBattleSystem(){ int my_hp = 200; int enemy_hp = 400; char input = 0; printf("\n\nWelcome to the fight of your life.\n"); while ((my_hp > 0) && (enemy_hp > 0)) { printf("Your HP: %i\n", my_hp); printf("Enemy HP: %i\n\n", enemy_hp); printf("What will you do?\n"); printf("1) Use a gun. \n"); printf("2) Use a knife. \n"); printf("3) punch him. \n"); printf("4) Scream\n"); printf("\n============================================================================\n"); input = _getch(); if(input == '1') { printf("Stranger: You don\'t have a gun.\n"); printf("You idiot. Stop pointing at me.\n"); printf("Super Uppercut\n"); printf("You -75\n"); my_hp -= 75; } else if(input == '2') { printf("Crap. No knife.\n"); printf("Kill him with a spoon.\n"); printf("Stranger -199\n"); printf("\nYou are very powerful.\n"); enemy_hp -= 199; } else if(input == '3') { printf("Stranger: You hit like my sister.\n"); printf("You: I know your sister well.\n"); printf("Stranger: Mother #&@ Die.\n"); printf("You -150\n"); my_hp -= 150; } else if(input == '4') { printf("Stranger: What? You\'re so weak.\n"); printf("You stab the stranger with a spoon as he walks away.\n"); printf("Stranger -399\n"); printf("\nStranger: It hurts a lot.\n"); enemy_hp -= 399; } else { printf("Stranger: What are you trying to do?\n"); printf("You -15\n"); my_hp -= 15; } } if(my_hp > 0) { printf("Stranger: I'm so sorry. Take some money.\n"); } else { printf("Stranger: I'll let you live because the programmer was too lazy to program a way to end the game here.\n"); } _getch();}void DoDialog(){ bool finished = false; printf("\n============================================================================\n"); printf("Stranger: What's up?\n"); printf("1) Nothing much.\n"); printf("2) The Sky.\n"); printf("3) I don't know. I'm lost.\n"); char input = _getch(); if(input != '2') { printf("Stranger: I'll kill you!"); DoBattleSystem(); } else { printf("Stranger: Ha.Ha. Here's some money."); _getch(); }}

I'd explain the code more, but I think it's pretty self-explanatory. Even though this is a text based game, I hope readers have a working knowledge of C and C++. If you have any questions though, feel free to leave a comment. In my next entry, I'll analyze this prototype some more and I'll also introduce some things that are missing from it.