Digital Technologies Assignment

Digital Technologies Assignment

1. Prescribed criteria

   • Your story must have at least 10 different variables in total
     • Include the 10 or more variables to progress my game
     • Each variable will give the player more freedom with outcomes
     • Make the variables result in different outcomes/endings
   • You must have at least two choices for each input (IE. Yes | No, Left | Right, Buy | Sell)
     • Have the inputs include the two choices for good gameplay
     • Each choice works and changes the story slightly
   • You must use a WHILE loop
     • A while loop is used at the beginning of the code to loop the choice
   • You must use variables that match your storyline
     • Each variable will say on course of the main storyline and make sense

2. Coding constructs

   • If statements
     • If and if-else statements are used in Python to perform conditional execution of code. They allow you to specify one or more conditions and depending on whether the conditions are met or not, the code inside the if or if-else block is executed. The basic syntax of an if statement is as follows:
       • if condition: # code to be executed if condition is True
   • For loops
     • A FOR loop is a common control structure in Python that allows you to repeat a block of code a specific number of times. The basic syntax of a for loop in Python is as follows:
       • for item in sequence: # Code to be executed for each item in the sequence

3. Self-Determined criteria

   • Add a health system into the game
     • Include a function that removes one health point if the user inputs something that is invalid
     • Have the health system affect the boss fights to make it more stressful and interactive
   • Create an interactive boss fight that includes multiple different outcomes
     • Have The outcome of the boss fight change depending on what moves the user made like if they dodged left they may fail
     • Have questions be asked during the boss fight such as “Dodge left or right”

4. Algorithm constructs

   • Iteration
     • iteration is also called repetition and is used when something is repeated over and over again, so anything where the program goes round in a loop. Typically programmed using code such as WHILE, REPEAT and FOR statements. See the example of Pseudocode using a FOR loop to write out numbers 1 to 10
       • DECLARE count SET count TO 0 FOR count = 1 to 10 OUTPUT count END FOR OUTPUT ‘finished
   • Selection and Conditioning
     • A selection statement uses a condition to select, or determine, the next line of the program that is to be executed. These statements help to make decisions and change the flow of a program. In many languages, there are two types of selection statements:
       • CALCULATE totalCost IF (totalCost > $10) THEN OUTPUT 'no delivery charge' ELSE OUTPUT '$5 delivery charge' ENDIF OUTPUT 'thankyou'
   • Assignment
     • Assignment is used to store the value of an expression into a variable.  They are similar to the variables that you would have seen in maths (e.g. x=5).  In programming, this is exactly the same idea, except computers can remember anything not just numbers. Additionally, the variables are generally given more meaningful names that relate to the data they contain e.g. studentName = "Tom"
       • DECLARE studentName SET studentName TO Bob
   • Sequence
     • A sequence is a number of instructions that are processed one after the other
       • DECLARE count SET count TO 1 OUTPUT the value of count
   • Modularisation
     • Modularisation is used to reduce the complexity of a system by deconstructing it into independent units or modules
       • FUNCTION delivery_charge CALCULATE totalCost IF (totalCost > $10) THEN OUTPUT ‘no delivery charge’ ELSE OUTPUT ‘$5 delivery charge’ ENDIF OUTPUT ‘thankyou’ END FUNCTION

5. Existing text based adventure games

   • Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
     • The Hitchhiker's Guide is a text adventure game in which the player, in the role of Arthur Dent, solves a number of puzzles to complete various objectives to win the game. This includes collecting and using a number of inventory items.
       • The strength of a text adventure lies in its story, as it has to be either really interesting or really funny to carry the ''reader's'' attention. In The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy's case, the humour carries the game. If you've read the book, you'll know the plot loosely, as it does follow it for a time.
       • For a book that revels in its randomness and absurdity, the game takes away all agency from the player, leaving no room for creativity or playstyles different than what the game prescribes. Trying anything on your own, even entering the wrong sequence of instructions, will either result in death or being stuck
   • Forests
     • Description
       • Strenghts
       • Weaknesses

6. Ideas for story

   • Make the river lead to some sort of castle
     • When the river is chosen the player will swim over and find a castle
       • "You successfully cross the river and see a castle in the distance"
   • Have a boss fight where you dodge a certain way and it do different things
     • During the battle with the beast prompts will come up and the player can choose which way to dodge each way will have a different outcome
       • "Do you want to swing back at the beast or try to make peace this time? (Peace/Swing)")
   • Have some sort of beast that the player has to defeat or make a peaceful agreement to not hurt the village be the main ways of beating the game
     • Each choice will inevitably end up with them fighting the beast or trying to spare the beast
       • Whether they choose the bow, sword or mysterious potion they will return to the pit and fight the dragon however each choice may cause different outcomes