Basic Programming

Game Program Specs

Design, pseudocode, and write a program that allows the user to play an entertaining, nontrivial game. The game must not present or suggest graphic violence (decapitation, blood, etc.) Do not include any inappropriate references or student names either. See Mr. Minich before you write the code if you have any questions. Your grade will be reduced if he deems anything inappropriate. Your game must follow the specific specifications cited below. You must turn in the code and a user manual (external documentation). You must also turn in a labelled floppy disk with the complete project and associated files (graphics, text, sound) saved in a folder named JohnDGame2000 (substituting your name for "JohnD"). The game must execute properly from within the folder whether its executed from a floppy disk or your network folder.

Here are some examples of from students in 1998-99: Lights Out, Speed Demon, The Circle Race. When you click on one of these links, you will be able to download the complete game to your computer's hard drive. Then, if you have permission to run executable files and if you have VB installed on the computer, you can simply double-click the file and it will execute. Caution: Students do not have permission to run executable files from the Wyomissing Area High School computer labs. Also, when you execute these files, you are executing them at your own risk.

You are encouraged to see examples of VB games and programs that are found at sites like vbcode.com and www.planet-source-code.com/vb. However, your final program must be your own work. Do not plagiarize code or algorithms from those sites, rather abide by the "Terms and Conditions" found there.

You must first submit a one-paragraph description of your program indicating the rough outline of what you plan to do. Mr. Minich will keep this proposal on file and match it with your final product. If your final program does not match this proposal, you will lose points. If you need to make modifications to your design and plans after you've turned in the proposal, see Mr. Minich.

Specifications - This assignment is worth a significant number of points. You will be graded in each of the following categories.

a/ a colorful and creative title screen

The title screen must include your first name (no last names) in a reasonable font size. It must also include the name of the game and a message indicating that how the user must continue (press a key or click the mouse.) You can include your picture and/or an animation.

b/ user interaction

The game can be completely mouse-driven or you can ask the user to type on the keyboard at various points. Perhaps, you can allow the user to enter his/her name and store that name in an external data file so that your program can "remember" the user and his/her previous score(s) the next time he/she plays.

c/ efficient and proper graphic image manipulation

Some graphics must be used in the program. If you would like to use the digital camera, see Mr. Minich. You may use certain clip art or Web graphics but be careful with copyright issues. Search Yahoo for free graphics if necessary.

d/ user-friendliness and robustnes

The user must have a pleasant experience running the program. Prompts and messages should be complete and understandable. The user must be able to learn the basic instructions by reading labels, message boxes, and/or Help menus. The program should follow standard Windows application conventions and provide access keys for command buttons and menu options. Also, the program must be robust. A semi-literate computer user should not crash your program. Use error-handling to prevent this from occurring.

e/ external documentation

External documentation, that is a supporting user manual, must be included with the final program. The user manual must have a neat and attractive cover page with your name and the name of the program. It must be proofread for grammar and spelling mistakes. There is no minimum required length for the manual but it should include ALL of the instructions necessary to play the game. You could perhaps include strategy ideas for your game in the manual as well.

f/ adequate internal documentation

The code for your program must be well-documented. Do not document the obvious but keep in mind that Mr. Minich may not know what your attempting to do in certain sections of your code. The rule of thumb at this stage of your programming career is "the more internal documentation, the better."

g/ Documentation and Coding Standards

Your program must follow our class Documentation and Coding Standards. If you have ANY questions about them, see Mr. Minich before you finish your program.

h/ Beta-testing

You must have your program beta-tested by another person (preferably someone that is not a student in a computer science course at Wyomissing.) The beta-testers must fill out, sign, and date the official Beta-Testing Evaluation Form. This form must be submitted with the code.

i/ Required VB commands & structures

Your program must include at least one efficient, legitimate use of at least 7 of the following in order to receive maximum credit:    Do loop, For loop, Select Case, error handling, Menu control, Picture control, Timer control, Shape control, list (array), table (2-dimensional array), control array, animation, sound, graphics, horizontal/vertical scrollbar control, sort, search, and external files. You are highly encouraged to read ahead in our textbook or to read about other VB techniques on the Web so that you can embellish your game program even more. See the Game Program Demo programs in the template folder for examples of how to use various objects and techniques.

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