Tileable textures and changing the appearances of everything weren’t the only things added. There were also some components I added to the game play. The two meteors that fall down from the sky in the beginning are the first obvious things I added to the code. I also added dozens and dozens of butterflies that fly throughout the level. I even created another item, the star explosive, that is held in a chest I added (and of course changed the appearance of).

Overall, the skills I learned in the class and the progress I made was so exponential compared to what I previously knew before I took it. Understanding the way things work and realizing that I can easily find other methods of working around my problems I encountered gives me a more a more positive outlook and reassurance that there is almost nothing available now that I could not find a way to work- if I work hard enough to find it.

The main thing I did from the one I got to compile was attempt to understand exactly what it was trying to do, and how that worked in the game to call other parts of the libraries and .CPP files. It would say for instance, “if this is a Mac use this timer, or if this is a windows timer, use this timer,” as well as saying things like “if this not here, well start it now.” It would also tell it to pause at random intervals, as well as waiting for certain things to happen before proceeding, and even telling the CPU to stop doing mundane tasks like looking for updates related to the game when it was in session, in order to keep the game running more smoothly.

In the first game I chose to seriously compile, Goblin Hack, I started with a base of files that I wasn’t clear what to do with. The game had not been modified for over three years, and because of that, there wasn’t a good forum base or anything to go off of other than the very unclear instructions given in one of the “read-me” files in the downloadable package. The first thing I ran into was knowing that it did not use Visual C++ for its compiler, because the .CPPs and header files were completely hidden inside multiple and multiple folders, with no clear instructions with which to use them.

Regardless I began my first process of linking the files and pulling them one by one into the program until they were all there and running ‘debug’ and going from the beginning. From there, the odd errors started flowing in by the hoards. It couldn’t find a header file that was clearly listed in my header files, so I went to the project properties, changed the VC++ format to include the exact ‘Includes’ folder where it was, and tried that. Then I got another error asking me where <ext/hash_map> was, and that it had no idea what it was. Originally I thought it was just referring to hash_map, which is a pre-compiled VC++ Win32 format file, so I got rid of the entire project and tried to rebuild it as a Win32 application. I figured it would work because it didn’t previously have the external dependencies in the empty project (or so I thought).

Nevertheless, it didn’t compile. I got a lot more errors than I even had initially. So I peered at the code and saw that it was asking for hash_map and was saying basically, “If hash_map doesn’t exist, use ext/hash_map instead!” So I discovered then that the ext/hash_map was actually a MAC OS file, and decided better to get rid of that completely. That didn’t work- it actually just got a lot more upset and many many more errors sprung out of that. Upon doing more research into the countless amounts of errors that sprung up, the conclusion was made that in fact, my game was created using Ubuntu. That doesn’t mean however that it could not possibly work in Windows- clearly the creator tried (ever-so-slightly) to incorporate Windows/Mac configuration files, however when it started calling for dependencies that only existed in Linux, it became apparent that even more problems were in store. I had the option of installing a completely new Linux-devoted compiler and then trying to take the dependencies it wanted and modifying them to work, or finally throwing the towel in and resigning to finding a new game that actually came with some form of compiling instructions, and not just “the source code is in /src. The references are in /src/references. Enjoy!” However, the process was a valuable one in that I learned a lot about compiling and finding many alternative methods on the web for solving small problems that kept arising in compiling. And lucky for me, the second time around was so much more painless because of it (despite the fact that it took an hour to compile)!

I have indubitably gotten myself into such deep issues that I don’t even understand how they can be so dumb and easy to do. For example, my first problem that says, ask for answer for health; make health = answer, doesn’t work! I don’t know why- I even made it its own separate integer to work throughout the function just in case it were somehow messing with the global health variable, but that didn’t work either. It has to be something small. I just know it.

//Geoffrey the Giraffe's Magical Adventure (NOW IN SPACE!!!)
//Kaela Smith
//Professor Jose Rueda
// ITGM315: Intro to C++ Programming : FA12

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <vector>
#include <ctime>
#include <cstdlib>

using namespace std;

int damage = 100;
int answer;
int giraffeHealth;
int alienHealth = 500;
int attackDam;

int alienAttack(int giraffeHealth, int damage);
int giraffeAttack(int alienHealth, int damage);
int damageDone(int damage);

char answerChar = 't';

string nameGiraffe = "Geoffrey";
string stringAnswer;
string inventory();
string scaryAlien();

void NSEW();
void YN_medpack();
void alienFriend();
void callAnswerCharNSEW(); //do I need this? I don't think I do. Look into this later.
void callAnswer();
void callAnswerChar();
void callStringAnswer();
void callAlienFriend();

//USE ITERATORS FOR INVENTORY?
//LEARN TO PUT THE INVENTORY IN IT'S OWN STUPID FUNCTION VECTOR/STRING. (following class examples?)
//FIND OUT HOW TO MAKE YOUR TEXT SCROLL
//INCOORPORATE OXYGEN INTO PLOTLINE / STORY
//INCOORPORATE VOID ( , , , , )s instead of separate functions for text
//create functions for functions

int main()
{ 
int giraffeOldHealth = answer;

cout << "\n\n"
<< " ________ _____ _____ \n"
<< " / _____/ ____ _____/ ____\/ ____\______ ____ ___.__.\n"
<< "/ \ ____/ __ \/ _ \ __\\ __\\_ __ \_/ __ < | |\n"
<< "\ \_\ \ ___( <_> ) | | | | | \/\ ___/\___ |\n"
<< " \______ /\___ >____/|__| |__| |__| \___ > ____|\n"
<< " \/ \/ \/\/ \n"
<< " __ .__ ________.__ _____ _____ ___ \n"
<< "_/ |_| |__ ____ / _____/|__|___________ _/ ____\/ ____\____\__\_____\n"
<< "\ __\ | \_/ __ \ / \ ___| \_ __ \__ \\ __\\ __\/ __ \ / ___/\n"
<< " | | | Y \ ___/ \ \_\ \ || | \// __ \| | | | \ ___/ \___ \ \n"
<< " |__| |___| /\___ > \______ /__||__| (____ /__| |__| \___ >____ >\n"
<< " \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \n"
<< " _____ .__ .__ \n"
<< " / \ _____ ____ |__| ____ _____ | | \n"
<< " / \ / \\__ \ / ___\| |/ ___\\__ \ | | \n"
<< "/ Y \/ __ \_/ /_/ > \ \___ / __ \| |__\n"
<< "\____|__ (____ /\___ /|__|\___ >____ /____/\n"
<< " \/ \//_____/ \/ \/ \n"
<< " _____ .___ __ \n" 
<< " / _ \ __| _/__ __ ____ _____/ |_ __ _________ ____ \n"
<< " / /_\ \ / __ |\ \/ // __ \ / \ __\ | \_ __ \_/ __ \ \n"
<< "/ | \/ /_/ | \ /\ ___/| | \ | | | /| | \/\ ___/ \n"
<< "\____|__ /\____ | \_/ \___ >___| /__| |____/ |__| \___ >\n"
<< " \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \n\n\n";

//ADD SOME SWEET GRAPHICS UP IN HERE. It's going to be a giraffe. With a space helmet on.
cout << "~*~*~*GEOFFREY THE GIRAFFE'S MAGICAL ADVENTURE ~*~*~*\n\n\n"
<< "You're a giraffe named Geoffrey THE DESTRUCTOR! You do like the name Geoffrey,\n right? Because I mean, if you don't like it, I guess you can always change it. Do you like the name Geoffrey? (y/n)\n\n";

cin >> answerChar;

switch (answerChar)
{
case 'N':
case 'n':
cout << "Crap! What do you want it to be instead then?\n\n";
cin >> nameGiraffe;
//<insert new name here> This new name is replaced in the top global string for name.

break;

case 'Y':
case 'y':
callAnswerChar(); //(I think that works?)

break;

default:
cout << "wrong!";
}

//add the appropriate number of \n's to scroll the page all the way down>
cout << "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"
<< "YOU'RE A GIRAFFE! Your name is " << nameGiraffe << " the DESTRUCTOR, and everyone always wants a piece of you. Why, do you ask? Well because you're the MEANEST MOST VOLATILE BLOOD-HUNGRY giraffe that ever existed, you big dum-dum.\n\n"
<< "\n\nSince you're such an awesome crazy giraffe, you get to choose your own \nlifepoints! What do you want your health to be?\n\n";

cin >> answer;
// answer = giraffeOldHealth;

if (answer >= 9999)
{
cout << "\n\nWow man, calm down. You're not God.";
callAnswer();
//<REFER TO RISEN.EXE's INPUT METHOD>
}

if (answer <= 9999)
{
cout << "\n\nSounds good to me! Your health is now " << giraffeOldHealth << "!";
}

cout << "\n\n<INSERT RANDOM SCENARIO IN TEXT THAT STICKS HIM IN SPACE>"

<< "\n\nHoly crap " << nameGiraffe << ", you landed on the MOON! Good thing your stamina is " << giraffeOldHealth << ", because you took " << (giraffeOldHealth - 1) << " damage from that crash! You're at 1 health! Quick! Find a MEDPACK!\n"
<< "Looks like you can go north, south, east, or west. That's definitely not cliche either; it just HAPPENED that those are CARDINAL DIRECTIONS.\n\n";

giraffeOldHealth = giraffeHealth;

NSEW();

return giraffeHealth;
}

//function to call function
void callAnswer()
{
cin >> answer;
}

void callAnswerCharNSEW()
{
NSEW();
}

void callAnswerChar()
{
cin >> answerChar;
}

void callStringAnswer()
{
cin >> stringAnswer;
}

void NSEW() 
{
cout << giraffeHealth;
cin >> answerChar;

switch(answerChar)
{
case 'N':
case 'n':
cout << "Shoot, this isn't the right way " << nameGiraffe << "! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TRYING TO GET US KILLED!? I ONLY EXIST IN THIS GAME TOO, YOU KNOW!\n\n";
callAnswerCharNSEW();

break;

case 'S':
case 's':
cout << "DUDE! There's a medpack on the ground over there near those oddly-shaped eyeball-looking moonrocks. Are you gonna grab it man? Huh? ARE YOU GEOFFREY? SERIOUSLY ARE YOU GOING TO GRAB IT?\n\n";
YN_medpack();

break;

case 'E':
case 'e':
cout << "There's just moonrocks over there. Average, completely normal-looking moonrocks... Probably.\n\n"
<< "So where to now mon capitan?\n";
callAnswerCharNSEW();

break;

case 'W':
case 'w':
cout << "Woah! You find some cheese just sitting there on the ground. Who knew the moon actually DID have cheese? You're not really sure where this cheese came from, but who cares?! It sure can't be poisonous!\n\n"
//<ADD +100 TO HEALTH>
<< "Your health is now " << giraffeHealth << "!\n\n"
<< "So where to now mon capitan?\n";
callAnswerCharNSEW();

break;

default:
cout << "TRY AGAIN.";
callAnswerCharNSEW();
}
}

void YN_medpack() 
{ 
cin >> answerChar;

switch(answerChar)
{
case 'Y':
case 'y':
cout << "\n\nHeck yeah I knew you wanted that medpack. You force it into your hooves and it restores 4943949474975 HEALTH! Good thing I found that for you!\n\n"
<< "Your health is now " << giraffeHealth << "!\n\n"
//insert alien art here
<< "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAH! The eyeball blinks and you suddenly hear strange noises near it! WHAT THE HECK ARE THEY SAYING? YOU HAVE NO IDEA!! He sees the spots on your luxurious fur coat and starts to rise from the crater and withdraws a rusted utensil from his pile of rocks. He starts to poke you with it! OUCH!\n\n"
<< "You lose 50 health!\n\n"
<< "What are you going to do now?\n\n";

inventory();

scaryAlien();

break;

case 'N':
case 'n':
cout << "Dude, are you crazy? Because man, that was a stupid idea. But you **are** just a giraffe anyway. Where do you want to go then?";
NSEW();

break;

default:
cout << "QUIT IT.";
callAnswerChar();
//<REFER TO RISEN.EXE SCRIPT> 
}
}

string inventory()
{
cout << "Attack/ Items/ Run\n\n";
cin >> stringAnswer;

if (stringAnswer == "Attack")
{
//show attacks
cout << "1) Thunder punch\n"
<< "2) Star kick\n"
<< "3) Cry of the heavens\n\n";
}

if (stringAnswer =="Items")
{
//show items /uses
cout << "1) Star\n"
<< "2) Rope\n";

if (answerChar == 'y')
{
cout << "3) Asteroid\n\n";
}
}

if (stringAnswer == "Run")
{ 
cout << "show some dumb ending about how he can't actually run in space and somehow dies" << endl;
}

return stringAnswer;
}

string scaryAlien() 
{
//<PICTURE>
cin >> answer;

if (stringAnswer == "Attack")
{
switch(answer)
{
case 1:
cout << "Thunder punch (in spaaaaaace)! RIGHT TO THE KISSER!\n\n";

int giraffeAttack(int alienHealth, int damage);

break;

case 2:
cout << "You kicked him so hard he cried babies!\n\n";

int giraffeAttack(int alienHealth, int damage);

break;

case 3:
cout << "He laughed as you attempted to throw the asteroid and shot it midair with his laser gun. Oh, you didn't see his laser gun? Well you probably weren't reading hard enough.\n\n";

int alienAttack(int giraffeHealth, int damage);

break;

default:
cout << "Lalala.\n\n";

callStringAnswer();

break;
}
}

if (stringAnswer == "Items")
{
switch(answer)
{
case 1:
cout << "You use your magical giraffe powers to encompass a 'nearby' star and hurl it in his direction!\n"
<< "For some reason, it looked a lot smaller than you realize it is, and it's coming towards you! OH CRAP! THAT WAS A REALLY BAD IDEA!" << endl;

break;

case 2:
cout << "So since you're a giraffe, and it's commonly known that giraffes carry tons of items in their fur, you grab your rope and hurl it at his genetalia!\n\n";

int giraffeAttack(int alienHealth, int damage);

break;

case 3:
cout << "The asteroid is absolutely mindblowing! It's size alone makes you scared, until you realize that you're a freaking CRAZY AWESOME GIRAFFE and you throw asteroids in your spare time just for FUN!\n\n";

int giraffeAttack(int alienHealth, int damage);

break;

default:
cout << "Lalala.";
callStringAnswer();
}
}
}

//_______________________
//PROF RUEDA EXAMPLE

//int main()
//{

//declared health, damage, newHealth

//health = 10, damage = 20

//int m = function (health, damage) 
//}

//int function (health, damage)
//{

//a.... changes
//b.... changes

//return newHealth;
//}

//_______________________

//int damageDone()
//{
// srand ((unsigned)time(0)); //generates a random number
// for (int index=0; index<1; index ++)
// {
// damage = (rand()%100)+1;
// }
// 
// return damage;
//}

int alienAttack(int giraffeHealth, int damage)
{
damage = 200;
giraffeHealth = (giraffeHealth - damage);

//<PICTURE>
cout << "The alien hits you for" << damage << "damage!"
<< "Your health is now" << (giraffeHealth - damage) << "!";

if (damage < 100)
{
cout << "Ouch! That hurt!";
}

if (damage > 100)
{
cout << "DUDE! Your ass just got CREAMED!";
}

if (damage > 200)
{
cout << "Oh man! That was pretty pathetic. Has this guy been taking lessons in awfulness? There must not be any 'combat standard' on the moon.";
}

if ((giraffeHealth > 200) and ( giraffeHealth < alienHealth))
{
int giraffeAttack(int alienHealth, int Damage);
}
else 
{
alienFriend();
}

return giraffeHealth;
}

int giraffeAttack(int alienHealth, int damage) 
{
damage = 100;
//<picture>
cout << "You incinerate the alien for " << damage << " damage!\n\n"
<< "His health is now " << alienHealth << ".\n\n";

if (damage < 100)
{
cout << "Man I'm serious that was pathetic. I thought you were supposed to be the most badass giraffe ever that lives in SPACE? Helllooooo!\n\n";
}

if (damage > 100)
{
cout << "Take that alien scum!\n\n";
}

if (damage < 200)
{
cout << "The alien cries out in gasping pain!\n\n";
}

if (giraffeHealth > alienHealth)
{
int alienAttack(int giraffeHealth, int damage); 
}

if ((giraffeHealth > 200) && ( giraffeHealth < alienHealth))
{
int giraffeAttack(int alienHealth, int damage);
}
else
{
alienFriend(); 
}

return alienHealth;
}

void alienFriend() 
{
//<picture>
cout << "Just as you're about to die, you hear the screams of the victims you've destroyed and concquered in the past start to fade away just like your own existence. Memories of your friends and concubines bring a smile to your face as you drift off into eternal sleep...\n\n\n\n\n"
<< "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"
<< "But wait! The alien actually steps away and starts trying to talk you. What the HECK is he saying? Guess you'd better find a dictionary lying around somewhere! What's that? You don't think dictionaries exist on the moon?\n\n";
cin >> answerChar;

switch (answerChar)
{
case 'N':
case 'n':
cout << "That's what I thought.\n\n";

break;

case 'Y':
case 'y':
cout << "The narrator doesn't care!\n\n";

break;
}

cout << "Well anyway, it seems like there has to be a dictionary lying around here somewhere from when all those other astronaut guys came here in the past... What would you like to do oh brave fearless hero of the night (literally- HAH!)?\n\n"

<< "1. Sit around and chill\n"
<< "2. Listen to the alien some more and try to make out what he's saying\n"
<< "3. Ponder the existence of life and why you're apart of it. Also, why you're a carnivorous giraffe.\n"
<< "4. Look for a dictionary\n\n";

cin >> answer;

switch(answer)
{
case 1:
cout << "Talk about random stuff from sitting around for three hours.\n\n"

<< "1. Listen to the alien some more and try to make out what he's saying\n"
<< "2. Ponder the existence of life and why you're apart of it. Also, why you're a carnivorous giraffe.\n"
<< "3. Look for a dictionary\n\n";

callAlienFriend();

break;

case 2:
cout << "The alien basically explains to find a fucking dictionary.\n\n"

<< "1. Sit around and chill\n"
<< "2. Ponder the existence of life and why you're apart of it. Also, why you're a carnivorous giraffe.\n"
<< "3. Look for a dictionary\n\n";

callAlienFriend();

break;

case 3:
//<SHOW IMAGE>
cout << "Go on about how the giraffe fits into the circle of life and his bloodthirsty past.\n\n"
<< "What now that your brain has been thoroughly exercised and indulged with knowledge?\n\n"

<< "1. Sit around and chill\n"
<< "2. Listen to the alien some more and try to make out what he's saying\n"
<< "3. Look for a dictionary\n\n";

callAlienFriend();

break;

case 4:
cout << "Your magical space quest for the dictionary begins! Oh look it is sitting over there near some space rocks. I wonder why the narrator didn't make this much of a challenge for you---- Don't look at me. I'm just a fill-in."
<< "BUT ANYWAY! Who cares! There's your magical space dictionary, and you shove your face in it and try to read! Wait what's that- you can't read? SERIOUSLY? We just added a DICTIONARY to the main storyline and you can't even READ IT? Oh man this is awkward... Let's move back a few spaces!"

//<picture>
<< "Just as you're about to die, you hear the screams of the victims you've destroyed and concquered in the past start to fade away just like your own existence. Memories of your friends and concubines bring a smile to your face as you drift off into eternal sleep..."
<< "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"
<< "But wait! The alien actually steps away and starts trying to talk you. What the HECK is he saying? Guess you'd better find a dictionary lying around somewhere! What's that? You don't think dictionaries exist on the moon?";
cin >> answerChar;

switch (answerChar)
{
case 'N':
case 'n':
cout << "That's what I thought.\n\n";

break;

case 'Y':
case 'y':
cout << "No YOU'RE impossible!\n\n";

break;
}

cout << "Well ANYWAY, since we think dictionaries are STUPID anyway, the alien starts trying to make hand gestures towards you and begins to do a magical dance!"
//<input picture of him dancing>
<< "Do you like his dance?\n\n"

<< "1. Heck yes I do!\n"
<< "2. Ehh, needs some work\n"
<< "3. THIS DANCE DISGUISTS ME!\n\n";

cin >> answer;

switch(answer)
{
case 1:
cout << "How exquisite! The body language is just everything you thought it would be and more! You want to MARRY this alien! (can giraffes do that?)";
break;

case 2:
cout << "The alien hears you speaking to the narrator and spits in your general direction. Talk about rude- you'd think people on the moon had a bit more common courtesy.";
break;

case 3:
cout << "WOAH, take it easy bro. It's just a dance.";
break;

default:
cout << "LISTEN BRO THAT WASN'T AN ANSWER.";
callAnswer();

break;
}

cout << "\n\nDespite what preconcieved notions you had about this alien, you start to see her glow in a certain light. This dance arouses you, and you want to know her better. Do you want to ask the alien for her number? (y/n)\n\n";

cin >> answer;

cout << "\n\nThe alien looks at you oddly and keeps dancing.\n\n"

<< "WELL, since that didn't happen, you should probably just jump away from the alien. That sounds like a good idea, right? Personally I'm thinking you should go to somewhere even cooler than the moon, like Mars, or Uranus. What do you think?";

cin >> answer;

cout << "1. Mercury"
<< "2. Venus"
<< "3. Earth"
<< "4. Mars"
<< "5. Jupiter"
<< "6. Saturn"
<< "7. Uranus"
<< "8. Neptune"

<< "Yeah, that sounds good planet for you to destroy."
<< "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"
//<PICTURE>
<< "YOU STROLL OFF INTO THE SUNSET WITH YOUR NEW ALIEN LOVER (well of course you kidnapped her- duh!) AND COMMENCE YOUR JOURNEY TO THE PLANET OF " << answer << "! The distance may be far, but for a giraffe of your social and physical hierarchy, as well as a dame to be admired from galaxies far far away, no one can stop your migration and breeding to make MILLIONS of giraffe clones! The world as they know it will come to FEAR you as their RIGHTFUL RULER! RIDE ON INTO THE NIGHT, OH BRILLIANT SPECKLED LEADER " << nameGiraffe << " OF THE BLOODYTHIRSTY GIRAFFES! MAY YOU PAVE YOUR HISTORY IN BLOOD AND POWER!" << endl;

break;

default:
//<SHOW IMAGE OF GIRAFFE TRIPPING ON ROCK IN SPACE>
cout << "\n\nWOOPS! You tripped on a rock and died! That's what you GET for not choosing one of my answers!" << endl;
}
}

void callAlienFriend()
{
alienFriend();
}

Unlucky for me… I couldn’t find sprites for the throwing actions of the weeds or rocks, so I had to do those. I also hate to admit but I spent over half of my time with this assignment just organizing my sprites, because let me tell you, this script is HEAVILY costume dependent. If I had more time I probably would’ve liked to actually separated my main character into three sprites like I did previously with Ninja Senki, just because it got REALLY bad. I think the main character has 160 costumes. And the main reason I needed to separate it wasn’t so much the fact that it was hell to code between going back and forth to find Costume#s, but the movement. That’s right! I used the movement from my Ninja Senki game. What do you do when you don’t have time? Borrow your own code! Until you realize that it’s a LOT more buggy than you initially thought.

So if I said that I spent approximately half of my time just getting these sprites, then I spent at least 20-30 percent of my remainder just messing with the walking script. Still, STILL it doesn’t work. It gets SO buggy, and I’m PRETTY sure it has SOMETHING to do with the way the character responds between the arrows. Even though she might be going up, if you hit Right and don’t move for at least a second, she will continue to face the same direction Up, while moving right. Give it a second, and then she will face the correct direction again. I think it has something to do with the part of the script that tells the character, whenever a different button is hit, switch the costume to the new one. However, I think because it consistently checks to see if the character is moving in that direction to do the walk costume cycle, it bugs out between costumes left, right, up, and back. I cannot explain to you the frustration this walk cycle has given me. The best part? It’s not really a mechanic. It should be just basic rudimentary “yeah I know you know how to do a walk cycle show me something better” type stuff. But instead I have become so fixated on fixing this. My biggest problem is just the presentation itself. Everything else might work, but when you include a walk cycle that doesn’t work correctly, you become immediately detached from the personal experience and connection you get from the game. You get pulled away from it, and immediately realize problems that make the game a lot worse for such small reasons. I don’t know. I’m still upset about it. I resolved to trying to fix it if I had any time before it is due, but I don’t think I have the time. HOWEVER, at some point in the future I SHALL FIX IT! MARK MY WORDS!

vector<string> inventory; //creates the inventory
inventory.push_back(“1. teeth”);
inventory.push_back(“2. clothes hanger”);
inventory.push_back(“3. spit wad”);
inventory.push_back(“4. your uncle Jeff”);

Sounds simple, right? Well not for little old me it isn’t! I tried to pull it out of Main() and create a separate function altogether called “InventoryBag()”, but then I didn’t know how to call specific parts of the function, like the ‘inventory.size’ which is constantly being called on throughout the Main() script as well as the others. At the current moment I’ve resolved to just relisting it inside of every single function, but I know that isn’t a good idea. However at the moment it’s going to have to do. I spent way too long just trying to realize my curly brackets were the reason my void function wasn’t working. (Award for the day goes to me! )

But if you’re just DYING to know what my game is like, I’ll post the script later at some point to let you see it. That is ASSUMING that you like giraffes…

I do like it though. It’s about a giraffe named Geoffrey and how he’s the meanest, fiercest giraffe that ever lived.

Since I still have a lot to learn about execution in C++ and having spent more time than I should have (as usual) on Scratch, I just have a simple text-based RPG-type game. It has a very narrow story though because the constraints. I also was a little distraught at the fact that I was putting everything inside of Switch statements, so the whole thing became very cluttered very fast, and I resorted (since it still worked) to ask for help with it the next day.

I do like it though! PLAY IT >:O

// Geoffrey the Giraffe’s Magical Adventure
// Kaela Smith
// ITGM315: Intro to C++ Programming : FA12
// Professor Jose Rueda

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <vector>

using namespace std;
int main()
{
int choiceConflictHyena;
vector<string> inventory;
inventory.push_back(“1. teeth”);
inventory.push_back(“2. clothes hanger”);
inventory.push_back(“3. spit wad”);
inventory.push_back(“4. your uncle Jeff”);

cout << “You’re a crazy bloodthirsty girrafe just trying to eat his dinner and live his \nlife! Too bad everyone knows how badass you are and wants to kill you. \nEven when it’s dinner time!”;
cout << “\n\nYou have ” << inventory.size() << ” things around you to defend yourself.\n”;

cout << “\nYour items:\n”;
for (unsigned int i = 0; i < inventory.size(); ++i)
{
cout << inventory[i] << endl;
}

cout << “\nA wild hyena appears! What do you do?”;
cout << “\n(1) Gallop away \n(2) Gouge his eyes out \n(3) Stand there and eat\n\n”;
cin >> choiceConflictHyena;

switch (choiceConflictHyena) //switch means change depending on what you’ve entered; equivalent to a sequence of “ifs”
{
case 1:
cout << “You gallop away and forever live the rest of your life in shame. Your heroic \nbloodthirsty actions quickly fade away and you become known as Sissy Sassafrass. YOU LOSE.\n”;
break;

case 2:
cout << “You want to fight! The hyena snarls- it looks like he wants to rip out your \nstill-beating heart and serve it on a platter with some fried Jeff on the side.\n”;

cout << “\n\nHe’s ferocious! He’s going to beat your face in! TIME TO ACT AND PUNCH HIM IN \nTHE GUT WITH THAT LONG NECK! What do you use?”;
cout << “\n\nYou currently have:\n”;

for (unsigned int i = 0; i < inventory.size(); ++i)
{
cout << inventory[i] << endl;
}

int useFightHyena;
cin >> useFightHyena;

switch (useFightHyena)
{
case 1:
cout << “\n\nYour teeth are carnivirous vessels of destruction and chaos! Too bad his are \nbetter. He looks at you puzzled, unsure if he just got nipped by you or the wind. \nHe cackles like an asshole, because he’s making fun of you, and walks off. HOW DARE HE! YOU BETTER SHOW HIM WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF AND KICK HIS SPOTTED ASS!!!\n”;
cout << “Oops! Too late. He’s gone. WELL BACK TO EATING LIKE A CHAMPION! You won!”;
break;
case 2:
cout << “\n\nYou have no idea where it came from, but you take the clothes hanger in your \nmouth and start trying to gouge out the hyena’s eyes! But wait! He’s too fast! \nHe dodges!\n”;
cout << “\n\nI would normally put more actions for you, but alas, I do not have time. YOU LOSE.”;
break;
case 3:
cout << “\n\nYou spit in his face! Take that evil foe! The hyena wimpers and tries to compose himself, but instead falls over like the little wuss that he is. Now time to \nindulge yourself in the juicy, artery-covered spoils of victory! YOU WIN!\n”;
break;
case 4:
cout << “\n\nUncle Jeff is a shield! His skinny body makes him not very effective…\n”;
cout << “The hyena pounces and attaches itself to your neck, ripping off the flesh as \nyour screams pierce through the wings in the black covered sky. YOU LOSE.”;
break;
default:
cout << “\n\nYou either mispelled something or you weren’t meant to choose this answer. QUIT IT. YOU LOST.”;
break;
}

break;

case 3:
cout << “You just stand there and eat. Are you brave? Or just fucking nuts? Well either \nway, the hyena ‘ain’t standin’ for that shit. HE BITES YOU!\n”;

char attack1;

cout << “\n\nOuch! That hurt! Time to beat his brains in!”;
cout << “\nAre you up for the challenge? \n\n(y)YEAH I AM BRING IT ON/ (n) No, I’m a wuss “;
cin >> attack1;

if (attack1 == ‘y’)
{
cout << “\n\nHe’s ferocious! He’s going to beat your face in! TIME TO ACT AND PUNCH HIM IN \nTHE GUT WITH THAT LONG NECK! What do you use?”;
cout << “\n\nYou currently have:\n”;

for (unsigned int i = 0; i < inventory.size(); ++i)
{
cout << inventory[i] << endl;
}

int useFightHyena;
cin >> useFightHyena;

switch (useFightHyena)
{
case 1:
cout << “Your teeth are carnivirous vessels of destruction and chaos! Too bad his are \nbetter. He looks at you puzzled, unsure if he just got nipped by you or the wind. \nHe cackles like an asshole, because he’s making fun of you, and walks off. HOW DARE HE! YOU BETTER SHOW HIM WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF AND KICK HIS SPOTTED ASS!!!\n”;
cout << “Oops! Too late. He’s gone. WELL BACK TO EATING LIKE A CHAMPION! You won!”;
break;
case 2:
cout << “You have no idea where it came from, but you take the clothes hanger in your mouth and start trying to gouge out the hyena’s eyes! But wait! He’s too fast! He dodges!\n”;
cout << “I would normally put more actions for you, but alas, I do not have time. YOU LOSE.”;
break;
case 3:
cout << “You spit in his face! Take that evil foe! The hyena wimpers and tries to compose himself, but instead falls over like the little wuss that he is. Now time to \nindulge yourself in the juicy, artery-covered spoils of victory! YOU WIN!\n”;
break;
case 4:
cout << “Uncle Jeff is a shield! His skinny body makes him not very effective…\n”;
cout << “The hyena pounces and attaches itself to your neck, ripping off the flesh as \nyour screams pierce through the air in the black covered sky. YOU LOSE.”;
break;
default:
cout << “You either mispelled something or you weren’t meant to choose this answer. QUIT IT. YOU LOST.”;
break;
}
}

if (attack1 == ‘n’)
{
cout << “\nDeath has come on swift wings. Or claws. Actually yeah I think it was claws. \nYour death is so insignificant, even the narrator can’t remember how you died! \nThat is definitely saying something.”;
break;
}

break;

default:
cout << “Don’t even try it bro. Giraffes don’t know \nwhat to do without specific instructions, silly billy. Try again.\n”;
cin >> choiceConflictHyena;
break;
}

return 0;
}

This is the first scrolling game I actually did in Scratch. I used a basic scrolling function though, just with a simple “scrollX” variable. (Not even a “scrollY”, because I didn’t have time to add the backwards mechanic!) The background changes according to the width of the screen and scrolls between I think it was like 7 to 9 different backgrounds. This game also took the least amount of time I think to code, because I was able to use a lot of the same things that I had previously used. However, I did branch off of my original star throwing mechanic from my previous game and found a better script online. It was almost identical, with the difference being that it calls multiple hits, so instead of the usual “press X and wait five minutes for the missile to something or go off the edge”, it shoots constantly switching between four different numbers in a variable to shoot. So if Hit = 1 shoot of Missile1, if Hit = 2 shoot Missile2, etc. etc. up to four times. The other difference is that it reshoots the first one again instead of waiting for it to disappear off the screen. So that was a good improvement I think from the first game I did, which was like the other example I listed (shoot and wait).

I also implemented a powerup that drops off of one of the enemies in the scene. If the character touches it, then the powerup gives him two extra vehicles to the north and south of him, tripling the amount of firing power towards the enemies. I controlled these of course with a few broadcasts. Sadly though I didn’t get the opportunity to add more the powerup aspect of the game. I had the sprites loaded into the game though, and had planned on adding the “ice” powerup, which changed the missiles to more of a laser beam-type attack from all three of the vehicles (or one, depending on if you have the first powerup when you get it). I also didn’t get to add the more adventurish aspect to the game, where the character, upon going through narrow areas, will shrink inwards with the two other vessels and then spread back out.

To be honest though, the biggest issue I had with this game that literally took probably at least half of my time had to be the timing of the enemies. The worst part about this whole thing is that I now realize I could have implemented a VERY simple sprite that would’ve solved this entire problem, but at the time, what can I say? Staying up late is very bad for you. You realize everything the next day and wonder why you were so stupid the night before. But at least my room mate made me feel better by telling me that she too didn’t even realize at the time to equate the two, or she would have told me to use the same mechanic to solve all of my problems as well (instead of listening to me rant on about how angry I was, haha). So the problem I was having, if you haven’t guess it already, was the disappearing and reappearing of the sprites. When I used the simple “scrollX” script from a website it gave me a small piece of code to use (which I don’t remember now) to input and make the rest of it go away when it wasn’t on screen, but this didn’t work for me. So my time was drawing thin. What else to do? Oh yeah, that’s right. I went and found the ScrollX position of every single one of those sprites when it appeared on the screen, and made EACH one disappear and reappear when it touched that number. So in case you’re wondering how I did this, I watched the game. Over. And over. And over again. At least four times (AT LEAST) for each sprite, to make sure they showed up at the correct time when I told them to. Because if not, the sprite would chill out on the side of the screen forever and not actually do anything until it hit its Scroll X position.

So anyway, I realized the day after (when it was already submitted), that by far the easiest thing I could have done would’ve been to simply put a border around the sides, probably the color Yellow with a ghost effect set to 99. I then could have easily told it after it had hit it’s ScrollX position telling it to appear, that it needed to disappear whenever it touched this said color. And voila! My troubles would’ve been gone.SO simple. Even talking about it makes me angry! But like I said, I do want to come back to this game at a later point in time and add a LOT more enemies (because I didn’t have the time to add more than 9!) and the other things I mentioned previously, along with a boss. That’s school for you.

Yay! Pictures!

The main character throughout most of the game runs at enemies and shoots ninja stars. There is a jump mechanic as well, and a neat walking action when you scroll left to right. So first off! Ironically I didn’t actually make mine scroll, instead I used a pan to the next background instead to make the game seem a bit more constrained into “segments” for time’s sake. I created a lot of hardships for myself actually when I did this project though, because I ( being myself!) get carried away on the smallest things and will literally devote all of my time to fixing it if I know that I can.

So the character animations were the biggest problem of mine. I started off with one sprite, tried a gazillion different ways to get him to move the way I wanted to, and eventually I just split it up into three separate sprites. The reason I was having trouble with this, mind you, is because of the changing of the outfits from one to another when left and right is pressed. And when I added a lot more costumes to the equation than what I used in the Diglet game, it got a LOT more complicated, especially working in Scratch which for some reason hates costumes and makes it very difficult to access them if you use large quantities on one sprite. So I split them. And lo and behold! It worked. Too bad for me, my tutor Melissa saw what I had done, called me crazy and overworked, and came up with a magical solution to putting them all back together on one sprite. (I should be quick to mention that it only involved changing one number… just my luck). Neat! She (the main character, who I conveniently changed to a girl ;>) doesn’t moonwalk anymore, so that’s great. But she glitches. Not enough to really cause a disturbance though, and Fullscreen in Scratch always makes things work better.

Too bad for me the next problem is the collision. So I look up some scripts in Scratch for collision, and oh my god do they not make sense to me. I also need to add that by this point I am still EXTREMELY sleep deprived, so things that would normally make sense at 5:00 PM at night don’t at 4:00 AM in the morning. So instead I resort to something else. That’s right! I’m going to FAKE it! And by “fake it” I mean the character’s jump is extremely badly coded and I just don’t care because it’s 4:00 in the morning and I need closure. So! Originally I rammed my head for another few hours into a wall because I was just using the sprite of the girl to collide with the objects, and when she hit colors crazy stuff would happen. Probably an hour or two later it finally hits me I can make a ghost block (the only script I actually borrowed from anywhere) to collide with my objects for me. But that’s not the end! Oh no, I added some color collision in there and changed a couple of colors (where I wanted her to jump on the platforms) EVER so slightly, to the point where the black box would JUST touch it and then make the jump to the top.

Since this experience I have become a lot more savy with Scratch and could have avoided a lot more problems now than what I had then, mostly by using the broadcast function a LOT more than I did. But either way, it was a learning experience. I don’t think this one is worth being downloaded though, hahaha. BESIDES, it was only made for INSTRUCTIONAL USE ONLY!! But here’s a few screenshots anyway, haha.

This program, Scratch, seems very limiting at times. It’s limiting in that things that I would otherwise find easy to do it has a hard time letting me do them. A classic example was Mariel in Class 2 repeatedly saying, “Why can’t I use just ‘unless’? That’s all I want!” It’s also kind of difficult thinking of the multiple sprites and scripts as one whole piece instead of separate scripts. Something I found myself asking repeatedly was, “Why can’t I just stop this entire sprite’s script aside from having to add it to separate scripts inside the script?” I struggled a little bit with that until I found another way around it (as it seems with every script we do, ‘take another route!’)

I seem to be having a really hard time telling my Countdown sprite to STOP counting down and restart itself whenever a certain a certain count is reached. Sounds easy, right? Well try telling that to my script. I have literally tried every combination of code I can think of, including changing the way it works and every time it seems to think it means continue past the certain limit I told it not to go past. I said, if Click < 3 (the number of clicks of the diglets), then do the countdown. If not (the number of clicks surpasses 2), then stop the script. Well it doesn’t seem to understand this and continues to go to zero, and then restarts itself. I don’t know what to do. Still trying to figure it out.

Earlier I was messing with the addition of levels in my script. I’m having to change a few things, like the countdown that before just counted down until zero, and the “GAME OVER” sprite that would originally just pop up after 11 seconds and end the game immediately. There’s some other little things I need to add too. I haven’t set up the “get all these diglets means you win” script either. I’m starting to think I’m taking the longer-than-necessary route to achieve this, but if I get to it work I can always get a friend to simplify it for me later on, probably during the critique tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

Until next time.