My project idea is a collection of self-made grid-based minigames written in HTML, CSS and JavaScript. This would not only be a feasible achievement to complete by the end of this course, but it would also be a great chance to form a deeper knowledge of the three languages mentioned above. These games could include simple logic games like tic-tac-toe or connect four, or could extend into bigger logic games such as minesweeper or battleships. These games will have various playstyles, like single player and multiplayer, or turn-based and time-based, for example.
I’ve always been drawn to logic puzzles, so this seemed like an obvious choice. Not only will the result be a collection of puzzles, but the project itself will constantly present situations that need decrypting. During the intermittent lockdowns around Australia, people are constantly finding ways to connect. One of the best shared entertainment tactics used when I was younger was “family game night”. With this, you could hypothetically have everyone you love, no matter where, playing these games and comparing achievements, like the time it took you to clear all safe tiles on a minesweeper board.
The overall concept is clear by this point; a website with games! Here’s where I’ll dive a little deeper into the logic behind all of these games.
For this, we’ll need a 3x3 board with 9 tiles. Each tile will need to register clicks, and store vital information to the game. It will need a way to access and see what each adjacent tile stores (x or o for example), and then also commit either a win condition or a lose condition when the program sees 3 of the same symbol in a row either vertically, horizontally or diagonally.
For Minesweeper, we’ll need at a minimum and 8x8 board, but this could also be customised by the user with a text input for width and height, or just width and have the height value match the inputted width. Each tile will need to store whether it is or isn’t a bomb, which will be randomised each time you play the game. Each tile will also need to store how many bombs are adjacent, and then display said number on the clicked tile (provided it isn’t a bomb which would result in a lose condition).
For Battleships, it gets a bit more complicated. We would want to start with a 10x10 board. In the circumstances that all games are only single player, we would also need to design a way for the enemy board to generate where the boats are placed, as well as some logic as to how the enemy will choose where to attack on the players board. Other than this, it’s fairly straightforward, the user will get feedback on whether the tile they picked on the enemy board is or isn’t a boat, and either get to go again if it is, or forfeit their turn if it isn’t.
Snakes and Ladders, although seeming daunting at first, may be one of the simpler games to make. This board won’t need to be randomised, we will just create one board that we use for every game (although randomising would be interesting if we had the time). We will also need a virtual dice, made simply with a random number generator from 1-6. Each tile will need to store whether it is the activation point for a snake or a ladder, or if it is just an empty safe tile.
This may be the hardest of my suggestions. We will need a 9x9 board, with individual tiles storing a random number from 1-9. Each row will need to store the numbers 1-9, as well as each column. Each 3x3 section inside of the board will ALSO need to store the numbers 1-9. This could be worked around by creating just one version of a sudoku board, with the numbers being removed being the only randomised aspect. This has its positives and negatives though, the main negative being that once the sudoku is completed, you have all the correct answers and could record them for next time. The positives would be negating the need to create a completely randomised sudoku board each time, which would simplify the overall project.
As far as hardware goes, all you need is a functioning computer to create this website. When considering software, I plan on using a combination of PhpStorm and GitHub to create the website and keep track of version control. If this project reaches a point where users are able to play from two different PC’s online, we would also need a web server, but it would also complicate the entire project, so that concept is more of a hypothetical.
This project is certainly feasible. While we may come across issues on the way, with the combination of trial-and-error and deep research, I’m certain we could find the solutions. Because all games will share similar aspects such as the grid/board-style games with singularly accessible cells or tiles (think each square on a tic-tac-toe board), the biggest issues will be figuring out the way these boards and tiles work, not so much how to make them work for each game. The use of a website will also be handy, as we won’t have to learn about how to make a downloadable application work, just the logic behind each game.
The outcome of this project will be a functional, readable website that contains a collection of board-style games. The user will be prompted to pick a game, and amount of players if the game calls for it, then the game will appear and be readily playable. Depending on the game, there may be customisable settings such as board size, the use of hints or mistakes, or timers. These will all be accessed through simple textboxes or checkboxes.