For Module 2, I would like to rework a video game I made in Processing in high school. In the game the user controls a penguin which tries to eat the fish (that are coming down vertically on the screen), while not being eaten by the sharks (that are coming across the screen horizontally). If the penguin is “eaten” by a shark, it then turns into a particle system and the game is over. As time goes on, the sharks begin to appear more frequently. Originally this game was played using the computer mouse to control the penguin. However, I would like to change that so now the input from the joystick controls the penguin. I also am going to modify the game so that the user can control the frequency of the sharks with the potentiometer. In my original game, the user presses a key to see their score once the game is over. I am going to change the code so that the score shows automatically when the game is done. I plan to use the button to start and restart the game. Currently, you have to rerun the code in Processing every time you want to start or after the game is over and you want to play again.
Here are some screenshots of the original game.
To do list:
My enclosure plan is to laser cut a penguin out of wood which will serve as a vehicle for my elements. I will cut holes for the button and potentiometer, which will be the penguins “eyes”. I will make a enclosure like the ones displayed in class to house the joystick. I will then hot glue the bottom of this enclosure to the center of the penguin's belly. Here is a sketch to visualize my idea.
I have updated the Processing code so the penguin is now controlled by the joystick. I decided to get rid of the particle system when the penguin dies as I felt that it was too busy.
https://columbia.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=1d3e5f57-8ee6-4d70-80a6-b2190157f1da