Concept:
For my midterm project, I decided to create a football obstacle game where the player dribbles through moving defenders to score against a moving goalkeeper. The game gets progressively harder after each goal: defenders increase in number and speed, and the goalkeeper moves faster. The player clicks to shoot when near the goal.
The aim is to design a game that is fun and interactive, combining timing, precision, and quick thinking. I will also include engaging visuals and sounds to give feedback for player actions, like kicking the ball, scoring, or colliding with defenders. This makes the game feel immersive and responsive.
Design:
The game starts with an on-screen instruction explaining the controls: the arrow keys to move, and the mouse click to shoot. Only when the player presses a key or clicks the button does the game begin. The player, defenders, goalkeeper, and the ball in the game will be represented using circles for simplicity and visual consistency. The player will be a larger colored circle that moves freely across the field in response to user input, with the ball represented as a smaller circle attached to the player while dribbling. Defenders will be smaller circles in distinct colors, moving along random paths to create challenges, while the goalkeeper will be a medium-sized circle that moves horizontally along the goal line to block shots. When the player shoots, the ball will separate from the player and travel independently toward the goal.
Classes to be used:
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Player Class: Controls movement and shooting. Properties include position, size, and speed. Methods: Methods or functions include display(), move(), and shoot()
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Defender Class: Moves across the field, increasing in number and speed as the game progresses. Properties include position, size, speed, and direction. Methods or functions include display() and move()
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Goalkeeper Class: Moves left and right along the goal line. Properties include position, width, height, and speed. Methods or functions include display() and move()
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Ball Class: Moves toward the goal when shot. Properties include position, size, speed, and moving. Methods or functions include display(), move()
Gameplay Flow:
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Start Screen: Displays instructions like “Use arrow keys to dribble, click to shoot, avoid defenders.”
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Gameplay:
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Player moves freely around the field with the ball
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Defenders move continuously in patterns.
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Player avoids collisions with defenders.
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When near the goal, clicking the mouse shoots the ball.
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Scoring & Difficulty:
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Passing the goalkeeper scores +1.
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After each goal, more defenders appear, defender speed increases, and goalkeeper speed increases slightly.
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Player position resets for the next attempt.
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Restart / New Session:
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Players can restart without refreshing the page.
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Score and high score are displayed.
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Frightening/Challenging Aspect:
The most challenging aspect of this project will likely be keeping the ball consistently attached to the player while allowing free movement around the field. Although the player and ball are conceptually separate objects, the ball must move in perfect sync with the player in all directions – up, down, left, right, and diagonally, which can be difficult to achieve smoothly. This challenge becomes even greater when combining it with collision detection against multiple defenders and a moving goalkeeper. The ball must remain attached until the player decides to shoot, at which point it detaches and moves independently toward the goal.
But this is also the most important part of the project, and implementing it correctly will help create an engaging and fun experience.
Risk Reduction:
To reduce the risk of issues with keeping the ball attached to the player, I plan to implement a step-by-step testing approach. First, I will start by coding the player and ball as separate objects and linking the ball’s position directly to the player’s coordinates with an offset, ensuring that it moves smoothly in all directions. I will test this initially without any defenders or a goalkeeper to confirm that the ball follows perfectly. Next, I will gradually add collision detection with a single defender, then multiple defenders, and finally the goalkeeper, checking at each stage that the ball remains properly aligned. Additionally, I will use simple shapes, such as circles, for all objects to simplify calculations.