IDEA:
One of my favorite games I played back in my childhood was the snake game. I used to play it on the old Nokia phones which was a very basic version of it. I thought recreating the snake game would be a nice aim for the midterm. However, since I did not want to replicate it, but make my own version of it so, I got creative with it and added my own final touches on it to -in a way- make it my own.
^The form I tried replicating^
PROCESS:
I started with creating the main menu
and wrote an array list that will store the x and y values of the snake then, making the snake’s body that is generated through a for loop. Changed the frame count too, to make the snake faster after each 5 points.
In order to grow the snake’s body, I wrote a bunch of code that makes up the fruit of the snake and randomly generates it across the window. I also added a sound effect to play when the snake takes a bit from the food.
After that, a user would like to view their score instead of counting the squares that make up the snake’s body, so I added a text function that displays the score which is the size of the snake.
In order for this game to end, the snake must die. So, I created an if statement that checks of the snake’s position is on the window’s parameter. Then a for loop to check if the snake bit itself. Then an option to play again if the user wanted to.
WHY IT IS BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL + FEATURES:
1)Different visuals and sounds
2)You can read your score
3)You can play over and over again
4)Night mode – in a way
5) snake speeds up every 5 points making it more challenging
DEMO:
CODE:
// main menu variables
String gameState;
// to make the snake's body
ArrayList<Integer> x = new ArrayList<Integer>(), y = new ArrayList<Integer>();
//image variable
PImage fruit;
//global variables
int w=30, h=30, blockSize=20, dir=2, foodX=15, foodY=15, speedNum = 8, fc = 255, life = 30, score;
//font variable
PFont f;
//coordinates for x and y
int[] Xdir={0, 0, 1, -1};
int[] Ydir={1, -1, 0, 0};
//game condition
boolean gameOver=false;
import processing.sound.*;
SoundFile foodSound;
SoundFile mainMenuSound;
void setup(){
size(600, 600);
gameState = "START";
// font initializer
f = createFont("Georgia", 35);
//snake's starting position
x.add(0); y.add(15);
foodSound = new SoundFile(this, "0.aif");
fruit = loadImage("apple.png");
}
void draw() {
background(0);
if (gameState == "START") {
startGame();
} else if (gameState == "PLAY") {
playGame();
} else if (gameState == "LOSE") {
loseGame();
}
}
void startGame(){
textAlign(CENTER);
textSize(18);
textFont(f);
fill(255);
text("Click Anywhere to Start the Game!", width/2, height/2 -30);
textSize(14);
text("Use the Arrows to move\n Eat the fruits for a higher score \n Do NOT eat yourself or escape the walls of the game\n You have 1 life", width/2, height/2);
//look for the click
if (mousePressed == true) {
gameState = "PLAY";
}
}
void playGame(){
//snake's body color
fill(3, 252, 169);
//snake's body
for (int i = 0; i < x.size(); i++){
rect(x.get(i)*blockSize, y.get(i)*blockSize, blockSize, blockSize);
}
if (!gameOver) {
// food
imageMode(CENTER);
image(fruit, foodX*blockSize+10, foodY*blockSize+10, fruit.width*0.03, fruit.height*0.03);
// score on player screen
textAlign(LEFT);
textFont(f);
textSize(25);
fill(255);
text("score : " + x.size(), 30, 30, width - 20, 50);
//add more blocks to the snake
if (frameCount%speedNum==0) {
x.add(0, x.get(0) + Xdir[dir]);
y.add(0, y.get(0) + Ydir[dir]);
// snake die if it touches the window
if (x.get(0) < 0 || y.get(0) < 0 || x.get(0) >= w || y.get(0) >= h) {
gameOver = true;
}
// snake die if it touches itself
for (int i=1; i<x.size(); i++)
if (x.get(0)==x.get(i)&&y.get(0)==y.get(i)) gameOver = true;
// eating food
if (x.get(0)==foodX && y.get(0)==foodY) {
if (x.size() %5==0 && speedNum>=2) speedNum-=1; // speed increases every 5 points
foodSound.play();
// generates new food position
foodX = (int)random(0, w);
foodY = (int)random(0, h);
} else {
// so that the snake size doesnt become infinite
x.remove(x.size()-1);
y.remove(y.size()-1);
}
}
}
else {
loseGame();
}
}
void loseGame(){
// game is over screen
fill(255);
textSize(30);
textFont(f);
textAlign(CENTER);
text("GAME OVER \n Your Score is: "+ x.size() +"\n Press ENTER", width/2, height/3+30);
keyPressed();
}
void keyPressed() {
int newDir=keyCode == DOWN? 0:(keyCode == UP?1:(keyCode == RIGHT?2:(keyCode == LEFT?3:-1)));
if (newDir != -1) dir = newDir;
if (keyCode == ENTER && gameOver) {
x.clear();
y.clear();
x.add(0);
y.add(15);
dir = 2;
speedNum = 8;
gameOver = false;
}
}
The link to download the zip folder with the code:
https://github.com/ShaikhaAlshehhi/Midterm-SnakeGameFinal
CONCLUSION:
I really had fun experimenting and testing this project. It did add to my coding career and inspired me. As a next step for this project, I would like to implement a life system where the snake would get injured instead of dying and could heal from it.