Lecture Notes for the Black Art (Networked Game Design)

Lecture Notes Six: Building a Video Game

How are we going to do this? We need a plan.

Let's divide the game into two parts:

the aliens
the turret (with missile)

I propose that we build two functional units:

a UFOManager, and
a GunManager

The UFOManager will control the aliens. The GunManager will control the defense.

A third unit controls them both: this is not real stuff, it's a simulation, it's our game. Let's call this third functional unit GameManager. It acts as a referee more or less.

GameManager has three roles:

initializes GunManager
initializes UFOManager
receives user input

Any user input detected by GameManager (perhaps a mouse move, or a mouse click) is passed to GunManager, which interprets it, and takes action (if need be).

What do we see?

Sprites.

Indeed, we need to have at least three kinds:

we need to show a turret
we need to show a missile
we need to show a UFO

So I suggest three classes:

GunSprite
MissileSprite
UFOManager

Can I draw a picture?

Go for it!

Here it is:

Control classes in blue, sprite classes in red.

Six classes. Let me show them to you.

Be my guest.

OK, I start with GunSprite.

And with another picture.

Now the code:

Actually I need to rework this!

Can you do it a little bit later, not now?

OK, here's what we have:

                                 Sprite 
                                    |
                                    |
             Moveable      BitmapSprite
                *               |
                +------+--------+
                       |
                       |
  Intersect      BitmapLoop
      *            |
      +-----+------+
            |
           UFO

http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/Sprite.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/Moveable.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/BitmapSprite.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/Intersect.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/BitmapLoop.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/UFO.html

 


                         UFOManager 

http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/UFOManager.html


                 Applet             Runnable 
                   +                     *
                   |                     |
                   |                     |
                   |                     |
                   +----GameManager-----*


http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.2/docs/api/java/applet/Applet.html
http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.2/docs/api/java/lang/Runnable.html

                                        


          Moveable                Sprite
              *                      |
Intersect     |       BitmapSprite---+
   |          |        |
   *-------GunSprite---+                         


http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/BitmapSprite.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/GunSprite.html


                        GunManager 

http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/GunManager.html


Sprite
  |
  +----Sprite2D
         |
         +---RectSprite
               |
               +---MissileSprite

http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/Sprite2D.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/RectSprite.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/MissileSprite.html

Well, at least we get an idea.

Yes, we get an idea.

Images: gun.gif, ufo0.gif, ufo1.gif, ufo2.gif, ufo3.gif, ufo4.gif, ufo5.gif.

http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/image/gun.gif.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/image/ufo0.gif.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/image/ufo1.gif.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/image/ufo2.gif.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/image/ufo3.gif.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/image/ufo4.gif.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a348/t540/lectures/six/image/ufo5.gif.html

Last updated: Jan 21, 2002 by Adrian German for T540 NGD