Project two interactive experience: Math pop

I have completed my first interaction-based project using p5. The aim of my project is to create a fun and interactive video game. Came up with an idea of making a math game that helps you practice your arithmetic skills called: “Math pop”.

My idea for the game was to create floating “bubbles” on the screen that move and bounce around. In those bubbles would be math questions when answered correctly will cause the bubble to pop. I was able to implement my vision however I encountered a few challenges along the way.

The first problem was in how to process user-input. Initially, I used the standard web buttons to handle that. However, any answer passed in would not be checked if it was right or wrong. With some troubleshooting with professor Moon, we were able to identify that the input wouldn’t get passed into my calculate() function because it would be passed into the button class and stay there.

My second solution was to create a button from scratch, and luckily we covered how to do that in class prior. However, during user testing and my own testing, the button is very inconsistent and often required to be clicked multiple times for it to work.

In the end, I decided to remove any and all input processing and just made the program check constantly if the answer is correct. I believe that suits my project best because of the fast-paced nature of it where questions quickly start to accumulate on screen.

The end result was very close to what I intended. I also made it so the background and bubbles changes based on the position of the mouse pointer. I created a start screen, a game screen, and an end screen. I made a score system displayed in the middle of the game screen. The bubbles move and bounce at the edges of the window and with varying speed.

 

In essence, this was a fun project to create and to gain further experience in game design. Game designers always insist on creating small-scale projects to practice making games, almost like going to the gym. Otherwise, creating large scale games from the beginning would burn a person out. So, I am pleased that I was able to create a project that is directly related to my interests.