CASE STUDY

Developer (python) | Turtle Crossing 🐢🛣️🚗

Contributer(s): Tyler Gustafson

Overview

Turtle Crossing, inspired by the beloved Frogger arcade game, was developed using Python. In this engaging project, the player guides a turtle across busy roads to reach safety on the other side. This game served as an excellent exercise in event-driven programming and refining collision detection algorithms. Each level increases in complexity, see if you can safely navigate the turtle through its perilous journey!

Requirements

User:

Intuitive controls

Progressive difficulty

Optional

- Instant replay

- Tutorial

- Personalization options

Functional:

Game start welcome

Car generation (2 Direction)

Turtle movement

Collision detection

Scoring System

High score tracker

Technical:

Python

Smooth performance

Run on multiple platforms (Windows, MacOS, Linux)

Not built for mobile

Approach

The structure of this Turtle Crossing Game app is well-organized and modular, using a clear separation of "roles" across five Python files, each containing specific classes that contribute to different aspects of the game.

Here's a description of how these components work together:

Main.py

This file serves as the entry point for the game. It is responsible for initializing the game environment, including the game window and any necessary settings. It also contains the game loop where updates to the player, cars, and scoreboard are managed and the interactions between different game components are coordinated.

Background.py

This module handles the graphical representation of the game's environment. It sets up the static elements of the scenes, such as the roads and safe zones that the turtle must navigate. The background.py file ensures that these elements are drawn correctly and updated as necessary to reflect changes in the game state or level transitions.

Scoreboard.py

The scoreboard module is tasked with tracking and displaying the player's current score, high scores, and other relevant information like the current level. It updates the score based on game events (such as successfully crossing to the other side) and handles any graphical display of text information within the game window.

Player.py

This file defines the turtle (player) class, including its properties and behaviors. It handles player input for moving the turtle up, down, left, or right. It also ensures that the player's movements are constrained within the game boundaries and implements any special behavior associated with the turtle's actions.

Car_manager.py

This module manages the cars that pose hazards to the player. It controls the creation, movement, and speed of various cars that travel across the screen. The car manager adjusts the difficulty by increasing the speed and frequency of cars as the game progresses, and it also checks for collisions between the turtle and the cars.

This modular design not only simplifies the development and maintenance of the game by encapsulating specific functionalities within dedicated classes but also enhances the scalability of the game, allowing for easier updates and potential expansions in the future. Each class operates independently yet interacts cohesively, driven by the central game loop managed in main.py.