Arkanoid Game Project

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Screenshots
• Features
• Getting Started
• Level Specification
• Level-Sets File Format
• Development Notes
• Dependencies

Introduction:

The Arkanoid Game is a multi-level, Java-based game developed as part of the semester project in the 2nd semester of the 1st year at BIU. Designed without the use of Java's GUI Built-In objects, this game uses a custom GUI implementation which is included in this repository. Unique to its design, the game runs on a single thread, offering a unique take on classic game programming. Users have the flexibility to choose from different levels or even create their own.

Screenshots:

Welcome to the Jungle Level

Game Over Screen

High Scores Screen

Level Sets Menu

Menu

Square Moon Level

Wide Easy Level

Robot Kill Level

Features:

• Multiple levels with varying difficulty.
• An opening menu screen for game interactions: start a new game, view high scores, or quit.
• Customizable level sets for personalized gameplay.
• Level specifications separate from the core code.
• Block and level definitions that are human-readable and easy to understand.

Getting Started:

1. Ensure you have Java SE 10 or higher installed on your machine.
2. Download and unzip the code repository.
3. Optionally, create your own Level-Set (See "Level Specification" below) or proceed with the default set.
4. In the command line, type make jar.
5. Run the game by either double-clicking the ass7game.jar file or typing java -jar ass7game.jar in the command line.
6. Enjoy the game!

Level Specification:

• Level and block definitions are based on human-readable text files.
• Each block has properties like width, hit-points, appearance, and more.
• Levels define properties like paddle size, level name, and block layout.
• Different level-sets can be chosen at the start, which are simply different level specification files. Modify the level_sets.txt file in the resources folder to customize these sets.

Level-Sets File Format:

a:level 1 name
path-to-level-1-file
b:level 2 name
path-to-level-2-file
...

• Odd-numbered lines are level names with the format k:description.
• Even-numbered lines provide the filenames for level specifications. Ensure these filenames are relative to the classpath.

Development Notes:

• This project went through 5 stages, reflecting the semester-long journey of refining and enhancing the code. Parts of it were revisited to further improve OOP practices and Java language proficiency.
• This game is built without relying on Java's built-in GUI objects but instead, utilizes a GUI implementation found in this repository. This offers a different experience for both the developer and the player.
• While most games of this nature might use multi-threading, our Arkanoid game stands out by running on a single thread.

Dependencies:

• If compiling and running the source code, ensure to also include the provided biuoop-1.4.jar which is crucial for the game's GUI functionality.