So when I said I’d have an extra day to work on it, I lied. I didn’t end up having that much free time today so most of what I did was just packaging it so it was a functional game. You can download the playable version right here:
(or check out the code here: https://github.com/taurheim/ASCIIscroller)
Here’s what the final game looks like (in all its glory):
I’ve made these 9 levels but it’s very easy to make your own with instructions in the included text file.
Reflection on C++
I’ve now played around with C++ enough to have an idea of what the language is about, and I’ve decided a few things about it:
1. C++ is not for the faint of heart. It’s very frustrating to do things that are relatively easy in other programming languages, and is a lot less forgiving in many areas.
2. The windows console is not the best engine to make a game from (duh)
3. The fact that C++ is so particular means that it’s difficult to do something quickly and simply (e.g. throw it all together and it works), but if time is taken to plan things out in a way that works, then the code will be very well optimized and run smoothly.
4. C++ having so much control is the main reason that it is favoured for game development nowadays, and I’m only starting to scratch the surface of what C++ can do. I’m excited to work on my next project with C++, mostly because I won’t have to deal with the windows console buffer anymore!