Avoid

A simple terminal-based 2D mini-game that spreads the message of social distancing. It's a Covid stricken world and we only get one life - gotta make it count!

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Inspiration

Ever since I read about social distancing I've wanted to make such a game. It's a 2D mashup of temple run and snake. A really simple and meaningful game that subtly teaches the user a little something about social distancing.

What it does

It's a game that takes you back to the beginning of the 2020 pandemic when everyone was either agnostic or unaware of the potential harms of Covid 19 and how easily it could spread. By playing this game the user can understand the benefits of social distancing while enjoying the retro pc gaming experience on their terminal.

How I built it

The game was built using Python. I've used a couple of packages such as cursor, random and time. For the creation of the multiple pedestrian sprites, I had to utilize OOP.

Challenges I ran into

It took me a while to gain momentum with programming in Python, but once it clicked, the ideas flowed. Had some issues adding animation effects such as movement of sprites and text however in time with trial and error I was able to overcome most of the obstacles I faced.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Simply making a game on the terminal without the use of any external UI or ML agents. It was really a challenge not just on a technical level but also on a design level. I've been wanting to polish my artistic skills for a while now thus completing the development of Avoid fulfiled all my expectations from this hackathon participation.

What I learned

I got to learn about Cursor, a package in Python, I probably would've never used. From making simple sprites on a terminal screen to animating them using basic Python syntax was a lot of fun! Really enjoyed working on this project!

What's next for Avoid

There's a lot I can do with the efficiency of the code. With clean up, I can also add on some colour using Rich package (maybe). Then also add on some interesting algorithm which makes it harder after each point the user collects. I also wanted to use socket programming and make this a multiplayer game. Maybe another time!

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