Lord of the Strings - a CLI RPG

Programmed by Udenna Nebeolisa & Nestor Venegas

Demo: Watch the Demo

Description

Lord of the Strings is a turn-based RPG using “rock paper scissors” mechanics. Your mission is to beat all enemies and clear all stages without your health reaching 0. The story unfolds in a land of object orientation where your character is tasked with venturing into a dangerous land to retrieve a relic. Beware of the hostile inhabitants you encounter on your journey.

Gameplay

The gameplay is straightforward:

• Navigate through different selections with the up and down arrow keys.
• Press Enter to select an option.
• During dialogue sequences, choose to read or skip and press Enter to proceed.

Features

Fully Functioning Main Menu

• Start the game.
• Access "How to Play" for gameplay instructions.
• View "Credits."
• Close the application.

Fully Functioning Combat Mechanics

• Players and enemies have health that can deplete.
• Displays player health.
• Ends combat when either the player or enemy has died.
• "Rock, paper, scissors" combat mechanics.
• Players can choose one of three attacks.
• Enemy attacks are randomly generated.
• Attacks are compared, and damage is dealt accordingly.

Structured Storyline

• Introduction to set the stage.
• The full game has 3 levels, each with its own titles & sets of dialogue to propel the story.
• Game over ending and story completion ending.

Key Challenges & Solutions

Creating Engaging CLI User Experience

Challenge: Making a text-based interface feel intuitive and engaging without graphics, while ensuring it works across different terminal environments. Solution: Implemented arrow key navigation with clear visual feedback using ASCII art and consistent formatting. Added color coding for different game states and created a responsive menu system that adapts to terminal width.

Object-Oriented Game Architecture

Challenge: Designing a clean, maintainable code structure for a game with multiple characters, combat mechanics, and story progression - all while learning OOP principles. Solution: Created separate classes for Player, Enemy, Game, and Combat systems. Used inheritance for different enemy types and implemented a state machine pattern for game flow management. This made adding new levels and enemies straightforward.

Balancing Rock-Paper-Scissors Combat

Challenge: Making the simple rock-paper-scissors mechanic feel strategic and engaging throughout multiple levels without becoming repetitive. Solution: Added enemy AI patterns that players could learn and exploit, implemented different damage multipliers for each enemy type, and created a health system that made each choice meaningful. Added visual feedback to make combat outcomes clear and satisfying.

Collaborative Development Workflow

Challenge: Two developers working on the same Ruby codebase, coordinating feature development and ensuring code consistency. Solution: Established clear module ownership (one focused on game logic, other on UI/UX), used descriptive commit messages, and implemented regular code reviews. Created shared coding standards for Ruby style and documentation.

How to Play

Clone this repository to your local machine, navigate to the project directory, and run the main Ruby file to start the game.

ruby main.rb