README.md

Zoo Dots

Visit Zoo Dots!

Background

In Zoo Dots, players click and drag to match two or more animals of the same species, earning points equal to the number selected. If a player makes a 2x2 square, every animal of that species is removed from the board. How many points can you get in 60 seconds?

Technologies, Libraries, APIs

Zoo Dots was made using vanilla JavaScript, HTML5/CSS3, and Object-Oriented design principles. Animal images courtesy of EmojiOne.

Features

Mouse Event Handlers

// src/game_board.js
  mouseDownHandler(e) {
    this.grid.handleMouseDown(e);
    this.grid.toggleLineDrawing('on');
    if (this.validRange(e)) this.handleMouseMove = true;
  }
  
  mouseUpHandler(e) {
    this.grid.handleMouseUp(e);
    this.grid.toggleLineDrawing('off');
    this.handleMouseMove = false;
  }

  mouseMoveHandler(e) {
    if (this.handleMouseMove) {
      this.grid.connectDots(e);
    }
  }

Selection and De-Selection of 'Dots'

On click, the GameBoard class passes MouseDown and MouseMove handlers to the Grid. If the MouseDown handler starts on a valid animal face (referred to as 'dots'), the Grid class's connectDots function uses MouseMove events to dynamically determine whether a connecting line should be drawn between dots.

// src/grid.js
  connectDots(e) {
    this.drawLine(e);

    let flattened = this.dots.flat();
    let neighborDot = flattened.find((dot) => {
      return ((e.offsetX - dot.x <= 25) && (e.offsetY - dot.y <= 25))
    });

    if ((neighborDot.species === this.startDot.species) &&
       (!this.chainedDots.includes(neighborDot)) &&
       (this.validMove(neighborDot))
       ){
      neighborDot.activate();
      this.chainedDots.push(neighborDot);
      this.drawConnection();
    }

    if ((neighborDot === this.chainedDots[this.chainedDots.length-2])){
      this.deselectDot(this.chainedDots[this.chainedDots.length - 1]);
      this.deselectDot(neighborDot);
      if (this.chainedDots.length === 1) {
        this.deselectDot(this.chainedDots[0]);
      }
    }
  }

Valid Moves

To check for valid moves, I compare the last selected dot with currently moused-over dot (neighbor). If the neighbor's position is included in the validMoves array, then the move is legitimate.

// src/grid.js
  validMove(neighbor){
    let lastSelected = this.chainedDots[this.chainedDots.length-1];
    let [row,col] = lastSelected.pos;
    const validMoves = [
      [row, col-1].join(','),
      [row, col+1].join(','),
      [row+1, col].join(','),
      [row-1, col].join(',')
    ];
    // array checking in JS is tricky, so convert to string
    if (validMoves.includes(neighbor.pos.join(','))){ 
      return true ;
    }
    return false;
  }

Future Directions

• Add limited moves mode
• Add infinite mode
• Implement various powerups/obstacles
• Add puzzle mode
• Add unlockable themes