Dan Flanagan & Luke Bradford
alphaBurst challenges users to expand their word knowledge in order to make words by connecting letters contained inside nine squares. The app adds to the challenge by only allowing users to connect squares that are directly touching each other.
alphaBurst will display nine squares, and each square will contain a randomly generated letter. The game will sense the letters the user touches as her or she slides a finger over the squares. It will check to see if the squares touched by the user form a word. If so, it will increase the user's score and generate new letters to replace the ones used in the word.
alphaBurst will use the portrait orientation sensor so that users can play the game with their device in the upright or upside down portrait position. The game will also use sensors to detect which squares users touch as they swipe a finger across the screen.
Since alphaBurst is a game and neither requires nor shares user information, it does impact user privacy. alphaBurst will improve the word knowledge of elementary school age students by providing them with a fun way to practice spelling and learn new words.
The alphaBurst app displays its title at the top of the screen. Under the title and to the left, is the play button. When users first launch the app, they press the play button to start the game timer which is located to the play button's right. The timer will count down a certain amount of time. During this time, the user will try to form as many words as possible. The pause button is located to the right of the timer. When the user hits this button, the timer stops. User's can press the pay button to restart the timer and continue the game. The nine squares containing the letters used to make words are displayed in a 3x3 square grid in the app's center. Finally, the app displays the user's score at the bottom of the screen.