Online Maze Game for Learning

Project Domain / Category

Web Programming

Abstract / Introduction

Using video games in the learning environment has been shown to significantly boost student interest and engagement. Unlike traditional teaching methods that may struggle to capture the attention of today’s tech-savvy learners, video games present material in a dynamic and interactive format that resonates with students. The element of challenges and rewards transforms the learning activity into exciting adventures that encourage active participation. This heightened engagement not only makes learning more enjoyable but also fosters a sense of agency and motivation among students, allowing them to explore concepts at their own pace. OMGL (Online Maze Game for Learning) is an interactive online maze game that has some boxes randomly filled in the game window. Each box will have a number which is used as a reward after completing the challenge hidden in the box. This reward is used to unlock doors and finally reach the target destination in the minimum time.

Functional Requirements:

Following are some abstract-level functional requirements of the game. The students who selected this project will provide detailed requirements in SRS documents.

•         This online game will run through any browser.

•         In the game interface, a maze will have random boxes/gates that will block the path to reach the target place.

•         Each box can be crossed with the help of keys that can be earned through programming challenges.

•         After completing a programming challenge, some keys will be awarded and added to the total earned keys.

•         If the player has enough keys to open a gate, the player will move in front of the gate and use a specific keyboard button to open it.

•         Upon opening a gate, the required number of keys will be deducted from the total earned keys.

•         When the game starts, a timer will start, which will be used to track how much time is taken by a player to complete the game. This timer will not stop when completing a programming challenge.

•         The time will increase or decrease according to the requirements of the programming challenges given below.

•         All programming challenges will be stored in a database according to defined categories and correct answers.

•         If a player has completed a challenge from any category, it will not be used again unless the player closes the game.

Following are categories of challenges

1.      Quiz Challenges: Give a multiple choice question with four options. The player will select an option and submit it. Completing this challenge will give 2 keys to the player.

Sample Question: “What does a loop do in programming?” (Options: a) Repeats code, b) Stops execution, c) Changes data).

2.      Coding Challenge: Give a challenging task to the player to complete it by giving input through a text box. Completing this challenge will give 3 keys to the player.

Sample Question: “What is the name of the header file that is required to use “cin” and “cout” statements? Get the answer through the text box.

3.      Interactive Scenario: Present the player with a scenario where the player has to make decisions based on programming principles. Get the player input through a text box. Completing this challenge will give 4 keys to the player.

Sample Question: “You need to check if a user input is valid. Do you use an “if” statement or a “loop”?

4.      Debugging Challenge: Provide the player with a snippet of code containing an intentional error or bug for the identification. A text box and a drop-down list will be used to take input from the player. The text box will be used to take the line number which has an error or bug. The drop-down will be used to take input of syntax, logical, runtime error. Completing this challenge will give 5 keys to the player.

Sample Question: “Find the error in this function that’s supposed to calculate the average of two numbers”.

5.      Sharp Shooter: Load random challenge from the above 4 categories which the player needs to complete quickly within the given time. A question will be loaded, a timer of 20 seconds will start, and when the timer reaches zero and the player has not submitted the answer, the question will disappear (close). Completing this challenge will give 10 keys to the player.

Sample Question: “What will be the output of the given code snippet?”

Note: Submitting an incorrect answer will add five seconds to global time and finishing every challenging task successfully will decrease the time by five seconds. Only C++ programming language should be used for challenging tasks.