Unit 12 Software Development

Characteristics and uses of

Simon Scott
 2A.P1) Explain the purpose of two simple
programs and their characteristics, including
tools and techniques used.
Purpose – Maze game
• Explain one purpose of the maze game program
The purpose of the maze game program is to entertain and educate
people, for those who wants to make a quick and easy game, the game
is entertaining as it would be quite entertaining to mess around and
break your own game, it would also teach how to make a better game
Screenshots – Maze game program
• Provide a screenshot of program functionality
Characteristics – Maze game program
• Provide an explanation of the following characteristics:
- Programming language used

The programming language used is Visual Basic, the most basic form of coding for those only starting to learn what to expect in the IT industry, unfortunately visual basic is not an ideal application to use
when it comes to developing games as there are better programming applications such as Java, C++, Lua, etc.

- Module and sub-routines

A module is the very section where all the code is typed, while a sub-routine is a tool of organisation. It is the very organisational tool that keeps the module divided and organised.

- Variables and Data Types

A variable is a code that stores data, while a data type is a programming element that refers to what data it can hold and how it stores the data.

- Mathematical Operators (What are they? What operators were used and why?)

Mathematical operators are operators for calculating data and code in visual basic, one such operator is the Arithmetic operator, it is the very operator that does multiplication, division,

- Commenting (Why was the code commented?)

The code was commented on so that the programmer could keep note on what the code is supposed to do just in case an error occurs and the programmer forgets the intended purpose of the code they
have typed in.
Code and commenting – Maze game program
Purpose - Languages program
• Explain one purpose of the Languages program
The purpose of the languages program is to educate students, as it is a
visual basic program, it is reasonably easy for IT students to follow and
create with the guidance of the lecturer. This is also useful as a program
like this is needed in a real life scenario as everyone does not speak
English.
Screenshots - Languages program
Characteristics - Languages program
• Provide an explanation of the following characteristics:
- Programming language used = The programming language used, is Visual Basic, since visual basic is one if not the most simple program to use, it is easy to quickly create a program out of
scratch.

- Module and sub-routines (What are they?)

A module is the entire screen where the codes are typed into, this is the most essential part of Visual Studio, as without it, visual studio would be virtually useless. A sub-routine is the border that divides the
module, it is a tool of organisation and is essential in keeping the written codes tidy and less confusing for the programmer to read and write.

- Variables and Data Types (What variables were used? What data types were they? Why were they used?)

A variable is a code that stores data, while a data type is a programming element that refers to what data it can hold and how it stores the data

- Mathematical Operators (What are they? What operators were used and why?)

The Arithmetic operators (math) are all symbols to use to express a value to one another, the symbols are; + (addition), - (subtraction), * (multiplication), / (division), and ^ (exponentiation). None of these
operators were used because the languages program does not require any maths to function.

- Commenting (Why was the code commented?)

The code has been commented to highlight or keep a note of their use, since game developers and coders in general have to do a lot of coding, they cannot remember each function from the top of their head.
Code and commenting – Languages program
2A.M1) Comment on the quality of one of the given
simple programs, suggesting any improvements
and provide a flow chart to show the processing
One improvement I would suggest is to stop the player from breaking
the entire game when the player closes the win screen, instead when
the player clicks close, it would end the program to prevent the player
from venturing out of the play area.
Quality Review - Maze program
The maze program is an okay program, but there are things that make
it poorly and inefficient, such as the player movement, the character
still hitting the wall when it can fit on the gap, and the character able to
phase through walls after the win screen was closed. Since the maze
program was made with visual basic, it is not the most visually amazing
game, in my opinion it looks a bit like a game made with game maker,
but game maker is noticeable more different as graphics are noticeable
better.
Improvements - Maze program
1. Character should be able to get through narrow alternate path near
the beginning instead of clipping the wall
2. Program should end when the character closes the ‘YOU WIN’
popup (to prevent users from venturing off the play area)
3. The play area/map should be larger
4. The codes could be made more readable
Flow Chart - Maze program
2A.D1) Discuss the strengths and weaknesses
of the software program
Strengths - Maze program
• One strength of the program is the functionality, the character and the gameplay
is able to function without the basic programming software of Game Maker,
despite Visual Basic being a more difficult software to use, the maze program was
still able to perform as well as a game maker game.
• Another strength of the maze program is, the efficiency, the character could be
sped up by holding down either, W,A,S,D. But the character will stop as soon as
the player tries to change direction to avoid collision with the wall. But despite
this, this is a very useful feature that can be done in Visual Basic.
• The last advantage is readability, the programming language for Visual Basic is
high level, meaning it is code based off the English language, which makes it very
readable, but the biggest feature in the maze program that makes it very
readable is the programmer’s comment, it is a visual basic feature that allows
programmers to leave comments to note down on what each line of code does.
Weaknesses - Maze program
• A disadvantage to the maze program’s usability is, when you open visual basic,
you are greeted with an empty screen confusing the user if the program exists or
not, as usually Visual Basic programs have the design form open.
• Another disadvantage is the functionality, the game is very broken, controls are
great and all but, when the design form or the main form is opened, the program
immediately breaks as when the user tries to test it after viewing the code, the
user is greeted by the program opening the files as if the user has clicked ‘Save
As’
• The last disadvantage is efficiency, the user may not be aware of the fact that
they could make the character speed up, hence they will keep hitting the control
keys (W,A,S,D), even if they find out, the shortcut near the beginning will bring
downtime to the user as it’s impossible to go through there so the user will have
to go all the way around making the gameplay longer.