Inspiration
Base conversion can be a tricky concept for anyone the first time around. Base 10 is just so ingrained in our thinking that trying to use anything different can be difficult. We thought we could build a hack that would help students get past this hurdle by letting them practice simple base conversions.
What it does
Two numbers in different bases are added, subtracted, or multiplied. Nine different numbers of varying bases are provided as possible answers with four of which being correct. The player has to select all four of these correct answers in order to increase their score and get to a new board.
How we built it
We built the web app using ReactJS. The benefits of ReactJS is that it enables developers to build scalable systems to present on their webpages. Writing in a more mainstream programming language (such as C++ or Java), scalability is something that can be taken for granted. But because of how pure Javascript is set up, it can be quite difficult to have an object oriented system of logic solely through function calls. Using the structure we built, the game can be easily iterated upon and have added functionality because of the ReactJS framework.
Challenges we ran into
None of us had used developed a web app like this before. So, learning what tools to use and then how to use those tools was a pretty steep learning curve. It became really frustrating to be putting in hours of work and seeing very little progress. Things that should have been simple were frustratingly complicated to do. Pushing through this to get to something that actually worked was the hardest part for us.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Each of us were able to contribute our own piece of the final product. We were able to bring all of our individual accomplishments together to make a functioning game. Seeing everything come together in the end was something that we all took pride in.
What we learned
We learned pretty quickly that just because something seemed like it _ should _ be simple to implement, did not mean it would actually be simple to implement. Underestimating how difficult a task can be very easy and its important to be flexible when something turns out to be a lot harder than expected.
What's next for Base Converter Puzzle
The next steps for Base Converter puzzle would be to allow users to track their progress over time. To do this, we would need to allow users to create accounts and then store their game information somewhere it could be retrieved later. This would mean connecting our app to some form of database and using a REST API to communicate with that database. Also, in order to make the game more challenging, we could have varying times for each level that progressively get shorter and shorter, meaning a user cannot just think forever and not be penalized.
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