Plant Matching Game

Test Your Memory of Garden Plants that Anyone Should Have!

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Inspiration

My inspiration for this project was to create a game that is both fun and educational. Since the theme of the Hackathon was Garden Hacks , I decided to create a matching game that would help people memorize the names and appearances of plants. That way, when the player sees a plant that captures their eyes, they'll be able to memorize the plants name and appearance for possible future gardening.

What it does

My Hack is a simulation of a Matching Game. The following is the process of the game:

  1. Flip over a card.
  2. Flip over another card.
  3. If the cards match, then keep them flipped; otherwise, flip the cards back over.
  4. Repeat all steps until all cards are flipped.

In my game, each card contains an image and the name of a flower. Also, I incorporated a timer to promote repetitive playing so that the memorization process would be more effective since many people have a competitive nature.

How I built it

I used IntelliJ IDEA and I solely used the language Java. To get started, I watched many videos and read many websites to understand all of the processes of Java's GUI. It was a pretty fun and thrilling process. I ended up reflecting on many of the code I saw and incorporated some into my program. However, I only used it as a basis; eventually, I strived to make the application more complicated by incorporating pictures and a timer. These changes made me change most if not all of the code I had which was exhausting but, at the end, very rewarding.

Challenges I ran into

I originally wanted to work with a partner. I asked my friends and even some distant friends that I haven't talked to in years. I also asked for a partner through team-building in discord but I guess my experience was rather unimpressive. This was because since I am only a Junior in High School, I have limited knowledge with Java's GUI and with the overall process of making an application. This caused me to lean towards using Code.org; however, I wanted to challenge myself instead of taking the easy way out. Not fully grasping everything about Java's GUI was a real hassle for me. I did tons of research and continuously examined different concepts. Not only was understanding Java's GUI hard, but also formulating an idea that was optimal, complicated but also within my grasp, and effective was strenuous. To be honest, I was only going to attend the workshops because I didn't believe that I would finish my project in time. Also, since I am by myself, I did not believe that I would be able to create a decent program. However, I am glad to say that everything worked out: I worked by myself and was still able to create (in my opinion) a wonderful application.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I am happy that I finished my application and that it works perfectly! I am also proud that I was able to do everything that I had in mind so now I don't have any regrets.

What I learned

I learned a lot about Java's GUI, especially Java Swings. I also attended the Git and GitHub workshop which taught me how to push and pull code evidently allowing us, coders, to share code and improve it.

What's next for Plant Matching Game

I would like to improve the overall design and features of the game. However, right now it is too complicated for me.

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