Hamlet: C++ Text-Based Adventure

Hamlet Decision Tree
Hamlet Start Screen
Hamlet Full Code

Inspiration

We wanted to stay true to the theme of Thehacktrical, and make something that was theatre related at its heart, so we chose to make an interactive text adventure based on Hamlet with a twist in C++.

What It Does

Our interactive text adventure of Hamlet puts you in control of Hamlet as he goes through the main plot points of the play, however, we also included an alternate path. In the alternate path, rather than pretending to be mad, we see what would happen if Hamlet decided to reveal that Claudius killed his father. The C++ script for each decision allows you to type a response and see what happens to Hamlet.

How We Built It

The interactive text adventure is made entirely in C++ using Microsoft Visual Studio 2022. The entire script uses one while loop and if-else statements.

Challenges We Ran Into

One of the challenges we ran into was whether we could incorporate images into the game. We wanted to try this with C++ first. With more time, we would port into python and run on Ren’Py, a python package. The images we would have liked to have included was the play within the play, or playception.

Accomplishments We’re Proud Of

The script successfully runs in C++ and we came up with an ending where Hamlet could be happy. The truth will set you free, and we feel satisfied with our alternate ending and decision tree. This also was a good refresher for C++.