HONCi-Tonk!

Inspiration

I wanted to make an educational game, so I thought of the simplest thing that I could teach in a game. The first thing that came to mind was the HONC 1234 rule in chemistry. I went with that idea and ended up with this prototype!

What it does

Visually lays out how atoms would form covalent bonds with one another. It challenges the user to create compounds based on the available elements.

How I built it

Using LMMS, I composed a four second beat with ten layers and then exported each layer individually to provide the game with adaptive music. Using the Godot engine I worked out the logic for drawing the bonds and detecting when the player has exhausted all pairs. Using Illustrator, I designed all the elements, giving each a distinct look so that the player can readily identify each element.

Challenges I ran into

Drawing the lines in game meant that I had to constantly check and update the positions of the lines' endpoints. The logic still isn't perfect, as there are visual bugs when drawing lines/forming bonds. However, while I did not have time to perfectly tackle this, I put in a workaround if the player comes across a level breaking bug with the restart button and next level button.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

The lines are drawn and they (mostly) follow the elements when dragged around. This process took much longer than expected, but in software development, it's the seemingly easy tasks that take the longest. Most of all, I'm proud of the look of the game overall, as well as the initial design. Usually I'm not the one that comes up with the ideas, but this time I did!