Wordle (but C++ )

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  Faliure

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  Winner

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  Faliure 2

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  Instructions

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  Database

Inspiration

As it is our first hackathon, we wanted to make a fun, upbeat coding challenge. We settled on implementing a version of Wordle, because it is a game we play daily and it requires strategy, logic, and intelligence. It followed a similar structure to some of the game developer projects that we have done in the past but we wanted to push ourselves so we incorporated some knowledge of data structures.

What it does

Our code allows the user to experience the Wordle game. We have color-coded lettering and a simple, yet efficient layout with instructions for intuitive understanding. The program will randomly select a word each session to keep every playthrough feeling fresh.

How we built it

As relatively new programmers, we quickly realized that some of our initial ideas were beyond the scope of our skills. Because of this, we decided to bring our project back to some of our fundamentals. Using the game developer basics that we were taught in our intro to programming class, we derived a simple game loop. From there, it was simply a matter of applying our basic programming tools to solve a greater problem.

Challenges we ran into

Managing the version control using Git ended up being one of the most challenging aspects of our project. Because both of use were working on the project, we had to make sure to push, pull, and clone correctly. This sometimes created merge conflicts that were challenging to sort out. The endurance portion of the hackathon was a challenge that neither of us were expecting and served as undeniable obstacles that forced us to push past our preconceived limits. Over the course of the weekend, trading the work increased efficiency and helped us both to feel as fresh as possible. The constant unpredictable behavior help us to practice our debugging skills. We would say that this aspect was the hardest fundamental challenge of the weekend.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The most empowering thing for both of us was our willingness to be challenged. To come into a hackathon without a concrete idea, plan, or proof of concept and to leave with a fully functioning program is something to be proud of, especially as new programmers. It reminds us of our capabilities to overcome adversity and our general learning prowess. As for specifics, the implementation of BST's as well as our clean UI were noteworthy.

What we learned

We learned how to implement Binary Search Trees as an efficient structure for storing our data and also used propositional logic when developing the conditional statements.

What's next for Wordle (but C++ )

First and foremost, sleep - but we also want to take this game a step further and have the option to create themed databases. We believe that this could make our game more festive and engaging depending on the time of the year. We think that this could be a good way of practicing AI algorithms and general automation. With larger and separate datasets, this could allow for more game modes. One such example of this is implementing a version of Wordle where four games are played all at once. This would surely be a step up in terms of complexity, but we are well equipped to rise to the occasion. This project prompted both of us to reflect on the deceptive simplicity of coding while also reminding of the possibilities of the medium as a whole.

Built With

• c++