Results

The hardest part of writing our program was dividing the code between different frames. If too much was output to the screen in the same frame, the TV would flicker or become distorted. We found that we were able to do most things in our program without hesitation. For example, we are able to redraw the board every time using 32 frames, or in about half a second. The delay between pressing a button on the controller and moving the cursor is almost minimal. The only apparent delay is when we clear the entire board at reset, which takes about one and a half seconds.

We had many problems implementing the algorithms and had to do extensive debugging. Finally, we were able to get rid of all the kinks, and the actual game play works perfectly. We also implemented the two different levels at the last minute so that our game could be played by beginner and intermediate users.

Our design does not interfere with others because there is no noise in our program and we did not use components such as RF. Our design is pretty safe since there are no moving parts. One concern might be video flicker irritating the eyes, but we didn’t observe any flicker in our game play. Additionally, use of the controller was pretty stress-free and safe.

Our game can be played by almost anyone who knows the basic rules. We tell the player which button to use to select, but do not actually explain the rules at the start. We found that our game was very playable, in that the AI for the computer was pretty competitive, even for someone who has played the game several times before.