CSCI2525 Assembly Language and Computer Organization - Final Project: Connect Three in Assembly
Final Project
Objective: Develop a the game of Connect Three in Assembly. This game will be menu- driven, the gameboard will be made of ASCII characters, and it will have options for player vs. player, player vs. computer, and computer vs. computer.
Connect Three:
Our version of the game will be played on a 4x4 gameboard. Players will take turns “dropping” a piece into a column. Each dropped piece should fall to the bottom-most vacant spot of the gameboard. When a player has three of their pieces in a row(either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) they win that match. If the entire 4x4 board is filled without either player obtaining 3 in a row, it is considered a draw. There is ample information available online for how the game of Connect Four is played. The basic rules are the same, we are just implementing a simplified version using a smaller gameboard.
Menu:
Your program should begin with a main menu that is returned to after each match. This menu will have options for selecting player vs. player, player vs. computer, computer vs. computer, view rules, and exit. Once a selection is made and the game begins, the screen should be cleared before displaying the gameboard. Do not print the gameboard underneath the main menu. Additionally, each time a move is made the screen should be cleared and the updated gameboard redisplayed. The entire program should behave like a live-updated game, not multiple menus and gameboards sequentially printed to the console.
Sample menu-
Player vs. Player:
The first player to go should be randomly selected. The program must then prompt that player to make a selection of which column to drop their piece into. The correct cell in the matrix should then change to the color for that player(use blue for the first player, yellow for the second). Players will take turns dropping pieces, prompted by the program, until a 3- piece connection is made or the gameboard is filled. At the end of each match the game should display who won(or if it was a draw), then wait for a keypress from the user before returning back to the main menu.
Player vs. Computer:
This mode should play exactly like player vs. player, however player 2 will be replaced by a computer player. The computer does not need any sophisticated A.I., it can simply make random selections for what column to drop each piece in. The starting player will again be randomly selected, and the player and computer will alternate turns until a winner is found or the game ends in a draw.
Computer vs. Computer:
This mode will have no user input to play the game, but will instead display a game played out by two computer players. There are bonus points available if you implement a small delay between moves of the computers, so the game can appear to be ‘played’ rather than just printing a single final board to the console.
Sample game output of the gameboard-
Specifications:
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Your program must meet all the requirements outlined above.
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The displayed gameboard should be clear and easily understood(see the example
above).
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Your program must compile and run on its own. I will not be debugging programs
that do not compile to attempt to get them to run.
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You must use PROTO, INVOKE, and PROC. All parameters should be passed in the
INVOKE statement. The stack should not be used except for local variables.
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Do not use any . (dot) directives. This includes .if, .else, .while, .repeat, etc.
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No global variables. Everything should be passed with INVOKE.
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Procedures should cover one simple task. Avoid complicated procedures spanning
hundreds of lines of code.
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Input validation is required at all stages of the program. This includes not only
invalid input, but also if a player attempts to drop a piece in a column that is already
full.
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Do not use USES.
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In all modes, the first player to go must be randomly selected(this includes
computer players).
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Documentation is very important for this assignment. All procedures should have a
thorough docstring detailing their inputs, outputs, and basic functionality. All code should be thoroughly commented to explain what it is achieving.
Extra Credit Opportunities:
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Track statistics for player 1, including wins, losses, draws, and total games played. Include a menu option to display these statistics.
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Addasmalldelay(1second)tocomputerselections,sotheyappearto‘think’ through their move rather than immediately update the board.
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Animate pieces ‘falling’ down the game board to their final location.
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Allow users to select what color their game pieces are(they cannot be the same).
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Ask if you have any other ideas that you feel might be worth extra credit.
