Workshop In Computer Construction - From Nand to Tetris
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Twist for project 9 - Games should be fun!

This twist is all about what not to do.

We are a bit bored of playing the same games over and over (even if it's in a slightly different form).
For this reason your twist is to not submit any of the following games (or modified versions):
  • Snake
  • Pong / Tennis (like pong but with two bats - one on each side of the screen)
  • Space Invaders (you have a shooter at the bottom of the screen and things are coming at you from the top)
  • Tetris (despite the name of the course)


Here are some aspects that we will take under consideration when grading:
  • Graphics: We have programmed a significant speedup to the VMTranslator last year known as the "Built-in OS" - take advantage of the fact that you can now create elaborate graphics that can run in real time!
  • Creativity: if you don't know what to do, try to think of simple games you used to play on old computers, or that you're playing now on simple devices (basic cell phones). Searching the Internet for old games can also give you some ideas.
  • Correctness: We will play your games! (it's the best part of our job...) and we don't like bugs.
  • Style: We will also read (parts of) your code. The fact that Jack is so simple should make it easier on you to write nice and understandable code.

Here is an example for a very nice game that got extra credit last year (Thanks to Roi Rubins and Danny Rozenberg).
Notice that it has very nice graphics, you can see that creativity and thought were put into it, and most important of all: it's fun to play!