Whack a Mole Version 2 (Arcade Release) readme file.


Included
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readme.txt  -- this file
WAMA.83p  -- TI-83 Version of this game
tips.txt -- some tips to win the game



The Game
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If you've been to Chucky Cheese's or any other place that has games, you'll probably know what Whack A Mole is.  If you don't, Whack A Mole is a game where you're given a oversized hammer, and you have to hit little gophers that pop up from a 3x3 board in a certain amount of time.
I tried to make this game as close to the original as possible, which is why it's called the arcade release.  I'm going to get into how the game works now, so you can get alittle bit of a edge in it.  The game creates a 3x3 matrix to store where the gophers are.  Then, it picks a random number (-4 to 5) for each space in the grid if it is 0 or less.  Then, the game checks each grid space to see if it's above 0, and if it is, it displays a gopher.  Then, it subtracts one from each grid, so that some gophers will go down the next time the graphics are checked. After it does that, it will check for a getKey, and go through a long series of checks to see if you hit a gopher.  If you do, it will display an X where the gophers # used to be, this means you have hit it. If you did hit a gopher, it will go through all of the random number and graphics stuff again.  If you didn't, it will subtract 1 time unit (you start with 30).  So in theory, you can get unlimited scores, since it checks for getKey first.  



Instructions
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At the first screen, you'll see a little custom menu.  You can use up and down to move between the options, then hit 2nd to select it (you can also just hit 1,2, or 3 to select it).  If you select 'New game' you'll be taken to a screen that says to hit anykey to start (this is to let you get ready).  After you do that, gophers will start to pop-up and you have to use the keypad (#s 1-9) to hit them.  If you do, they will go down.  I suggest just not trying to hit them ne at a time, but going for all of them at once.  You may notice that it's kind of unresponsive, but actually, I wanted it like that since the original game never seemed to let those gophers go down.


Version History
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1.0  --  Original game, had a few bugs (couldn't exit). Gophers weren't random, but on templates.  Max high score of 250

1.01 -- Fixed the bug where if you tried to exit from the pause menu, it started a new game. Also enhanced the game engine alittle.

2.0 -- Current Version. Random gopher pop-ups, unlimited high scores, brand new engine for gameplay. Bug-free as far as I know.


Future Versions
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I have plans to continue both of the versions (1 & 2) since they are both unique.  
In Version 1 series I plan to have alot more templates, unlimited score ability, and some more stuff.
In Version 2 series (arcade) I plan to add some extra stuff I didn't have time for in this release such as a difficulty setting, a in game pause, and quick exit & continue for not getting caught playing.

Bugs
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I don't know of any, but if you do find some, please tell me ASAP.  My Study Hall teacher saw me playing, and just started scrolling through pressing DEL and CLEAR everynow and then, so I may have missed something that he did.  

Thanks To
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Nathan Eggert for yelling at me (not to mention landing a few right hooks) whenever he saw something he didn't like.
Nick Kotechi for giving me the original idea for a Whack A Mole game.

Disclaimer
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I'm not responsible if any data is damaged (savegames mostly).  I'm also not responsibly if your everything on your calculator gets deleted for playing this in class.  This could go on and on, but lets leave it at if anything bad happens, it's not me thats' at fault. You can use/modify this game as long as you don't pass it off as your own.  If I ever see a game that's moderatly like this posted on any of the major TI sites, I'm going to rip it apart looking to see if it uses anything from my game.

