JavaCraft 2.0

Logo
Mining
Start Screen
Spawn Location

Inspiration

JavaCraft was inspired by my favorite game of all time, Minecraft. I have always loved ASCII text characters and the art that people create with them, and wanted to make my own video games with them. I started by making rock-paper-scissors games in Python with ASCII art before moving on. This is my newest ASCII game, JavaCraft V2!

What it does

JavaCraft V2 is a new immersive ASCII text game developed in Java. It is a basic 2D sandbox game with Minecraft and Terraria elements. Players can move all across the map, build, mine and place blocks, and craft new items with items they collect. I am currently implementing more features for JavaCraft V3 such as spawning temples, villages, fishing, and more!

How we built it

The game was entirely developed in Java on Eclipse. I used an ASCII art builder for some of the mapping environments, but mostly simple characters did the job. I spent hours making sure that each landscape block lined up with its parallel blocks, as that was crucial in making sure that the game was playable and looked right. Overall, there weren't too many external apps or programs that helped with development, but due to the sheer size of the game. (1,800 lines)

Challenges we ran into

There were many challenges that I ran into while building the game. I first thought that I would be able to make functions to call ASCII text variables and place them to make the map but after hours of trying that, I thought of another way. I used variables to make each block which seemed to work out! I also was unsure of how to make a person out of more than one character, and didn't know how I would be able to get each character to line up when translated by the player. It was also hard to make models for each of the blocks, and I had many rough drafts of each block. These were a few of the many challenges that I ran into.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I am incredibly proud of how JavaCraft has grown from a tiny sandbox game that didn't run properly to a full blown ASCII sandbox game with movement, crafting, building, and more. This is my biggest video game to date, and one of the biggest programs that I have ever created, and I am quite excited to share it with the world.

What we learned

I learned so much about a multitude of topics ranging from world design to node manipulation. I have learned how variable blocks can be placed together to create entire worlds, and am able to use this towards my advantage and can now use this anywhere. I have discovered how ASCII text fills up worlds to make lively animations when manipulated, and I have learned how to make a bunch of moving parts come together into one.

What's next for JavaCraft 2.0

JavaCraft 2.0 is quite interesting, but also can be pretty simple. While being a big step up from my first installment, I still feel like JavaCraft 2.0 is pretty minimalistic and could have a lot more features. I plan to add randomly generated biomes and temples, and villages and villagers, and also add new monsters to the game. These are some of the add ons I want to add to JavaCraft 3.0!