Programming a game similar to Bioshock hacking

[Karrlem]

Hello all, so I'm trying to figure out how to go about programming a puzzle game similar to Bioshock's hacking minigame.
Here's a video of what it looks like:

also a screenshot:

 

[Lukan]

So... You want to recreate Pipe Dream?

 

[Karrlem]

So... You want to recreate Pipe Dream?

No, I want create a game with a similar playstyle but you guide a different object around.

 

[Neptune]

Its kind of hard to answer a question like this without creating the entire game in pseudo code.

But if you want to avoid using a ds_grid, you could run a for loop that creates an instance for each cell -- assigning each cell of the grid different values depending; doing so would atleast give you a good way to access individual "blocks" or cells when clicking on them... Etc.

 

[DividingByZero]

No, I want create a game with a similar playstyle but you guide a different object around.

You know that the Bioshock mini-game is pretty much a copy of Pipe Dream...? It is slightly different, I guess, but only slightly.

Anyways, are you still changing the location of the blocks like Bioshock? And then a "different object" is going to move through the "pipes"?

 

[Never Mind]

Its kind of hard to answer a question like this without creating the entire game in pseudo code.

Agreed.

You'll have to keep track of:

• the state of each piece (revealed? or not?)
• the type / sprite of each piece
• current selection (either by an identifier or x/y position on grid)
• type / sprite of the piece you have stored

You'll need to be able to:

• determine pieces that are "connected"
• store the parent of "connected" pieces
• move your selection (either check for existing object in the direction your trying to move, or simply add / subtract from your selected grid coordinates while keeping them clamped within the grid)

Check things like:

• Does the newly revealed / swapped piece connect to the start point? If so.. set "connected" (check their type or sprite to determine whether their sides line up).
• Does the newly revealed / swapped piece connect to another piece that is already "connected".
• Does the newly revealed / swapped piece also connect to the end goal? If so.. YOU WON!

Extra note:
Perhaps when a piece sets it's parent to another piece, it also has the parent store itself as a child.
That way when you win you can follow the list of children and change their sprites to be full of liquid (or whatever) one at a time. Thus, animating it flowing through.