Choose Your Path

In this code-along activity, create a basic game that allows the player to choose from a number of possible paths. In the story, the player will make choices that will determine their fate. The game will track their health, which will change based on the choices. At the end, if the player survives, they will find a treasure. Otherwise, they will not be so lucky.

Setup

First, do some basic setup for the game.

1. Create a new C# Repl project
2. Name it "Choose Your Path"
3. In the main.cs file, in the Main body, set the text color:

    Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Red;
   

4. Under that, set the background color:

    Console.BackgroundColor = ConsoleColor.White;
   

5. Under that, clear the console to make it a little cleaner:

    Console.Clear();
   

6. Next, use Console.WriteLine to display a message saying "Welcome to the Path"
7. Under that, add an empty Console.WriteLine to make some extra space

Run the program, and verify that the message appears in the proper color.

using System;

class MainClass
{
    public static void Main (string[] args)
    {
        Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Red;
        Console.BackgroundColor = ConsoleColor.White;
        Console.Clear();

        Console.WriteLine("Welcome to the Path.");
        Console.WriteLine("");
    }
}

Using a Variable

The game should track the health of the player throughout the story. This will help determine the ultimate outcome.

1. In the main.cs file, find the bottom of the Main body
2. There, declare a new int variable named health
3. Set the health variable to 5
4. Under that, display a message printing the current health value

Run the program, and verify that the proper health value appears.

int health = 5;
Console.WriteLine("Your current health level is: " + health);

Asking a Question

Now it's time to display a choice for the player! This can be done using Console.WriteLine statements. For this question, say the player comes across a large pastry, and they have to decide whether or not to eat it.

1. Display a message asking the question
2. Display option "A": eat the pastry
   • Add some space in front of the option text to make it a little more readable
3. Display option "B": do not eat the pastry
4. Display an empty line just for some space

Run the program, and verify that the new messages appear in a readable format.

Console.WriteLine("You see a giant donut. What do you do?");
Console.WriteLine("  A. Eat it");
Console.WriteLine("  B. Ignore it");
Console.WriteLine("");

Getting an Answer

Next, the player should be able to answer the question. This can be done using Console.ReadLine.

1. First, use Console.Write (not WriteLine) to show the user where to type: "> "
2. Create a new string variable named choice
3. Set the choice variable to the result of a Console.ReadLine()
4. Under that, use Console.Clear() to clean things up

Run the program again, and verify that it is possible to enter a choice!

Console.Write("> ");
string choice = Console.ReadLine();
Console.Clear();

Handling the Player's Choice

Now comes the actual game part. The code should look at what the player chose, and do different things depending on the choice.

• If the player chose "A", their health should go down by 1, and a message should say the pastry tasted good.
• If the player chose "B", their health should go down by 2, and a message should say they are dealing with emotional pain.

This will be possible using conditional statements.

if Setup

Start with an if statement. This statement should check if the player chose "A" as their option.

1. Under the Console.Clear(), make a new line
2. Type in if
3. After that, type in parentheses ()
4. After the parentheses, type in curly brackets {}
5. Press enter within the curly brackets to space them out
6. Within the ( and ), add a boolean expression checking if the choice variable value is equal to "A"

if (choice == "A")
{

}

if Body

Now the if condition is set up, but it needs to do something if the condition is true!

1. Within the { and }, make a new line
2. Add code to set the health variable to equal itself minus 1
3. Under that, still within the { and }, add a Console.WriteLine
4. Make the WriteLine say that the pastry tasted good

Run the program, and verify that entering "A" as the choice will make the message display! Entering anything else won't do anything yet...

if (choice == "A")
{
    health = health - 1;
    Console.WriteLine("You eat the donut, and it is delicious.");
}

else if

Now the "A" choice has been handled, but what about "B"? Use an else if clause to handle the second option.

1. Under the } from the if, type in else if
2. After the else if, add parentheses ()
3. After the parentheses, add curly brackets {}
4. Make the if condition (between parentheses) check if choice is "B"
5. In the body (between curly brackets), set health to itself minus 2
6. Under that, still in the else if body, add a Console.WriteLine
7. Make the WriteLine say that the player is dealing with emotional pain

Run the program again, and verify that entering either option will display the proper result!

else if (choice == "B")
{
    health = health - 2;
    Console.WriteLine("You do not eat the donut, and the emotional pain takes its toll.");
}

Another Question

Adding another question to the game will be very similar to the first question. For the next question, ask the player how they want to get to school.

1. Under the end of the else if block (after the }), make a new line
2. Display a blank line, and then print out the current health variable valuable
3. Under that, display the question - ask the player how they get to school.
4. Under that, display the " A. Walk" option
5. Similarly, display the " B. Take the bus" option
6. Display a new empty line
7. Write the "> " for the player to answer using Console.Write
8. Create a new variable named choice2 of type string
9. Set the choice2 variable to Console.ReadLine()
10. Clear the console to clean things up

Run the program again, and verify that the second question appears and they player can answer.

Console.WriteLine("");
Console.WriteLine("Your current health level is: " + health);

Console.WriteLine("You need to get to school. How do you get there?");
Console.WriteLine("  A. Walk");
Console.WriteLine("  B. Take the bus");
Console.WriteLine("");
Console.Write("> ");
string choice2 = Console.ReadLine();

Console.Clear();

Handling the Player's Second Choice

So what should happen based on the answers? If the player walks to school, their health should go up because they get some exercise. If they take the bus, they will inevitably trip and everyone will laugh at them. Write code to handle these results.

1. Under the Console.Clear, create an if structure
   • if keyword
   • Parentheses
   • Curly brackets
2. For the if condition, check if choice2 is "A"
3. In the body of the if (between curly brackets):
   • Set health to health + 1
   • Display a message saying that the exercise helped the health
4. After the }, create an else if structure
   • else if
   • Parentheses
   • Curly brackets
5. For the else if condition, check if choice2 is "B"
6. In the body of the else if (between curly brackets):
   • Set health to health - 3
   • Display a message saying that the player tripped and people laughed

Run the program again, and verify that both questions can be answered!

if (choice2 == "A")
{
    health = health + 1;
    Console.WriteLine("You get some exercise by walking.");
}
else if (choice2 == "B")
{
    health = health - 3;
    Console.WriteLine("You trip as you get on the bus, and everyone laughs.");
}

The End

Now that the player has gone through a decent amount of their day, it's time to end the game. If the player's health value has dipped below 1, they will lose the game. Otherwise, they wil find a bunch of money.

1. Under the else if structure, make a new line
2. Use Console.WriteLine to display an empty line
3. Under that, create an entire if/else structure
   • if keyword
   • Parentheses
   • Curly brackets
   • else keyword
   • Curly brackets
4. For the if condition, check if the health value is less than 1
5. In the body of the if, print a message saying the player has lost the game
   • This will happen if the condition is true
6. In the body of the else, print a message saying the player has found some money
   • This will happen if the condition is false

Run the program, and verify that the proper results happen based on the choices made! The player should only lose if they choose not to eat the donut, and they choose to take the bus.

Console.WriteLine("");

if (health < 1)
{
    Console.WriteLine("You have died.");
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("When you get to school, you immediately find $500.");
}

Final Code

using System;

class MainClass
{
    public static void Main (string[] args)
    {
        Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Red;
        Console.BackgroundColor = ConsoleColor.White;
        Console.Clear();

        Console.WriteLine("Welcome to the Path.");
        Console.WriteLine("");

        int health = 5;
        Console.WriteLine("Your current health level is: " + health);

        Console.WriteLine("You see a giant donut. What do you do?");
        Console.WriteLine("  A. Eat it");
        Console.WriteLine("  B. Ignore it");
        Console.WriteLine("");

        Console.Write("> ");
        string choice = Console.ReadLine();
        Console.Clear();

        if (choice == "A")
        {
            health = health - 1;
            Console.WriteLine("You eat the donut, and it is delicious.");
        }
        else if (choice == "B")
        {
            health = health - 2;
            Console.WriteLine("You do not eat the donut, and the emotional pain takes its toll.");
        }

        Console.WriteLine("");
        Console.WriteLine("Your current health level is: " + health);

        Console.WriteLine("You need to get to school. How do you get there?");
        Console.WriteLine("  A. Walk");
        Console.WriteLine("  B. Take the bus");
        Console.WriteLine("");
        Console.Write("> ");
        string choice2 = Console.ReadLine();

        Console.Clear();

        if (choice2 == "A")
        {
            health = health + 1;
            Console.WriteLine("You get some exercise by walking.");
        }
        else if (choice2 == "B")
        {
            health = health - 3;
            Console.WriteLine("You trip as you get on the bus, and everyone laughs.");
        }

        Console.WriteLine("");

        if (health < 1)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("You have died.");
        }
        else
        {
            Console.WriteLine("When you get to school, you immediately find $500.");
        }
    }
}