Pac-Man Game

Project Overview

A modern spin on the classic Pac-Man arcade game, built in Java for the CPSC 219 course at the University of Calgary. The game features an interactive GUI, ghost AI, dynamic difficulty, and a leaderboard system.

The primary objective is to collect pellets and fruits while evading ghosts. Each new level intensifies the challenge by increasing the number of ghosts and their movement speed.

My Role & Key Contributions

• Implemented Ghost AI: Developed logic to handle distinct ghost behaviors, including different speeds and vulnerability states after Pac-Man eats a fruit.
• Integrated JavaFX UI: Built the main game window, menus, and scoreboard layout, ensuring a user-friendly and responsive interface.
• Leaderboards & Persistence: Created the database/file handling for storing player scores and nicknames, enabling the leaderboard feature.
• Collaborative Version Control: Used CSgit (University of Calgary's version control) to manage code merges and resolve conflicts, ensuring smooth teamwork with all group members.

Challenges & Learning Outcomes

• Challenge: Ensuring seamless collision detection between Pac-Man and ghosts in a constantly updating GUI.
  Solution: Implemented a well-defined game loop using JavaFX’s animation timeline, updating positions and detecting collisions each frame.
• Challenge: Balancing difficulty curves so that each new level feels progressively harder but remains enjoyable.
  Solution: Dynamically increased ghost speed and number of ghosts. Also conducted user tests to refine difficulty algorithms.
• Takeaway: Strengthened my understanding of JavaFX, concurrency in Java, and collaborative development using version control systems.

Key Features

• Immersive GUI developed using JavaFX.
• Dynamic difficulty levels ramp up with each round.
• Leaderboards to track player scores.
• Distinct ghost behaviors with varying speeds and strategies.

Technologies Used

Java

JavaFX

GitHub

Gameplay & Instructions

Sprites & Game Assets

Below are some of the assets used in the game, including Pac-Man, ghosts, and fruits.