Lego Code

I'm not sure why, but recently, I keep thinking of this project. So far, there is no code at all, but great ideas keep popping into my head. Here's the latest one:

Aside from RRSSE and GELLATIN, should there be anything else that helps our programmers create games? RRSSE provides the sprite loading, drawing, and overall handling. GELLATIN deals with the timed Step impulses, collision detecting, and Scene handling. What else is left? As I said before in the "Brainstorming" post, we should support common things seen in games, such as meters, counters, etc. But, not every game needs these things! Tetris doesn't need a life bar! The coolest way I can think of to do this is to create snap-on modules. If you need a life bar, include one in your project. Need a timer count-up or count-down? Include that file! The best part, though, will not be the modules themselves, but how they're implemented.

A module can provide a basic look and style, maybe some properties that can allow for changes in size, positioning, and color. But, some games must provide a sort of style and pizazz for everything on the screen, a style that can't be matched by generic widgets. To solve this problem, there will be a base class for each module, that the generic version inherits. This way, if a programmer wants to make a new, fancy Life Bar for a fighting game, it will have the same format as the generic one. These "contracts" for widgets will allow for extreme flexibility for games and modifications. Now, imagine another snap-on widget in a game that waits until a life bar is down to 20%, then displays a text bubble that says "Oh, no!" If that works with the generic life bar, that can work with ANY life bar.

The main goal is to make a bunch of "widgets" work independently of one another, but using RRSSEE. Then, widgets can be built on top of others, or extend them somehow.