Add assignment 2

assignment2/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+# Assignment 2
+
+*due on 19 February 2021*
+
+For the second assignment you can either pick one of the two provided specifications or come up with your own.
+Yes, you are free to come up with a topic for the second assignment.
+However, doing so requires you to put together a specification similar to the ones provided and get my approval.
+The specification doesn't have to be bulletproof.
+But it must contain a bullet list of goals (with points to score) at the bottom which can be checked / evaluated.
+You can also adjust one of the provided specifications.
+
+You are allowed to work in teams, yet the team size has to correspond to the amount of work (features) of the topic.
+For the provided specifications the recommended team size is 3.
+
+You are allowed to use:
+- C++ standard library (C++17 standard)
+- C standard library (as fallback)
+- [Boost](https://www.boost.org/)
+- [SDL](https://www.libsdl.org/)
+- [GLFW](https://www.glfw.org/)
+- [GLM](https://glm.g-truc.net/)
+- [Vulkan](https://www.khronos.org/vulkan/) / [Vulkan-Hpp](https://github.com/KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Hpp)
+- [Qt](https://www.qt.io/)
+- [ImGui](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui)
+- [OpenAL](https://openal.org/)
+- [RapidJSON](https://rapidjson.org/)
+- [Tiled](https://www.mapeditor.org/)
+
+Feel free to ask me about other libraries / tools.
+
+Your application should work on Linux and Windows unless there is a specific reason why it cannot be cross-platform.
+For Linux, assume a recent version of Ubuntu Desktop and that the required dependencies are installed via the system's package manager.
+Use the corresponding CMake `find_package` mechanism to find them, it is recommended to leverage [`pkgconf`](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/module/FindPkgConfig.html).
+For Windows you can simply ship pre-built libraries that are picked up by CMake automatically.
+
+You must use [CMake](https://cmake.org/) as build system.
+
+Use [ClangFormat](https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ClangFormat.html) to automatically format your code using the provided [`.clang-format`](../.clang-format) configuration.
+

assignment2/metroidvania_specification.md

@@ -0,0 +1,436 @@
+# Metroidvania Specification
+
+As the title already suggests, the ultimate goal is to create a small, *[Metroidvania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metroidvania)-like* side-scroller.
+If you are not familiar with games falling into the Metroidvania genre – or side-scrollers in general – I recommend having a look at these titles:
+
+- [Castlevania: Symphony of the Night](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania:_Symphony_of_the_Night)
+- [Castlevania: Circle of the Moon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania:_Circle_of_the_Moon)
+- [Super Metroid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Metroid)
+- [Ori and the Blind Forest](https://www.gog.com/game/ori_and_the_blind_forest_definitive_edition)
+- [Dust: An Elysian Tail](https://www.gog.com/game/dust_an_elysian_tail)
+- [Salt and Sanctuary](https://store.steampowered.com/app/283640/Salt_and_Sanctuary/)
+- [Owlboy](https://www.gog.com/game/owlboy)
+- [Guacamelee](https://www.gog.com/game/guacamelee_gold_edition)
+- [Hollow Knight](https://www.gog.com/game/hollow_knight)
+- [Iconoclasts](https://www.gog.com/game/iconoclasts)
+- [Dead Cells](https://www.gog.com/game/dead_cells)
+- [**Timespinner**](https://store.steampowered.com/app/368620/Timespinner/)
+
+After playing some gam-… ehh… doing some research, you should be familiar with the core game concepts and mechanics of the genre.
+
+Before moving on, I want you to make up your minds about the setting your game takes place in.
+While a medieval fantasy world with demons and vampires sounds straight forward, don't overlook other possibilities like cyberpunk, steampunk, post apocalypse and so on.
+Determine upfront whether you are going for a more serious or a more humorous tone – whether things should be realistic or over the top with crazy anime effects everywhere.
+
+Now that a certain setting has been established, continue the read and imagine what the equivalences to my examples would be in your game.
+These equivalences can often be derived directly from the chosen setting.
+However, you might want to throw in a twist here and there to surprise the player and keep her engaged.
+
+Most of the examples presented in the following sections are taken from *Castlevania: Circle of the Moon*.
+This way I can stick to a common setting throughout.
+
+### Assets
+
+That's nice and stuff, but what about all the assets (eg sprites, music, sound effects) that are required for such a game?
+
+Well, you don't have to look far.
+As this is still about learning C++, I don't expect you to spend your precious time on creating all of them by hand.
+There are megatons of assets for free- / non-commercial- / educational-use available online.
+I am pretty sure you'll find something among them which suits your setting.
+Maybe some slight modifications are needed here and there, but nothing that should distract you from learning C++.
+
+For various types of assets – sound effects especially – there are also generators available which can be tweaked for unique results.
+Pick your poison!
+
+## Building the World
+
+Metroidvania style games are typically semi-open world.
+While the player can explore the game world freely, certain areas are gated off at the start.
+
+Let's take a look at this map.
+
+![Castlevania: Circle of the Moon Map](images/ccotm_map.jpg)
+
+*source: http://castlevania.wikia.com/*
+
+It displays the whole layout of the castle – each wing (aka section or area) coloured differently.
+Each of the polygons represents a room, which in turn is connected to other rooms, and is associated with one of the wings – here indicated by its colour.
+The small, red rooms are save points; while the small, white rooms are teleporters.
+
+Each wing is unique in the architecture of the rooms, the enemies encountered, the background music, the items obtained, and so on and so forth.
+
+The player needs to face off the vicious boss of a wing in order to progress.
+After defeating such a boss, a new item or ability is acquired which grants her passage to other, previously inaccessible, wings of the castle.
+
+Here is an example:
+
+![Castlevania: Circle of the Moon Kickboots Banner](images/ccotm_kickboots_banner.png)
+
+*source: http://castlevania.wikia.com/*
+
+The final boss of the *Machine Tower* is the *Iron Golem* (left).
+From it, the player obtains the *Kick Boots* (centre) which enables jumping off walls to gain more height (right).
+With them, the *Chapel Tower* can now be accessed.
+
+### Implementation
+
+A room essentially consists of a 2D array of tiles.
+Together, the tiles build the floor, ceiling, and walls of the room.
+Platforms are added to enable vertical traversal.
+For additional depth, an image is rendered behind the layer of tiles, which is sometimes panned as the camera moves – similar to a skybox in 3D games.
+
+Game entities (eg items, enemies, doors) can be placed via XY coordinates.
+The doors are particularly important as they are responsible for interconnecting rooms.
+
+The layout of each room in your game should be fully determined by a single file – preferably human-readable.
+It *could* look like this:
+
+```
+MAP Room01
+BACKGROUND assets/images/background/library.png
+MUSIC assets/music/ancient_tomb.ogg
+TILES
+  . = none
+  w = Wall01
+  c = Ceiling01
+  f = Floor01
+  p = Platform01
+LAYOUT
+  wcccccccccccccccccw
+  w.................w
+  w.................w
+  w..........ppp....w
+  w.................w
+  w.................w
+  fffffffffffffffffff
+ENTITIES
+  ( 2, 5) Player()
+  ( 8, 5) Enemy_BookTossingRedneck()
+  (12, 2) SmallHealthPotion()
+  (18, 5) Door01_right(Room01_exit, Room02_entry)
+```
+
+Tiles and game entities are defined elsewhere, yet some of them require arguments for their instantiation.
+In this example, the door gets a designation (`Room01_exit`) and is connected to some other door (`Room02_entry`).
+
+## Hearing the World
+
+Commonly, the music playing is either determined by the room or wing.
+The selected tune is repeated until a room / wing with different background music is entered.
+
+A more advanced technique is to use different variations of the same background music and blend them together depending on the situation.
+
+For instance:
+the player enters a room, no enemy in sight;
+a *softer* version of the tune is playing.
+As the player progresses through the room, enemies awake and engage the player;
+the tune becomes more dramatic.
+One of the enemies lands a devastating blow, depleting the player's health bar almost entirely;
+a *high tension* version fades in – additionally the player's low health causes an annoying alarm to be played.
+
+### Implementation
+
+SDL_mixer is probably all you need for this.
+It provides separate sound channels, each with its own volume setting.
+
+One simple way to blend variations of the same track is by playing all of them on separate channels and adjusting the volume accordingly.
+
+Obviously, sound effects are played on different channels than background music so they do not interfere.
+
+## Entities of the Game
+
+Having rooms and wings would be a bit pointless without anything that interacts with it, wouldn't it?
+
+All of the objects in your game are referred to as entities.
+Entities interact with the game world as well as with each other.
+Their complexity varies greatly, from a simple key that can be picked up to unlock doors, to AI controlled enemies.
+
+Most of them are visible (rendered) and have collision so they can be interacted with.
+Others may be almost unnoticeable by the player – like a point in 2D space which just emits a screeching noise.
+
+Typically, entities have a position, rotation, scale, and a type; the latter may come with additional state and ways of interaction.
+A more complex alternative for typing entities is by using an entity component system (see below).
+
+### Rendering
+
+Displaying (static) entities is straight forward.
+
+![Castlevania: Circle of the Moon Items](images/ccotm_items.png)
+
+*source: https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Castlevania:_Circle_of_the_Moon*
+
+[Sprites](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(computer_graphics)) are essentially bitmap images with transparent background.
+The position, rotation, and scale for rendering the sprite is determined by the position, rotation, and scale of the entity respectively.
+Offsets may be added, but apart from that, that's it.
+
+### Animation
+
+More dynamic entities, like the player character (PC) or enemies, often feature animations.
+These start with simple idle and walking animations, but can also turn into breathtaking combat and dodging choreographies.
+
+![Castlevania: Circle of the Moon Nathen Sprite Map](images/ccotm_nathen_sprite_map.png)
+
+*modified: removed middle part for brevity*
+
+The key idea is to use multiple sprites instead of just one.
+Each animation frame is a new sprite.
+When an animation is played, the related sprites are displayed one after another to simulate motion.
+
+Multiple sprites are combined and put into the same image, which is then called a *sprite map*.
+The rendering API allows us to select which part of the image to use for rendering.
+A simple rectangle selection is used to pick the sprite for the current frame.
+
+#### Implementation
+
+Composing a sprite map is trivial, yet we are still missing some information.
+Namely, where exactly the sprites are located in the sprite map, which animation they belong to, and how long each sprite should be displayed before it is swapped out.
+
+This can be solved via a simple text file.
+Like with the room layout, determine the format yourself, preferably human-readable.
+A hypothetical example is provided:
+
+```
+ANIMATION Enemy_BookTossingRedneck
+SPRITES assets/images/sprites/enemies/book_tossing_redneck.png
+ITEMS
+  idle       0ms ( 0,  0) (16, 16)
+  drinking   0ms (16,  0) (32, 16)
+  walking  500ms ( 0, 16) (16, 32)
+                 (16, 16) (32, 32)
+                 (32, 16) (48, 32)
+                 (48, 16) (64, 32)
+```
+
+First we state to which entity the animation file belongs and where the corresponding sprite map can be found.
+It consists of 6 sprites, the first two are displayed when the entity is idling or drinking respectively.
+As both only consist of a single sprite, the timing is irrelevant and therefore set to zero.
+For the walking animation, we use 4 sprites and state that one period takes 500 ms, hence each sprite is displayed 125 ms before getting swapped out.
+After the forth sprite has been displayed, the animation loops, starting over with the first sprite.
+
+### Collision
+
+So far we can display the game world and entities – even with animations – yet we still lack basic interaction.
+This is where collision comes in.
+Whenever one entity collides with the room layout (walls, floors, platforms etc) or another entity, this needs to be recognised so the associated logic can be triggered.
+
+If the player runs into a wall, the wall should of course stop the player and prevent her from running out of bounds.
+Similarly, an enemy projectile hitting the player should cause a hit animation to be played along with a sound effect and decreasing the player's health.
+
+#### Implementation
+
+There are various different ways one can implement collision for 2D side-scrollers.
+All of them come with their own benefits and drawbacks.
+I'll leave things for you to decide.
+
+## Stats
+
+Sometimes Metroidvania-like games implement mechanics originating from role-playing games (RPGs).
+
+A prime example is the introduction of stats.
+Rather than having fixed values for weapon damage, health, damage resistance etc; the actual values are computed by taking a base-value and scaling it.
+This scale factor is determined by the entity's stats (aka attributes).
+
+These stats change over the course of the game.
+Typically, the player character's stats are improved by earning experience points (XP) and levelling up.
+Experience is often earned by slaying enemies, completing quests, and alike.
+
+Even further, entity stats can be influenced by items (eg *speed boost elixir*), gear (eg *boots of strength*), spells (eg *improved fire resistance*), conditions (eg *cursed*), and the list goes on and on and on.
+
+## AI
+
+Enemies just standing around, doin' nothing ain't particularly interesting.
+
+Even very simple and deterministic AI can be sufficient.
+Like:
+
+```cpp
+void do_something()
+{
+	static bool moved_forward = true;
+
+	if (player_in_range()) {
+		attack_player();
+		return;
+	}
+
+	if (moved_forward) {
+		move_backward();
+	} else {
+		move_forward();
+	}
+
+	moved_forward = !moved_forward;
+}
+```
+
+Additionally, one can add randomness to make enemies less predictable.
+For instance: one out of ten times, use a different attack which is faster and does more damage.
+
+Leverage randomness and other factors to create interesting boss AIs.
+The distance to the player could determine which kind of attack the boss uses.
+The player's health could dictate how aggressive the boss becomes.
+The number of possibilities is endless.
+
+### Implementation
+
+For simplicity, the AI can be hardcoded in the logic of an enemy.
+
+Alternatively, you may want to look into [behaviour trees](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior_tree_(artificial_intelligence,_robotics_and_control)).
+
+![Behaviour Tree Example](images/behaviour_tree_example.png)
+
+## HUD and Menus
+
+The head-up display (HUD) is a crucial component as it conveys important information to the player.
+In Castlevania, the health- and mana-bar can be found in the top-left corner of the screen, along with the secondary weapon, and ammo.
+
+![Castlevania Circle of the Moon Hud Bars](images/ccotm_hud_bars.png)
+
+*source: http://castlevania.wikia.com*
+
+Not all aspects of the game can be done (reasonably) by moving the player character around.
+Certain tasks require a menu system.
+This starts at the main menu of the game, along with the pause and option menus.
+
+![Castlevania Circle of the Moon Pause Menu](images/ccotm_pause_menu.png)
+
+*source: https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Castlevania:_Circle_of_the_Moon*
+
+The pause menu displays the players stats (health, attributes, experience etc) and provides access to various submenus – inventory management among them.
+
+### Implementation
+
+SDL provides basic shape drawing functionality.
+With it, you can easily build an abstraction layer for creating rudimentary user interface (UI) components.
+Alternatively, you can simply use images.
+
+SDL_ttf allows you to use fonts for printing text.
+Please supply used fonts along with all assets.
+
+## Entity Component System
+
+Many modern game engines use an architecture known as [entity component system (ECS)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity%E2%80%93component%E2%80%93system).
+While this paradigm is probably overkill for a small project like this, you may scavenge some of its ideas.
+
+In ECS, entities are just containers for components.
+Components, however, determine how the associated entity behaves, how it can be interacted with, and so on.
+
+Take the player entity for a moment, in terms of the ECS architecture, it would have:
+
+- a component for rendering sprites
+- a component which deals with animations
+- a component which emits sound
+- a physics collider or bounding box
+- a component which models health
+- …
+
+You basically create a huge toolbox of little things (components) that can be mixed and matched to compose a full-blown entity.
+
+![Unity Inspector](images/unity_inspector.png)
+
+The figure above shows the inspector window of the [Unity](https://unity3d.com/) editor.
+The inspector displays the components attached to the selected entity.
+Here, the entity named *Cube* consists of a *Mesh Filter*, *Box Collider*, and *Mash Renderer* component.
+The *Transform* is part of the entity itself and gives it its position, rotation, and scale.
+As can be seen from the screen-shot, each component possesses properties that can be tweaked, like, the material used for mesh rendering.
+
+This leaves us with the *system* part.
+Each system (audio system, physics system, rendering, *whatever you can think of*) interacts with the associated components possessed by entities.
+
+## Main Game Loop
+
+Often, in addition to ECS, games use the *main game loop* paradigm.
+In combination with ECS this is commonly presented as a straightforward sequence:
+
+1. Take the current game state.
+2. Invoke all systems.
+   Each system generates events based on the game state.
+   For instance, one event indicates that the jump button is pressed, another that two entities collide, and so on.
+3. Gather emitted events in a queue.
+4. Process each event one after another, mutating the game state.
+   Upon exhausting the queue, the next game state is reached.
+5. Move on to rendering.
+6. `goto 1`
+
+See also this figure, taken from *[How to Think Like a Computer Scientist](http://openbookproject.net/thinkcs/python/english3e/index.html)*:
+
+![Main Game Loop Example](images/game_loop.png)
+
+However, what looks easy on paper can be rather challenging in reality.
+First, certain events may stay in conflict with each other.
+Like, while the player character should move upwards because of the jump button being pressed, a projectile may hit her in the exact same frame which causes knock-back.
+Now, do you move the player up, or away from the projectile due to knock-back?
+Or both?
+And what if a wall is there preventing the player character from being pushed in this specific direction.
+
+Even in this tiny example, the order in which events are processed matters.
+They may even build circular dependencies with each other.
+
+As it turns out, such an *invoke everything first, ask questions later* approach comes with a lot of problems.
+One way to improve upon this is by doing stuff in phases, plus ensuring that the modified game state is always valid.
+
+The whole topic of game engine architecture is huge and most decisions are trade-offs.
+I recommend that you try not to over-think this.
+Keep your cool and experiment until you find something that kinda works.
+
+## Debugging
+
+Develop debugging utilities as early as possible.
+Consider the following:
+
+- log output
+- show bounding boxes, game entity positions, damage numbers etc; on screen
+- *noclip* (disable collision + player can fly)
+- *god mode* (player doesn't take any damage)
+- infinite ammo / mana / resources
+- spawning entities in front of the player
+- directly load a specific map
+- goto x y
+- …
+
+Another helpful technique is the use of fallback assets.
+Let's say, a certain sprite cannot be loaded for whatever reason.
+Instead of crashing the application with a cryptic error code, log a warning and use an *error sprite* instead.
+
+- - -
+
+## Goals (11 Points)
+
+- (2) two consecutive areas, each:
+    - with its own tone (architecture, sprites, music, enemies etc)
+    - with a handful of rooms each
+    - a boss guarding an item / ability
+- (2) basic movement
+    - running left / right
+    - jumping
+    - interacting with game entities (doors, chests etc)
+- (1) save / load with dedicated save points (rooms)
+- (1) one or more advanced movement mechanics
+    - eg double jump, wall jump, sliding
+    - needs to be unlocked
+- (1) main combat
+    - melee and/or ranged
+    - hitting enemies
+    - getting hit by enemies
+- (2) enemies
+    - attack the player character as it gets in range
+    - variants with melee attacks
+    - variants with ranged attacks
+    - bosses are capable of using different attacks
+- (1) map
+    - shows discovered rooms and their doorways
+    - shows discovered save points
+    - shows where the player is currently located
+- (1) menus
+    - main menu
+        - new game
+        - load game
+        - exit
+    - pause menu
+        - shows player stats
+        - inventory management
+        - continue
+        - go to main menu
+    - game over
+        - player dies
+        - player defeats final boss

assignment2/rpg_specification.md

@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+# RPG Specification
+
+We describe a simple 2D RPG with two layers.
+
+The first layer is an interactive *overworld* which is explored by the player.
+There, the player can talk to other characters and manage their resources (items, equipment, …).
+
+The second layer is a turn-based combat system as typically found in JRPGs.
+
+For references, have a look at these titles / series:
+
+- Octopath Traveler
+- Final Fantasy
+- Chrono Trigger
+- Pokémon
+- Persona
+- Trails of Cold Steel
+
+After playing some gam-… ehh… doing some research, you should be familiar with the core game concepts and mechanics of the genre.
+
+Before moving on, I want you to make up your mind about the setting your game takes place in.
+While a fantasy world with magic and monsters sounds straight forward, don't overlook other possibilities like cyberpunk, steampunk, post apocalypse and so on.
+Determine upfront whether you are going for a more serious or a more humorous tone — whether things should be realistic or over the top with crazy anime effects everywhere.
+
+### Assets
+
+But, what about all the assets (sprites, music, sound effects, …) that are required for such a game?
+
+Well, you don't have to look far.
+As this is still about learning C++, I don't expect you to spend your precious time on creating all of them by hand.
+There are megatons of assets for free- / non-commercial- / educational-use available online.
+I am pretty sure you'll find something among them which suits your setting.
+Maybe some slight modifications are needed here and there, but nothing that should distract you from learning C++.
+
+For various types of assets — sound effects especially — there are also generators available which can be tweaked for unique results.
+Pick your poison!
+
+## Building the World
+
+As already mentioned, the first layer of your game is an overworld where the player interacts with other characters and so on.
+This overworld is typically composed of safe-zones (like villages or small settlements) and wilderness where enemies are encountered.
+Often, certain sections of the overworld remain gated off until the player has advanced far enough into the story.
+
+Here is the overworld of Pokémon Red and Blue (1996)
+
+![Pokémon Red and Blue Map](images/pokemon_map.png)
+
+### Overworld Implementation
+
+A 2D array of tiles can be used to describe the map itself.
+Entities (characters, chests, enemies, …) can be added by simply stating their coordinates.
+
+I recommend to put the world definition into a dedicated file, following a human-readable, easy-to-parse file-format.
+Alternatively, just put the definition in your code.
+
+## Viewing the World
+
+[Sprites](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(computer_graphics)) are essentially bitmap images with transparent background.
+They are used for everything that needs to be displayed.
+
+The *transform* (position, rotation, scale) of an entity determines where and how the corresponding sprite is rendered.
+
+### Animations
+
+Dynamic entities, like the player character (PC) or enemies, often feature animations.
+These start with simple idle and walking animations, but can also turn into breath-taking combat and dodging choreographies.
+
+![Sprite Map](images/sprite_map.png)
+
+The key idea is to use multiple sprites instead of just one.
+Each animation frame is a new sprite.
+When an animation is played, the related sprites are displayed one after another to simulate motion.
+
+Multiple sprites are combined and put into the same image, which is then called a *sprite map*.
+The rendering API allows us to select which part of the image to use for rendering.
+A simple rectangle selection is used to pick the sprite for the current frame.
+
+## Hearing the World
+
+Commonly, the background music is either determined by the section of the overworld or enemy encounter (regular battle theme, boss battle theme, …).
+The selected tune is repeated until the player moves to a new section or finishes the encounter.
+
+A more advanced technique would be to use different variations of the same background music and blend them together depending on the situation. Say, switch to a more tense version of your regular battle theme as soon as the player's combatants are low on health.
+
+### Audio Implementation
+
+SDL_mixer is probably all you need for this.
+It provides separate sound channels, each with its own volume setting.
+Sound effects are played on different channels than background music so they do not interfere.
+
+If you wanna go for something fancy, with more features, have a look at [OpenAL].
+
+## Interacting with the World
+
+Most interaction between the player and the game world is done through message boxes and menu systems.
+For this, you need to implement some basic UI system.
+You already know how to render sprites, font support is available via [SDL_ttf].
+
+### Interaction Implementation
+
+Often, a scripting engine is added to the game engine for scripting the interactions between characters, combat, and so on.
+However, this goes beyond the scope of this project.
+
+My recommendation is to simply hard-code the logic and script of your game in C++.
+Think about creating your own little embedded domain-specific language (EDSL) on top of C++.
+Consider trying [Boost Coroutine](https://theboostcpplibraries.com/boost.coroutine) for adding asynchronous programming paradigms.
+
+## Story
+
+Again, the focus of the side project lies on learning C++.
+Your RPG should feature a short story with a twist near the end.
+Nothing fancy, just something to keep the player interested while exploring the overworld.
+
+## Combat AI
+
+Similar to your other game logic components, the combat AI may be hard-coded in C++.
+[Behaviour trees](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior_tree_(artificial_intelligence,_robotics_and_control)) are often utilised for creating game AI.
+Maybe give them a try.
+Consider adding randomness to your decision making progress to make enemies less predictable.
+
+## Debugging
+
+Develop debugging utilities as early as possible.
+Consider the following:
+
+- Log output
+- Show details (positions, damage numbers, decision making process, …) on screen
+- *God mode* (player's combatants can't die)
+- Infinite resources (items, spells, …)
+- …
+
+Another helpful technique is the use of fall-back assets.
+Let's say, a certain sprite cannot be loaded for whatever reason.
+Instead of crashing the application with a cryptic error code, log a warning and use an *error sprite* instead.
+
+---
+
+## Goals (11 Points)
+
+- (2) Overworld with 2 different sections:
+  - Each with its own tone (architecture, sprites, music, enemies, …)
+  - The second is only accessible after some story progress
+  - Player can roam the world and interact with other entities
+- (1) Characters
+  - Player can talk to other characters
+- (1) Resources
+  - Player can manage acquired resources through dedicated menus
+- (1) Stats
+  - Player's combatants have stats that influence the combat
+  - Player's combatants get experience from combat, increasing their stats
+  - Stats are influenced by equipment
+- (3) Combat
+  - Turn-based
+  - Player selects which attacks, spells, items, etc. to use on which target
+  - Enemies use attacks, spells, items, etc. to combat the player
+  - *Game Over* when all of player's combatants are dead
+- (1) Save points
+  - Player can save her progress at specific points in the game
+  - Saved progress is persistent across play sessions (application termination)
+- (1) Audio
+  - Background music
+  - Sound effects
+- (1) Main menu
+  - New game
+  - Load game
+  - Exit