General Description
This program has been around for several years. The object is to steer a drunken person home using compass directions, N, S, E, W as well as the intermediate points of the compass.
You will se the compass in the top left-hand corner of the screen without any intermediate points, two sets of red brick walls with a possible route through them to home on the right of the screen which is in green. The drunk is also coloured as a red blob, though you may wish to change this. The detailed information will tell you how. Limit checks are made as to what is a sensible move and even for adults it can be surprisingly difficult. The program uses sound well, but has been written in Mode 7 so that it will run on a Model 'A'. If you rewrite it with full graphics for a Model 'B', I shall be pleased to hear from you.
Detailed Description
Lines 60-170 Clears variables. Game operates in Mode 7. Deletes and disables cursor. Saves arrays spaces for four walls.
180-270 Holds the main structure of the program.
280-680 PROCdisplay: Displays compass points, four walls, plots homebase and men.
690-1030 User requested to input direction and number of goes.
1040-1120 This procedure checks to see if user's position will fit on screen. If not message displayed.
1140-1150 Prints number of attempts and the character position is updated. Will character hit wall? Lines 1350-1380 check to see if character is to the right of the wall reprinted number of moves checked.
1500-1580 User's position takes character out of bounds. Display message and activate sound envelope.
1740-1820 User didn't get to base in seventy moves. Display message.
1830-1900 User has reached base. Display message.
1910-2020 User invited to replay.
Educational Notes
This program really suits the younger user more than the older, who though he/she may find it difficult, tends to consider it childish due to its simplistic representation. I have used it successfully with a whole class of visiting primary children where they have to decide collectively what the next move ought to be. Obviously it presupposes a knowledge of the compass, though you do not need to know the intermediate points of the compass to be able to succeed at the program. There is a cut off point at which you are considered to have taken too long.
You may wish to experiment with graph paper and pencil before using the program or set up a route using building blocks. Both these would act as good introductions to using the program.