TheChaser

Summary:

The project involved creating an app based on the “Head-to-Head” round of the ITV game show The Chase. The app replicates the gameplay where a user competes against a virtual “Chaser” by answering multiple-choice questions to progress on a 7-step ladder. The user selects a starting position based on a monetary prize and must correctly answer questions to advance down the ladder while avoiding being caught by the Chaser.

If the user answers a question correctly, they move one step down the ladder. If the Chaser answers correctly, they move closer to the user. The game ends when the user either completes the ladder (winning the prize) or is caught by the Chaser. Persistent storage tracks player scores and history, with a leaderboard available at the start of the app.

Restraints:

Third-party frameworks like Alamofire were strictly prohibited. Only apple standard frameworks provided with Xcode were allowed.

Technologies utilised:

1. ‍UIKit and Storyboard - Core framework for building the app’s user interface.‍
2. Core Data/UserDefaults - For persistent storage of high scores and user history.‍
3. JSON Parsing - To load and manage the question pool.‍
4. Timer mechanism- For enforcing a 15-second limit on answering questions.‍
5. Apple Standard Frameworks - Used exclusively as third-party libraries were not allowed.‍
6. Custom Functions - For game logic, UI updates, and question tracking

Gameplay:

• User clicks “Play” and views the leaderboard or starts a new game.
• User inputs a unique username to proceed.
• User selects from three monetary prizes, determining the number of questions they are required to answer
• User answers multiple-choice questions within 15 seconds.
• Bot answers with a 75% chance of being correct.
• User and bot progress on a 7-step ladder based on correct answers.
• User wins by completing the ladder or loses if the bot catches them.
• Replay the game or view the leaderboard.
• Questions do not repeat during the same session ( Cycle of questions only go back to initial state if the app is entirely closed. Questions do not get repeated if user decides to play multiple rounds in the same session or start a new session without closing the app)

Take-away:

I initially chose this module because of my prior interest in application development, which began in high school while creating Delphi applications. Taking this module further deepened my passion for app development and helped me discover the domain I want to focus on—iOS development. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of creating this app, particularly the challenge of working solely with Storyboard and UIKit. This limitation pushed me to think creatively and design innovative gameplay using only basic UI elements.