Asteroids Game

Project Goals

• Create a complete game without a game engine to understand low-level architecture
• To gain a deeper understanding of how critical thorough planning is
• Explore how project scope directly influences code quality decisions

Technical Details

• This game was created entirely in Javascript
• Utilized p5.js for visualization
• Architecture was planned and implemented by myself

Development Reflection

This project was eye-opening for me as we had created it entirely from scratch and without a game engine. Which highlights the amount of work game engines do for us.

One thing this project really made me realize how closely my code standards are connected to the allotted scope and timeframe for a project.

For example, things not included in the initial scope added much more complexity as infrastructure was not designed to support them. As those things are added they are also exponentially increase the complexity as they are closer to being duct taped on rather than built into the foundation.

This really highlights the importance of not taking shortcuts in large scope and long term projects. If you need to refactor a bunch of base classes to allow for a new feature, you should base the decision on the project's scope and expected lifetime.

It also made me realize how my standards change in different settings, my documentation was great at first but later I found myself allotting less and less time to documenting. In contrast to when I know others will have to use and understand my code, I make sure to meticulously document everything and adhere to code standards.

Conclusion

Building Asteroids without a game engine taught me how much planning and scope shape both architecture and code quality. It showed me how critical strong foundations are, especially when features shift mid-project. It also reminded me how much my standards depend on context—and why consistent documentation and thoughtful design matter when working in teams or on long-term projects.