🎣 AtomicFisher

A fun educational fishing game 🎮 designed for KS3 science students to learn about chemical elements and the periodic table 🧪⚛️

🎥 Demo & Presentation

🎬 Watch the full game presentation and demo on YouTube! This video showcases Atomicfisher's gameplay, educational features, and development journey.

📖 About

AtomicFisher is an interactive MATLAB App Designer game where players control a fishing hook 🪝 to catch fish 🐟 carrying non-metal elements. The game helps students distinguish between metals and non-metals in a fun, engaging way! 🎯

✨ Features

• 🎓 Educational Gameplay: Learn to identify non-metal elements (H, He, C, O)
• 🎮 Interactive Controls: Use arrow keys to move the fishing hook and spacebar to catch fish
• 🏆 Scoring System: Earn points for correct catches, lose points for mistakes
• ⭐ Star Rating: Achieve up to 3 stars based on your performance
• ⏰ Timer Challenge: Complete the level within the time limit

💻 Requirements

• MATLAB 2024b (may not work on previous versions) 🔧
• MATLAB App Designer 🛠️

🚀 Installation & Running

1. 📥 Download or clone this repository
2. 📁 Ensure all files are in the same directory, maintaining the folder structure
3. 🔧 Open MATLAB 2024b
4. 📂 Navigate to the project folder
5. 🖱️ Double-click AtomicFisher.mlapp to open in App Designer
6. ▶️ Click the "Run" button in App Designer, or
7. ⌨️ Type AtomicFisher in the MATLAB command window

🎯 How to Play

1. 🎯 Objective: Catch only the fish carrying non-metal elements
2. 🎮 Controls:
   • ⬅️➡️⬆️⬇️ Arrow keys: Move the fishing hook
   • 🚀 Spacebar: Release/catch the hooked fish
   • 🖱️ Click background: Pause the game
3. 🏆 Scoring:
   • ➕100 points for each correct catch ✅
   • ➖50 points for catching wrong elements ❌
4. 🎯 Elements to catch: H (Hydrogen), He (Helium), C (Carbon), O (Oxygen) ✅
5. ⚠️ Elements to avoid: Na (Sodium), Fe (Iron), K (Potassium) ❌

⚙️ Game Mechanics

• 🐟 Fish spawn randomly with different elements
• 🪝 Hook must touch the fish to catch it
• 🚤 Bring caught fish back to the boat (hook above boat level) to score
• 🏃‍♂️ Game speed increases as you progress
• ⏱️ 60 seconds time limit per level

⭐ Star System

• ⭐ 1 Star: 175+ points
• ⭐⭐ 2 Stars: 325+ points
• ⭐⭐⭐ 3 Stars: 475+ points

📁 File Structure

AtomicFisher/
├── 🎮 AtomicFisher.mlapp     # Main game application
└── 🖼️ Images/                # Game assets
    ├── 🌅 Backgrounds/       # Background images
    ├── ⚛️ Elements/          # Chemical element icons
    ├── 🐟 Fish/              # Fish sprites and animations
    ├── 🚤 Player/            # Boat, hook, and rope graphics
    └── ▶️ play.gif           # UI elements

🎓 Educational Value

This game is designed for KS3 (Key Stage 3) science curriculum and helps students:

• 🔍 Identify non-metal elements
• 📚 Learn chemical symbols
• 🧠 Understand the difference between metals and non-metals
• ⚡ Develop quick recognition of periodic table elements

📈 Version History

• 🆕 Version 2: Current release with improved gameplay and MATLAB 2024b compatibility
• 📝 Version 1: Initial release

👨‍💻 Author

Adil Wahab Bhatti

• 🏫 University of Warwick, School of Engineering
• 📚 ES2D7: Systems and Software Engineering Principles (23/24)

🔧 Troubleshooting

• ❌ Game won't start: Ensure you're using MATLAB 2024b or compatible version
• 🖼️ Images not loading: Check that the Images folder is in the same directory as the .mlapp file
• ⚠️ Performance issues: Close other MATLAB applications and ensure sufficient system resources

🤝 Contributing

This is an educational project. If you'd like to suggest improvements or report bugs, please open an issue on GitHub! 💡

📜 Licence

MIT Licence — see the LICENCE file for details. ⚖️

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❓ For questions or issues related to this educational project, please refer to the original coursework documentation or contact the development team through appropriate academic channels.