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🏗️ Game Architecture

Overview

Alien Invasion uses a modern, component-based architecture that emphasizes:

  • Modularity: Easy to add/remove features
  • Scalability: Can handle complex game logic
  • Maintainability: Clear separation of concerns
  • Performance: Optimized for real-time gameplay

System Architecture

1. Core Systems

graph TD
    A[Game Engine] --> B[Input System]
    A --> C[Physics System]
    A --> D[Render System]
    A --> E[Audio System]
    A --> F[State Manager]

2. Entity Component System (ECS)

graph LR
    A[Entity] --> B[Components]
    B --> C[Position]
    B --> D[Velocity]
    B --> E[Sprite]
    B --> F[Collision]

Component Details

1. Core Components

@dataclass
class Position:
    x: float
    y: float

@dataclass
class Velocity:
    x: float
    y: float

@dataclass
class Sprite:
    image: pygame.Surface
    rect: pygame.Rect

2. Game-Specific Components

@dataclass
class Health:
    current: int
    max: int

@dataclass
class Weapon:
    damage: int
    cooldown: float
    last_shot: float

System Implementation

1. System Base Class

class System:
    def __init__(self):
        self.entities = []

    def add_entity(self, entity):
        self.entities.append(entity)

    def remove_entity(self, entity):
        self.entities.remove(entity)

    def update(self, dt):
        for entity in self.entities:
            self.process_entity(entity, dt)

2. System Registration

class SystemManager:
    def __init__(self):
        self.systems = {}

    def register_system(self, system_type, system):
        self.systems[system_type] = system

    def update(self, dt):
        for system in self.systems.values():
            system.update(dt)

State Management

1. State Interface

class GameState:
    def enter(self):
        pass

    def exit(self):
        pass

    def update(self, dt):
        pass

    def render(self, screen):
        pass

2. State Transitions

class StateMachine:
    def __init__(self):
        self.states = {}
        self.current = None

    def add_state(self, name, state):
        self.states[name] = state

    def change_state(self, name):
        if self.current:
            self.current.exit()
        self.current = self.states[name]
        self.current.enter()

Resource Management

1. Asset Loading

class AssetManager:
    def __init__(self):
        self.images = {}
        self.sounds = {}
        self.fonts = {}

    def load_image(self, name, path):
        self.images[name] = pygame.image.load(path)

    def get_image(self, name):
        return self.images[name]

2. Resource Caching

class ResourceCache:
    def __init__(self):
        self.cache = {}

    def get(self, key, loader):
        if key not in self.cache:
            self.cache[key] = loader()
        return self.cache[key]

Event System

1. Event Types

class EventType(Enum):
    COLLISION = 1
    DEATH = 2
    POWERUP = 3
    SCORE = 4

2. Event Handling

class EventManager:
    def __init__(self):
        self.listeners = defaultdict(list)

    def dispatch(self, event_type, data):
        for listener in self.listeners[event_type]:
            listener(data)

Configuration System

1. Config Loading

class Config:
    def __init__(self):
        self.settings = {}

    def load(self, path):
        with open(path) as f:
            self.settings = json.load(f)

    def get(self, key, default=None):
        return self.settings.get(key, default)

2. Game Settings

class GameSettings:
    def __init__(self):
        self.window_size = (800, 600)
        self.fps = 60
        self.difficulty = "normal"

Performance Considerations

1. Optimization Techniques

  • Use sprite groups for efficient rendering
  • Implement spatial partitioning for collisions
  • Cache frequently used calculations
  • Use object pooling for frequently created/destroyed objects

2. Memory Management

  • Implement proper cleanup in state transitions
  • Use weak references where appropriate
  • Monitor memory usage in development

Testing Architecture

1. Unit Testing

def test_physics_system():
    system = PhysicsSystem()
    entity = create_test_entity()
    system.add_entity(entity)
    system.update(1.0)
    assert entity.position.x == 100

2. Integration Testing

def test_game_loop():
    game = Game()
    game.initialize()
    game.update(1.0)
    assert game.state == GameState.PLAYING

Next Steps