So I'm envisioning a puzzle game that I've had the idea for since my Chemistry classes at RCC. The way the Periodic Table of Elements is set up is very deliberate in demonstrating what elements can bond with other elements. See, it is the nature of molecules to try and fill their orbitals with the maximum number of possible electrons (which is 8). As you move left to right on the table, the number of electrons in the orbitals of the atoms of the specified element increases. For instance, Hydrogen has 1 electron, Helium has 2, Carbon has 4, and Oxygen has 6. The way compounds are created is by elements coming together and sharing electrons to create full orbitals that equal a total count of electrons that is a multiple of 8. This is why water is sometimes referred to as H20: it's one oxygen atom with 6 electrons combined with two hydrogen atoms that each have 1 electron apiece for a total of (Surprise!) 8 electrons. The elements farthest on the right are called "Noble Gases." They have full orbitals totaling 8 electrons and cannot make bonds at all. The elements in the middle of the table have the ability to create the most bonds (Carbon is an example) because electrons must "pair up" in order to bond atoms. Those to the left of center can make fewer because they don't have enough electrons to pair, and those right of center can make fewer because their orbitals are already close to being filled. Therefore, from left to right on the table, the first elements can form 1 bond, the second can form 2, the third can form 3, the fourth can form 4, the fifth can form 3, the sixth can form 2, the seventh can form 1, and the eighth (the Noble Gases) cannot form any.
I explain all this because my idea is one similar to Tetris where various elements fall from the top of the screen. However, the catch is that you don't pair up similar colors or make complete lines; instead, you form molecules based on these principles of Chemistry to score points. This is why the first 20 symbols I created are all representations of the first 20 elements in the Periodic Table. Pair up a carbon atom with two oxygens and bingo, you've made carbon-dioxide gas for 1,000 points! Pair up sodium (Na) with chlorine (Cl) and bingo, you've made table salt for 200 points! The Noble Gases Helium (He), Neon (Ne), and Argon (Ar)--which I just explained cannot make any bonds--are the bonus blocks that give you automatic points or--perhaps--blow other extraneous elements out of the grid.
So what are the other symbols for? Well, the thing is, I'm envisioning a game with multiple play modes. Three to be exact, which is what the three test tube symbols are for. What I just described is General (also called Inorganic) Chemistry. There are two other types of Chemistry I'm familiar with. One is Biochemistry, and in that "mode of play," I'm envisioning something similar except the goal is to pair up the bases to create DNA molecules. As explained in the previous post, Adenine pairs up with Thymine and Cytosine pairs up with Guanine. (I totally spaced doing a Uracil symbol.) The other symbols relate to Organic Chemistry and are essentially filler to complete the assignment, though I can see ways to turn those into game elements too. Organic chemistry deals primarily with molecules that include Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and sometimes Nitrogen. It has more to do with identifying groups, so I created some symbols relating a few of the most basic organic molecules. (Essentially, they're all just carbon atoms surrounded by hydrogen atoms, and their names derive from the number of carbon atoms in the molecule. You might notice that they're all a type of gas.)
So that's my idea and my explanation. Hope it clears up what I decided to make for this assignment. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment