Overview and Planning

Before diving into code, let’s plan our Tic-Tac-Toe game. A well-designed game starts with clear requirements and an understanding of the design patterns we’ll use.

Game Requirements

Our Tic-Tac-Toe game will include the following features:

  • Two Players: Support for exactly two players taking turns
  • 3x3 Grid: Standard Tic-Tac-Toe board for placing X and O marks
  • Turn-Based Gameplay: Players alternate placing their symbols
  • Win Detection: Check for three in a row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal)
  • Draw Detection: Recognize when the board is full with no winner
  • Game Reset: Ability to start a new game after completion
  • Player Forfeit: Allow players to concede a game

Design Patterns

We’ll implement several important design patterns to create a robust game framework:

1. Event-Driven Architecture

We’ll use Shoehive’s event system to communicate between components. Events will be emitted when important actions occur, such as:

  • A player makes a move
  • The game state changes
  • A winner is determined

This pattern decouples the components of our game, making it more maintainable and extensible.

2. State Machine Pattern

Our game will have clearly defined states:

  • Waiting for players
  • Ready to start
  • In progress
  • Game over

Each state has specific allowed transitions, providing a predictable flow.

3. Command Pattern

Player actions like “make move” or “forfeit” will be implemented as commands. This encapsulates requests as objects, allowing us to:

  • Validate commands before execution
  • Queue commands if needed
  • Maintain a history of actions

4. Observer Pattern

The game will notify players of changes using an observer pattern. Players “subscribe” to the game and receive updates when relevant events occur.

5. Factory Pattern

We’ll use a factory pattern to create new game instances, standardizing the initialization process and encapsulating the creation logic.

Next Steps

Now that we’ve outlined our requirements and chosen appropriate design patterns, we’re ready to set up our project structure and start implementing the game.

Next: Setting Up Your Project