Oregon Trail

This project is a modern C++ recreation of the classic Oregon Trail game, where players take on the role of a trail leader guiding settlers across the American frontier. Users choose their profession, name their party, manage resources, and make critical decisions at settlements, rivers, and random events. Key game mechanics include resource tracking, random event generation, player choices, and dynamic settlements with changing prices.

The code implements game loops, condition checks, class interactions, and structured randomness to simulate challenges such as sickness, mechanical failures, and river crossings. It also features dynamic scoring based on survival and inventory management.

Challenges Faced:

State Management: Keeping track of dynamic game states (e.g., inventory, health, events) was complex. I modularized logic using helper functions and classes to isolate functionality and avoid cross-state bugs.

Random Events Balancing: Tuning the probability and consequences of random events (e.g., sickness or broken axles) was tricky. I used trial-and-error playtesting to balance challenge and fairness.

User Input Validation: Handling invalid input without crashing the game required careful use of cin.clear() and cin.ignore() to reset the input buffer.

Memory Management: Using dynamic pointers for settlements and ensuring they were deallocated properly helped avoid memory leaks.

This project demonstrates object-oriented programming, probability design, and interactive CLI development, with humor and creativity woven into the gameplay and dialogue.