Crossword Engine With Simple Config

Pfizer Crossword Puzzle

Challenge
Build crossword game with reusable classes for generating and scoring puzzles

Comments
This was built for as an interactive leave-behind for a pharma client.

I took initiative to design it for easy reuse with other clients or products. Further plans were to make it configurable via XML instead of hard-coded text values.

Actions

• Defined the puzzle layout with a single text variable:

  var cw:String = “”; 
  cw += “----------M------“; 
  cw += “--------I-E------“; 
  cw += “-----TREMELIMUMAB“; 
  cw += “-----C--M-A------“; 
  cw += “ANTIGEN-U-N------“; 
  cw += “-----L-ONCOLOGY--“; 
  cw += “-----L--O-M------“; 
  cw += “----------A------“;

• Used an array to define the words, their positions and clues:

  var data:Array = {
     {”horz”, 3, “TREMELIMUMAB”,“Pfizer’s CTLA4 inhibitor”},
     {”horz”, 4, “ANTIGEN”,“Immune response stimulator”},
     {”horz”, 5, “ONCOLOGY”,“With #2 down, developing medical field”},
     {”vert”, 3, “TCELL”. “Type of cancer”},
     {”vert”, 2, “IMMUNO”. “With #5 across, developing medical field”},
     {”vert”, 1, “MELANOMA”. “Immune system component activated by CLTA4 blockade”}
  }

• Parsed the layout var and rendered the puzzle
• Mapped the data to the puzzle and populated the scoring mechanism
• Scoring mechanism was then equipped to implement all game behaviors: checking puzzle for completions,  advancing cursor to appropriate square,  giving a free letter, etc.