WeAreDevelopers LIVE Apr 18, 2023

Down the Oregon Trail with Functional C#

Simon Painter

The 1975 classic Oregon Trail was built on chaotic GOTO commands. Watch how recreating this retro game exposes the secrets to isolating side-effects in functional C#.

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#1 about 9 min

Functional programming principles and practical application in C#

An overview of declarative styles, immutability, pure functions, and managing state boundaries in C#.

#2 about 3 min

Historical context of the Oregon Trail migration route

The geographical and historical background of the 19th-century American migration route.

#3 about 9 min

The invention of BASIC and early timesharing terminals

How early timesharing computers and the BASIC language enabled the creation of accessible educational games.

#4 about 3 min

Deconstructing the original 1975 BASIC source code syntax

Deconstructing early BASIC syntax, line numbers, and reversed conditional logic in the original game.

#5 about 10 min

Managing side effects and unpredictable console user inputs

Wrapping unpredictable user interactions using discriminated unions to maintain pure functional paradigms.

#6 about 6 min

Handling indefinite loops with functional recursive patterns

Using extension methods and recursion to execute validation loops without imperative while iterations.

#7 about 6 min

Architecting a functional game engine state machine

Processing sequential game events and probability-driven mini-games through continuous object state transformations.

#8 about 3 min

Future text adventure conversions and functional programming extensions

Adapting functional design patterns for upcoming conversions of classic text-based adventure games.

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