Dynamic Hangman: React, TypeScript & Responsive CSS

What are you most proud of, and what would you do differently next time?

Creating this was an adventure filled with a blend of coding challenges and a healthy dose of fun, offering a distinctly different experience from my previous project, the Connect Four game challenge. Diving into React Spring, I initially aimed to animate the traditional hangman but ended up making letterboxes dance responsively to user interactions instead. This twist was entertaining, though I found myself missing the grappling with the iconic hangman figure. A tip for the Figma designers for next time: including an actual hangman drawing could add an intriguing layer of engagement! Meanwhile, mastering the CSS clamp() function was like conducting an orchestra of responsive letters across devices, ensuring harmony from smartphones to desktops.

This project also presented an unexpected scenario not covered in the initial design—what to do when players exhaust all 30 words in a category? I tackled this by resetting the word list, keeping the gameplay alive and kicking. Compared to the complexity of building Connect Four, this challenge was a breeze, yet it pushed me to think on my feet, particularly about maintaining engagement over time. While the absence of a hangman figure left me slightly frustrated, it sparked my creativity to reimagine this classic. As I reflect, I’m buoyed by the thought of tackling more game projects in the future, diving deeper into web animations and honing my inclusive design skills. Here's to the road ahead, filled with more coding adventures that fuse imagination with tech, and fingers crossed for challenges that bring back the thrill of sketching that elusive hangman.

What challenges did you encounter, and how did you overcome them?

I encountered several challenges that tested my problem-solving skills and pushed my understanding of web development. One significant hurdle was managing the game's state effectively. React's state management system required careful planning to track the game's progress, the players' guesses, and the health system dynamically. As the complexity of the game grew, it underscored the potential need for a more robust state management system for future projects. This experience has piqued my interest in exploring state management libraries like Redux or Context API in React to streamline state handling in complex applications.

Another challenge was ensuring that the letterboxes were responsive and displayed correctly across various devices. Initially, I struggled with letterboxes that wouldn't align properly or text that wouldn't fit within the designated areas on smaller screens. This led me to delve deeper into CSS techniques, where I leveraged the power of flexbox for alignment and grid for layout, along with CSS properties like clamp() for responsive typography. Through experimentation and applying CSS tricks, I was able to achieve a fluid and adaptive design that gracefully handled wrapping lines and scaling issues, ensuring a seamless user experience regardless of the device.

These challenges were valuable learning opportunities, highlighting the importance of adaptability and continuous learning in web development. Overcoming these obstacles not only enhanced the functionality and aesthetics of the Hangman game but also expanded my toolkit of coding techniques and strategies for tackling future projects.