Overview

Welcome to your next Java Swing project!

Your task is to build a desktop application that allows a user to play Rock, Paper, Scissors against the computer.

The application must keep track of:

• The player's current win streak
• The player's best streak (high score)
• The computer's choice
• The player's choice
• The result of each round

The high score must persist between application launches by saving it to a JSON file.

This project is designed to introduce you to:

• Object-Oriented Programming
• Java Swing
• Event Handling
• Layout Managers
• Enums
• Random Number Generation
• File I/O
• JSON Serialization
• Separating UI code from business logic

Learning Objectives

By completing this project, you should be able to:

• Create a Swing application
• Create and position Swing components
• Respond to button clicks using ActionListeners
• Generate random values
• Use of Enum to represent game choices
• Extract logic into reusable methods
• Separate business logic from user interface code
  • Backend thinking
  • Frontend thinking
• Save and load data from a file
  • Database thinking
• Design a small application using multiple classes

Functional Requirements

Game Choices

The player must be able to choose:

• Rock
• Paper
• Scissors The computer must randomly choose one of these options when the user clicks a button.

Determining the Winner

The standard Rock, Paper, Scissors rules apply:

Current Streak

The application must track consecutive wins.

Win

Increase current streak by 1.

Tie

Current streak remains unchanged.

Loss

If current streak is greater than the high score:

• Update the high score

Then:

• Reset current streak to 0

High Score

The application must remember the highest streak achieved.

This value must:

• Load when the application starts
• Save when a new high score is achieved
• Persist between application launches

Store the value inside a JSON file.

{
  "highScore": 12
}

User Interface Requirements

Your application should contain three major sections.

Top Section

Current Streak: 0
Best Streak: 0

Center Section

Display game information.

Computer Picked: Rock

You Picked: Paper

Result: You Win!

Bottom Section

Provide three buttons:

[ Rock ] [ Paper ] [ Scissors ]

Suggested Layout

+--------------------------------+
| Current Streak: 3              |
| Best Streak: 8                 |
+--------------------------------+
|                                |
| Computer Picked: Rock          |
| You Picked: Paper              |
| Result: You Win!               |
|                                |
+--------------------------------+
| [Rock] | [Paper] | [Scissors]  |
+--------------------------------+

You may choose whichever Layout Manager you feel is most appropriate.

Research your options before starting.

• BorderLayout
• GridLayout
• BoxLayout
• GridBagLayout

Technical Requirements

Requirement 1: Enum

public enum Choice {
    ROCK,
    PAPER,
    SCISSORS
}

Requirement 2: Random Computer Choice

Generate a random choice for the computer. Hint:

Random random = new Random();

There should be an equal chance for each choice.

Requirement 3: Multiple Classes

Do not place everything inside a single class.

Think about responsibilities.

Possible structure:

Choice.java
GameResult.java
GameEngine.java
HighScoreService.java
MainFrame.java
Application.java

You are free to organize differently.

Requirement 4: Separation of Concerns

Try to separate:

UI

Responsible for:

• Buttons
• Labels
• Windows

Business Logic

Responsible for:

• Winner calculation
• Streak updates
• Computer choices

Persistence

Responsible for:

• Loading high score
• Saving high score

Bonus Challenges

If you finish early, try one or more of these:

Bonus 1

Display:

Wins
Losses
Ties

Bonus 2

Add a match history panel. Example:

You: Rock
CPU: Scissors
Result: Win

Bonus 3

Add a Reset High Score button.

Bonus 4

Add keyboard shortcuts. Example:

R = Rock
P = Paper
S = Scissors

Bonus 5

Add custom styling. Examples:

• Different fonts
• Padding
• Borders
• Colors