Inheritance in My Game

What Is Inheritance?

Inheritance is when one class gains features and behavior from another class.

This allows programmers to:

  • reuse code
  • reduce repetition
  • organize systems more efficiently

A child class can inherit:

  • properties
  • methods
  • behaviors

from a parent class.

Why Inheritance Is Useful

Inheritance helps games because many objects share similar behavior.

For example:

  • enemies move
  • NPCs interact
  • players update positions
  • objects render on screen

Instead of rewriting the same code many times, inheritance allows classes to reuse existing systems.

Example 1: Shark Inheriting From NPC

My game uses inheritance with the shark enemy.

class Shark extends Npc

Explanation

The Shark class inherits features from the Npc class.

This means the shark automatically receives:

  • NPC behavior
  • positioning systems
  • rendering logic
  • update systems
  • game environment access

The shark can then add custom behavior on top of the inherited features.

Example 2: Using Imported Classes

The shark class is imported into the game level.

import Shark from '@assets/js/GameEnginev1.1/Shark.js';

Explanation

This allows the game to create shark objects using the inherited class.

The shark behaves like an NPC but has custom enemy movement.

Example 3: Creating the Shark Object

The inherited shark class is instantiated in the game.

{ class: Shark, data: sprite_data_shark }

Explanation

This creates a shark object using the inherited class.

The shark can:

  • chase the player
  • update movement
  • interact with collisions
  • use NPC systems automatically

Inheritance makes the shark system reusable and efficient.

Example 4: Reusing Enemy Behavior

My game also reuses enemy systems through shared object structures.

const baseEnemy = {
  src: sprite_src_enemy,
  SCALE_FACTOR: 5
};

Explanation

This shared enemy structure acts similarly to inheritance.

Multiple enemies reuse:

  • movement logic
  • collision systems
  • rendering settings

This prevents duplicated code.

Example 5: Method Reuse

Inherited classes can reuse methods from parent classes.

update: function () {

  const players = this.gameEnv.gameObjects.filter(
    obj => obj.constructor.name === "Player"
  );

}

Explanation

The shark and NPC systems can both use update methods to:

  • detect players
  • move around the map
  • react during gameplay

Inheritance allows child classes to share these behaviors.

Why Inheritance Helped My Game

Inheritance improved my project by:

  • reducing repeated code
  • improving organization
  • making enemy systems reusable
  • simplifying updates
  • making the game easier to expand

Without inheritance, every enemy would need completely separate code.