EscapeTheLabGame 1.0.0

🎮 Escape The Lab - CLI Game

A cyberpunk-style challenge game powered by Claude AI (Sonnet 4.5). Players have 10 minutes to answer 20 rapid-fire questions spanning IQ puzzles, mystery challenges, and coding problems.

🚀 Features

• 🤖 AI-Powered Game Master: Interactive gameplay with Claude AI as the game host
• ⚡ Real-time Streaming: Watch responses appear in real-time with typewriter effect
• 🎨 Colorful CLI: Cyberpunk-themed interface with colored output
• ⏱️ Time Pressure: 10-minute countdown with periodic warnings
• 💾 Auto-Save: Automatic progress saving after each answer and every minute
• ☁️ Cloud Prompts: Load game prompts from Google Drive, OneDrive, GitHub, or any URL
• 📊 Leaderboard: Track high scores across multiple playthroughs
• 📜 Game History: All games are saved as JSON logs
• 🎯 Power-Ups: Speed Boost (skip question) and Micro Hint (get clue)
• ⚙️ Customizable: Adjust time limits, streaming, and prompt sources

📋 Requirements

• .NET 8.0 SDK or higher
• Anthropic API Key (get one at https://console.anthropic.com/)

🛠️ Setup

1. Get Your API Key

1. Go to https://console.anthropic.com/
2. Sign up or log in
3. Navigate to API Keys section
4. Create a new API key
5. Copy the key (it starts with sk-ant-)

2. Configure the Application

Open appsettings.json and replace YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_HERE with your actual API key:

{
  "ClaudeApi": {
    "ApiKey": "sk-ant-api03-YOUR-ACTUAL-KEY-HERE"
  },
  "Game": {
    "TimeLimit": 600,
    "EnableStreaming": true,
    "SaveHistory": true
  }
}

3. Build the Project

cd EscapeTheLabGame
dotnet build

4. Run the Game

dotnet run

🎮 How to Play

1. Start the application - You'll see a cyberpunk welcome banner
2. Saved game check - If you have an unfinished game, choose to continue or start fresh
3. Select "Start New Game" from the main menu (if no saved game)
4. Enter your name - This will appear on the leaderboard
5. Answer 20 questions - Type your answer and press Enter (auto-saves after each!)
6. Use power-ups strategically:
   • Type Speed Boost to skip a question (once per game)
   • Type Micro Hint to get a clue (once per game)
7. View your score - At the end, you'll see your total score and rank

Note: Your progress auto-saves every minute and after each answer!

🎯 Question Categories

The game includes 20 questions across 3 categories:

• IQ Puzzles (8 questions): Pattern recognition, logic puzzles, spatial reasoning
• Mystery Challenges (6 questions): Whodunit scenarios, contradiction detection
• Dev Challenges (6 questions): String manipulation, algorithms, SQL queries

🏆 Ranking System

• 0-5: Junior Human Lifeform
• 6-10: Bug Hunter in Training
• 11-15: Senior Logic Warrior
• 16-19: Elite Engineer
• 20: Legendary Cyborg Architect

⚙️ Settings

Access the Settings menu to:

• Toggle Streaming Mode: Enable/disable real-time response streaming
• Change Time Limit: Adjust from 5 to 15 minutes
• View Current Settings: See all configuration options

📂 Game Data

All game data is stored in organized folders:

GameHistory/ - Completed games

• leaderboard.json: Top scores from all players
• game_[PlayerName]_[Timestamp].json: Complete game transcripts

SavedGames/ - In-progress games

• savegame_[PlayerName]_[Timestamp].json: Saved game states

💾 Auto-Save Feature

NEW! The game automatically saves your progress!

• Auto-saves after each answer - Seamless and instant
• Auto-saves every 1 minute - Never lose progress
• Startup detection - Resume or start fresh when launching
• Time remaining is preserved exactly
• All answers and progress are automatically saved

See AUTO_SAVE_GUIDE.md for complete guide.

☁️ Cloud Prompts Feature

NEW! Load game prompts from the cloud!

• Google Drive - 15 GB free storage
• OneDrive - 5 GB free storage
• Dropbox - Easy direct links
• GitHub Gist - Best for version control (recommended)
• Any web server - Full control

Benefits:

• Update questions without rebuilding the app
• Central management for teams
• Multiple prompt versions for different events
• Works offline with caching

Quick Setup:

{
  "Prompt": {
    "UseCloudPrompt": true,
    "CloudPromptUrl": "YOUR_CLOUD_URL_HERE",
    "CachePrompt": true,
    "FallbackToLocal": true
  }
}

See CLOUD_PROMPT_GUIDE.md and CLOUD_SERVICES_GUIDE.md for complete instructions!

🎨 CLI Commands

While playing:

• Type your answer and press Enter (auto-saves after each answer)
• quit or exit: Exit game (asks to save first)
• Speed Boost: Use skip power-up
• Micro Hint: Get a hint

Note: Game auto-saves every minute and after each answer!

🔧 Troubleshooting

"API Key not configured" Error

Make sure you've replaced YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_HERE in appsettings.json with your actual Anthropic API key.

"Configuration file not found" Error

Ensure appsettings.json is in the same directory as the executable. If running with dotnet run, it should be in the project root.

Connection Issues

• Check your internet connection
• Verify your API key is valid and has available credits
• Check Anthropic API status at https://status.anthropic.com/

🌟 Tips for High Scores

1. Think fast but carefully - wrong answers count against you
2. Use power-ups strategically - save them for the hardest questions
3. Read questions thoroughly - some have tricky wording
4. Practice makes perfect - patterns repeat across playthroughs

📝 License

This is a demonstration project showcasing Claude AI integration in C# console applications.

🤝 Contributing

Feel free to fork this project and customize the game:

• Add new question categories
• Modify the Game Master personality
• Add multiplayer features
• Create themed question sets

📧 Support

For issues with:

• The game code: Check the README and code comments
• Anthropic API: Visit https://docs.anthropic.com/
• Claude AI capabilities: See https://www.anthropic.com/claude

Built with ❤️ using Claude Sonnet 4.5

Happy gaming! 🎮⚡