Tale of the snake - a "real" user story

[suchja]

The following is an excerpt from a wonderful article by John Hayes:

“So, I call it Snake, ok? It starts off and you’re controlling this short little line moving around the screen. It never stops moving and if it hits the edge you die, but you can steer it up, down, left, right. So you steer this line toward a little dot. And when you run into the dot the snake ‘eats’ it. The line grows a little bit longer, and there’s another dot over here now. So the snake keeps moving and the goal is, you know, you gotta eat as many of these dots as you can without running into your own body, and your body keeps getting longer and longer the more you eat.”

Although it does not state user stories in the well known As a I want so that template, it perfectly describes what the user likes to have. Additionally this is, at least in my experience, a type of statement we will get, if we ask users how they like to have "their" software.

In order to allow a better traceability and have a basis for short increments, I chop this real user story into smaller pieces:

• As a player, I want to see a visually appealing game board so that I have fun playing the game. #2
• As a new player, I want to see the initial game board with all important items so that I can get a first idea what the game is about without reading anything. #5
• As a player, I want to easily start the game so that I can begin playing immediately. #3
• As a player, I want to control the snake in all four directions (up, down, left and right) so that I can play the game. #4
• As a player, I want the snake to grow longer each time it eats an apple so that I can achieve higher scores. #10
• As a player, I want the game to end when the snake collides with itself so that I have a clear goal and challenge. #11
• As an advanced player, I want the game to end when the snake collides with a wall so that it is even more challenging.
• As a player, I want to see my current score displayed on the screen so that I can keep track of my progress. #18
• As a player, I want to see the highest score displayed on the screen so that I have a target to beat.
• As a "not-addicted" player, I want to get reminders how long until I reach the next high score, so that I keep playing
• As a player, I want to be able to restart the game after it ends so that I can try again quickly.
• As an advanced player, I want to play the game with different board sizes, so that I can train myself to be a better snake gamer #6
• As a player, I want to be able to quickly pause and resume the game, so that I can take breaks when needed or my boss comes by. #13
• As a player, I want my high score to be saved even after closing the game so that my achievements are preserved.
• As an advanced player, I want to access a settings menu where I can adjust the game's speed and visuals so that I can customize my gaming experience and keep the game interesting.
• As an advanced player, I want to see realtime statistics of the current game (like food eaten count, current speed / level) to improve my game play. #17