A few days ago I noticed a discussion in the Articulate Storyline forum about creating a random spinner for a game. I took up the challenge and created a solution that combines Storyline states, variables, and triggers. Of course there is some JavaScript sprinkled in there as well :-)

How to Build a Random Spinner in Storyline

Check out the demo here before reading on so you can see what the end result was.

The goal was to:

• Create a spinner that the learner can trigger.
• It will land on a random number.
• It will not land on the same number twice.

My solution was to use:

• Pie segments.
• States for normal, active, and disabled.
• A Storyline knob.
• Storyline variables for each segment.
• Triggers to change the segment's state when the variable changes.
• JavaScript that:
• Selects a random number.
• Removes that number from future spins.
• Spins the knob.
• Lands on the segment.
• Changes the corresponding variable for that segment.

Check out the video below to see how it all works together.

var currentSlice = 0;

var spinLimit = 5;

var spinCount = 0;

var slices = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];

var targetSlice = 0;

var spinning;

function getNextSlice() {

return slices.splice(Math.floor(Math.random() * slices.length), 1)[0];

}

function spinWheel() {

  var p = GetPlayer();

  p.SetVar("pieVisited_" + targetSlice, true);

  targetSlice = getNextSlice();

  if (!targetSlice) return;

  spinning = setInterval(function() {

    currentSlice++;

    spinCount++;

    p.SetVar("Dial1", currentSlice);

    if (currentSlice > 5) currentSlice = 0;

    if (spinCount >= spinLimit && currentSlice === targetSlice) {

      clearInterval(spinning);

      p.SetVar("pieSelected_" + targetSlice, true);

      currentSlice = 0;

      spinCount = 0;

    }

  }, 250);

}

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About the Author

James Kingsley has worked in the eLearning Industry for over 16 years. He has won several awards for combining technologies to produce better eLearning. James is a Solver of Complex eLearning Puzzles, Founder of CoursePortfolios.com, and the Co-Founder of ReviewMyElearning.com. You can follow him on Twitter or connect with him on LinkedIn for additional tips and examples.