RPG Parser routine

Question

I wanted a routine that would allow me to use the NumPad keys for directional commands. 1-9 for each compass point, - for up and + for down. If one of these keys are not pressed, it would act as a regular readline(). I threw in a few simple lines to act as timers, obviously this was just to complete it.

This is my solution. It works fairly well, but thinking there is a better way.

 string orders;
        bool lives = true;
        int counter = 0;
        char[] delimeterChars = { ' ', ',', '.', ':', '\t' };
        Console.Write("What shall I do? ");

        do
        {
            string verb = "";
            string noun = "game";
            orders = Ask();
            Console.WriteLine("You pressed " + orders);
            counter = 0;
            string[] words = orders.Split(delimeterChars);

            verb = words[0].ToLower();
            if (words.Length > 1) { noun = words[1].ToLower(); }
            Console.WriteLine("verb is " + verb);
            Console.WriteLine("noun is " + noun);

            if (verb == "q" || verb == "quit") { noun = "game"; lives = false; }


        } while (lives == true);


        if (lives == false)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Game over");
        }
    }



    public static string Ask()
    {
        do
        {
            ThirstTimer();
            HungerTimer();
            ParalysisTimer();
            PoisonTimer();
            AttackTimer();
            SpellTimer();
        } while (Console.KeyAvailable == false);

        var cki = Console.ReadKey(true);
        Console.Write(cki.Key.ToString());
        string VeRb = cki.Key.ToString();
        switch (VeRb)
        {
            case "NumPad1":
                return "go southwest";
            case "NumPad2":
                return "go south";
            case "NumPad3":
                return "go southeast";
            case "NumPad4":
                return "go west";
            case "NumPad6":
                return "go east";
            case "NumPad7":
                return "go northwest";
            case "NumPad8":
                return "go north";
            case "NumPad9":
                return "go northeast";
            case "Add":
                return "go down";
            case "Subtract":
                return "go up";

      // If numpad is not used, get letter pressed and add to input.

            default:
                string Verbage = Console.ReadLine();
                string VERB = cki.Key.ToString() + Verbage;
                return VERB;

        }
    }
    public static void ThirstTimer()
    { //Console.WriteLine("You are thirsty."); } // Timers include current Time, target Time, and 30 second display timer
    }
    public static void HungerTimer()
    { //Console.WriteLine("You are hungry."); }// Timers include current Time, target Time, and 30 second display timer
    }
    public static void ParalysisTimer()
    { //Console.WriteLine("You are paralysed."); }// Timers include current Time, target Time, a display everytime you attempt to move while active.
    }
    public static void PoisonTimer()
    { //Console.WriteLine("You have been poisoned."); }// Timers include current Time, target Time, and 30 second display timer
    }
    public static void AttackTimer()
    { //Console.WriteLine("Checking Attack delay."); }// Timers include current Time, target Time, and 30 second display timer
    }
    public static void SpellTimer()
    { //Console.WriteLine("Checking Spell Delay."); }// Timers include current Time, target Time, and display timer based on mana usage
    }

Answer 1

A couple of things to mention:

Whenever you're receiving input from the user, you should write your code assuming the user will screw up and type the wrong thing. I don't see any checks to handle that.

When your switch block is only converting one value to another, you should be looking for a collection to help with that. In this case, in the Ask method, I would suggest an enum mapped to the character code values that you'll need:

enum Directions
{
    none = 0,
    southwest = 97,
    south,
    southeast,
    west,
    east = 102,
    northwest,
    north,
    northeast,
    up = 107,
    down = 109
}

This shortens the code in the Ask method considerably:

public static string Ask()
{
    do
    {
        ThirstTimer();
        HungerTimer();
        ParalysisTimer();
        PoisonTimer();
        AttackTimer();
        SpellTimer();
    } while (Console.KeyAvailable == false);
    var cki = Console.ReadKey(true);
    string keyString = cki.Key.ToString();
    Console.Write(keyString);
    Directions direction = Directions.none;
    if(Enum.TryParse<Directions>(((int)cki.Key).ToString(), out direction))
    {
        return $"go {direction}";
    }
    else
    {
        string Verbage = Console.ReadLine();
        return keyString + Verbage;
    }

}