How do I get an attribute of a function?

Question

function randArray(arrayName) {
    arln = arrayName.length;
    arst = arrayName[Math.floor(Math.random() * arln)];
    return arst;

}


    create: function(){
        //starts physics engine
        game.physics.startSystem(Phaser.Physics.ARCADE);
        player = game.add.sprite(width/2, height/2, 'player');
        randSpawnItem = game.add.sprite(10, 10, randArray(randItem));
        randSpawnItem2 = game.add.sprite(50, 50, randArray(randItem));

So the randArray function works, and there is nothing wrong with the create. I'm using Phaser, and I'm trying to spawn items randomly (kind of like in Binding of Issac.) I forsee a problem in the future, when I'm detecting for collison, I need to know what item spawned to give the right kind of item to the player. How would I get that third attribute of randSpawnItem or randSpawnItem2, or is there another way to go at this completely? Sorry if that's a noobie question! Didn't know how to word it and didn't find it anywhere else. Thanks in advance for your time.

Answer 1

You absolutely can. Just change what's returned and how you interact with it.

function randArray(arrayName) {
    arln = arrayName.length;
    arst = arrayName[Math.floor(Math.random() * arln)];
    return this;
}

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

var random = randArray(someArray);
document.getElementById('placeholder').textContent = 'Length: ' + random.arln + ' Random item: ' + random.arst;

<div id="placeholder">
</div>

However, if you're going to continue using Phaser you might want to look at how to extend sprites in Phaser. Creating custom objects will allow you to do most of the plumbing in a single location, and help with maintainability.