Video Game Design and Coding · PLECK lesson

PLECK lesson 1 · suggested week 1, day 1

A goal the player can understand

Objective. Separate a goal, a rule, an action and feedback.

Godot Engine Standard desktop editor 4.7.2-stable, GDScript (Godot 4), Compatibility renderer. Headless Godot 4.7.2.stable.official.ed1daf0bf passed 106 assertions on the supplied scaffolds, including malformed JSON saves. Audio used the Dummy driver and a synthetic WAV, not a speaker. The visual editor, browser export, and signed-in submission were not tested. The desk still does not run a student's own upload.

About 55 minutes. The due date is chosen by a parent.

Rules, decisions, feedback, consent and an offline workspace

Suggested pace: Recall and predict 5 min; Read instruction and scaffold 12 min; Build or design the assigned artifact 25 min; Run acceptance tests 8 min; Explain and checkpoint 5 min.

Materials: Paper and pencil or a private text document, Local course folder and prior checkpoint, No paid assets or public account required.

A game gives a player a goal and meaningful choices within rules. A story alone is not necessarily a game: the player needs an action whose outcome changes what happens next. For Paper Courier, draw a six-square path, start a token at square one, and deliver it to square six. A turn offers move one safely or move two while spending one energy. Begin with two energy. Feedback is the visible token and energy count, not a grade or reward purchase.

Worked example

A tiny paper model: start with position 1 and energy 2. A safe move adds one position without changing energy. State is written before and after an action, so another person can replay it.

A goal the player can understand — evidence task

  1. 1. Draw the board and write the goal, allowed actions, start state and win condition.
  2. 2. Play three turns, recording position and energy after every action.

Deliverable. One annotated board and a three-turn state table.

Acceptance checks

Understanding question. Why is “make a pretty board” not the same as a win condition?

Submit readable text or photos/scans of each numbered design page. Audio explanation may supplement a diagram or text, not replace requested artifacts.

If this is still shaky. Use a paper token, six squares and a single delivery goal. Say each rule aloud before adding another. Start with the first assigned task and re-run its acceptance test before adding the remaining feature.

Optional extra. Compare two different rule choices without adding more components. Document one changed parameter, your prediction, and the observed effect; optional, not required for completion.

Name ____________________ Date ____________________