Video Game Design and Coding · PLECK lesson

PLECK lesson 4 · suggested week 1, day 4

Create a private development workspace

Objective. Plan safe storage, identity and asset use.

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.

Comes after VGC-L003.

Local development does not require a public profile. Use a fictional project name and a learner code on files, not a full name, school, address or birthday. Keep source, artwork, tests and dated backups in separate folders. Download only the official editor with a guardian’s permission. Do not install chat plugins or publish a child’s project as part of this course. Original shapes and written dialogue avoid licensing surprises. A backup is a second copy you can restore, not a renamed shortcut to the same folder.

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.

Create a private development workspace — evidence task

  1. 1. Draw a folder map containing projects, art, tests and backups.
  2. 2. Write a three-rule privacy checklist and a sample backup filename such as courier-checkpoint01.zip.

Deliverable. Workspace map and safety checklist.

Acceptance checks

Understanding question. Why is a desktop shortcut not a backup?

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 ____________________