PLECK Next Level Prep

Video Game Design and Coding

PLECK lesson 5 · suggested week 1, day 5

Set up the free editor and record a baseline

Objective. Open an offline Godot project in the correct language and renderer.

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: Godot Standard 4.7.2 desktop editor (GDScript, Compatibility renderer), Local course folder and prior checkpoint, No paid assets or public account required.

Comes after VGC-L004.

Use the setup guide in this course: Godot Standard 4.7.2, GDScript and Compatibility renderer. The .NET download is unnecessary. After a guardian approves the download, extract and launch the editor, create a local project called CourierLab, and create a Node scene named Lab. Save lab.tscn and make it the main scene when prompted. Run, stop and reopen the project from project.godot. A blank game window is a successful first baseline; it proves the project launches before you add code.

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.

Set up the free editor and record a baseline — evidence task

  1. 1. Create the project and empty Lab scene.
  2. 2. Record editor version, renderer, project location and how you reopened it.

Deliverable. Baseline project ZIP or private downloadable ZIP link and a setup note.

Acceptance checks

  • VGC-L005-T1. The main scene launches without a missing-scene warning.
  • VGC-L005-T2. Reopening project.godot shows the saved Lab scene.

Understanding question. Why choose GDScript instead of the C# tab in linked tutorials?

Include a downloadable project ZIP with project.godot, .tscn, .gd and original asset files when code changes. A private, teacher-accessible download link to that ZIP is equivalent. Screenshots or a playthrough do not replace editable source.

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.

Turn in typed notes and a JPEG, PNG, or WebP screenshot. One https address is stored as text and is not opened, extracted, or run. An MP3, WAV, M4A, MP4, or WebM file up to 4 MB can show a demo. The demo does not replace editable source. Zip and code files are refused. If there is no private link, keep the project on the family computer and review the code in person.

This is a preview. A parent assigns the lesson and chooses the due date after the student is enrolled. The answer key is not on this page.

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