Video Game Design and Coding · PLECK lesson

PLECK lesson 44 · suggested week 9, day 4

Play without relying on one sense

Objective. Add non-color cues, pause and clear instructions.

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.

Fair randomization, difficulty, accessibility and assessment

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-L043.

Accessible design offers equivalent information through more than one channel. Hazards already use a cross while safe objects use a line-marked circle. Ensure the lives and recovery text are readable without sound. Implement C-PAUSE so the pause button continues processing while gameplay stops. Test using only keyboard focus and with audio muted. Accessibility is not a guarantee that one game serves every need; name the features you tested and the limitations that remain.

Worked example

An incoming three-lane wave blocks left and center but leaves right clear. Randomly choosing among valid two-lane combinations creates variation while preserving an escape route. Scaffold C-PAUSE — Pause with an always-processing resume control Setup: Node2D World root has CanvasLayer HUD with Button Pause, plus normal gameplay children. Set Pause button Process > Mode to Always in Inspector; leave World and gameplay as Inherit/Pausable. Attach script to World; merge into its existing _ready if present. Signal callbacks still work from the always-processing button. Label text starts Pause. ```gdscript extends Node2D func _ready() -> void: $HUD/Pause.pressed.connect(_toggle_pause) func _toggle_pause() -> void: get_tree().paused = not get_tree().paused $HUD/Pause.text = "Resume" if get_tree().paused else "Pause" ```

Pause with an always-processing resume control

GDScript (Godot 4, not Scratch, Python, JavaScript or C#). Scaffold C-PAUSE. Copy starts from this text. The desk does not run it.

Scene and node setup

Node2D World root has CanvasLayer HUD with Button Pause, plus normal gameplay children. Set Pause button Process > Mode to Always in Inspector; leave World and gameplay as Inherit/Pausable. Attach script to World; merge into its existing _ready if present. Signal callbacks still work from the always-processing button. Label text starts Pause.

extends Node2D
func _ready() -> void:
    $HUD/Pause.pressed.connect(_toggle_pause)
func _toggle_pause() -> void:
    get_tree().paused = not get_tree().paused
    $HUD/Pause.text = "Resume" if get_tree().paused else "Pause"

Checks to run in the editor

Native Godot 4.7.2.stable.official.ed1daf0bf headless compile and representative node-tree/runtime tests passed; see native-qa-results.json. Visual UI, audible output, exports and website submission still need separate checks.

Play without relying on one sense — evidence task

  1. 1. Add pause/resume and visible control instructions.
  2. 2. Test muted play, non-color recognition and keyboard navigation of buttons.

Deliverable. Accessible arcade checkpoint and three-condition checklist.

Acceptance checks

Understanding question. Why does a paused game need an always-processing resume control?

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. Tune just hazard speed and spawn interval on a copied project. Use fixed test runs before adding more mechanics. Start with the first assigned task and re-run its acceptance test before adding the remaining feature.

Optional extra. Offer an optional challenge mode while retaining a gentle default. Document one changed parameter, your prediction, and the observed effect; optional, not required for completion.

Name ____________________ Date ____________________