Video Game Design and Coding

PLECK lesson 63 · suggested week 13, day 3

Tune a reachable gap

Objective. Estimate jump range and then verify it experimentally.

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.

Gravity, jumps, floor checks and safe geometry

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-L062.

A jump’s rough airtime back to the same height is two times jump_speed divided by gravity, ignoring collision details. With 340 and 900, that is about 0.76 seconds. At horizontal speed 160, the rough same-height range is about 121 pixels. This is an estimate, not a promise: collider width, takeoff position and input affect the result. Start with a 70-pixel gap and test several runs. Design required gaps with margin instead of demanding a mathematically perfect edge jump.

Worked example

A ball thrown upward begins with negative y velocity. Gravity adds a positive amount each physics step, slowing the rise and eventually producing downward motion. Scaffold C-PLATFORM — A gravity-and-jump platform player Setup: CharacterBody2D root Player, child CollisionShape2D RectangleShape2D size (24,32), no scale changes. Layer 1 mask 2. StaticBody2D floor layer 2 mask 1 with rectangular collider. Add Input Map move_left, move_right and jump bound to Space. Place player above floor, not intersecting it. Coordinates use positive y downward. Attach script to Player. ```gdscript extends CharacterBody2D @export var speed: float = 160.0 @export var gravity: float = 900.0 @export var jump_speed: float = 340.0 func _draw() -> void: draw_rect(Rect2(-12, -16, 24, 32), Color.SKY_BLUE) draw_line(Vector2(-8, -4), Vector2(8, -4), Color.BLACK, 2.0) func _physics_process(delta: float) -> void: velocity.x = Input.get_axis("move_left", "move_right") * speed if not is_on_floor(): velocity.y += gravity * delta if Input.is_action_just_pressed("jump") and is_on_floor(): velocity.y = -jump_speed move_and_slide() ```

A gravity-and-jump platform player

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

Scene and node setup

CharacterBody2D root Player, child CollisionShape2D RectangleShape2D size (24,32), no scale changes. Layer 1 mask 2. StaticBody2D floor layer 2 mask 1 with rectangular collider. Add Input Map move_left, move_right and jump bound to Space. Place player above floor, not intersecting it. Coordinates use positive y downward. Attach script to Player.

extends CharacterBody2D
@export var speed: float = 160.0
@export var gravity: float = 900.0
@export var jump_speed: float = 340.0
func _draw() -> void:
    draw_rect(Rect2(-12, -16, 24, 32), Color.SKY_BLUE)
    draw_line(Vector2(-8, -4), Vector2(8, -4), Color.BLACK, 2.0)
func _physics_process(delta: float) -> void:
    velocity.x = Input.get_axis("move_left", "move_right") * speed
    if not is_on_floor():
        velocity.y += gravity * delta
    if Input.is_action_just_pressed("jump") and is_on_floor():
        velocity.y = -jump_speed
    move_and_slide()

Checks to run in the editor

  • Player lands without sinking.
  • Holding jump does not repeatedly jump in air.
  • Do not multiply the whole velocity by delta before move_and_slide.

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.

Tune a reachable gap — evidence task

  1. 1. Calculate the approximate airtime and horizontal range.
  2. 2. Build and test 70-, 90- and 110-pixel same-height gaps in a practice scene.

Deliverable. Gap test scene and calculation/observation table.

Acceptance checks

  • VGC-L063-T1. The written units are seconds and pixels.
  • VGC-L063-T2. Required course route uses a gap the learner can clear reliably.

Understanding question. Why leave a margin below the estimated maximum range?

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 C-PLATFORM with one wide floor and no hazards. Verify floor contact before adding platforms. Start with the first assigned task and re-run its acceptance test before adding the remaining feature.

Optional extra. Compare two gravity/jump-speed pairs while keeping horizontal speed fixed. 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.

  • Your first 2D game

    Free public tutorial; no account; external asset download is optional, not used by this course.

    · Opening this link does not submit the lesson.

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