Video Game Design and Coding

PLECK lesson 149 · suggested week 30, day 4

Integrate the first final-game slice

Objective. Connect input, challenge, progress and an ending.

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.

Project bootstrap, mechanics, richer system and first review

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-L148.

Join one instance of each required system into a thin playable route. The richer component must affect actual play, not sit unused in a hidden lab. A save should restore meaningful progress, an AI should influence a decision, or generation should produce the playable room. Use placeholders and one short challenge. Add a provisional ending and restart. Record which of the twelve acceptance tests now pass and which remain unimplemented; do not disguise a partial slice as the final course project.

Worked example

A vertical slice joins a player action, one challenge, progress feedback and an ending. It demonstrates real integration even while the art remains rectangles. Scaffold C-STATES — Explicit game states and gated scoring Setup: Attach to Node root StateLab with child Label Status. This is a standalone demonstrator; call start_round, add_points, finish_round from buttons or Remote Inspector. In a real game the manager owns this state. Additional Player and spawner scripts must also honor the manager’s state, or be disabled when finishing. ```gdscript extends Node enum Phase { TITLE, PLAY, WIN, LOSE } var phase: Phase = Phase.TITLE var score: int = 0 func _ready() -> void: _show() func start_round() -> void: score = 0 phase = Phase.PLAY _show() func add_points(amount: int) -> void: if phase != Phase.PLAY: return score += maxi(amount, 0) _show() func finish_round(won: bool) -> void: if phase != Phase.PLAY: return phase = Phase.WIN if won else Phase.LOSE _show() func _show() -> void: $Status.text = "State: %s | Score: %d" % [Phase.keys()[phase], score] ``` Scaffold C-TESTS — A tiny pure-function test harness Setup: Attach to Node TestLab. If using command line, create a separate SceneTree harness rather than running this Node script with --script. Run current TestLab scene in editor; assert reports a failed condition in Debugger. No external test framework or package is needed. ```gdscript extends Node func bounded_score(old_score: int, change: int) -> int: return clampi(old_score + change, 0, 999) func _ready() -> void: assert(bounded_score(10, 2) == 12) assert(bounded_score(0, -3) == 0) assert(bounded_score(998, 9) == 999) print("3 score checks passed") ```

Explicit game states and gated scoring

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

Scene and node setup

Attach to Node root StateLab with child Label Status. This is a standalone demonstrator; call start_round, add_points, finish_round from buttons or Remote Inspector. In a real game the manager owns this state. Additional Player and spawner scripts must also honor the manager’s state, or be disabled when finishing.

extends Node
enum Phase { TITLE, PLAY, WIN, LOSE }
var phase: Phase = Phase.TITLE
var score: int = 0
func _ready() -> void:
    _show()
func start_round() -> void:
    score = 0
    phase = Phase.PLAY
    _show()
func add_points(amount: int) -> void:
    if phase != Phase.PLAY:
        return
    score += maxi(amount, 0)
    _show()
func finish_round(won: bool) -> void:
    if phase != Phase.PLAY:
        return
    phase = Phase.WIN if won else Phase.LOSE
    _show()
func _show() -> void:
    $Status.text = "State: %s | Score: %d" % [Phase.keys()[phase], score]

Checks to run in the editor

  • Calling add_points before start does not change score.
  • After finish_round, extra score events do nothing.

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.

A tiny pure-function test harness

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

Scene and node setup

Attach to Node TestLab. If using command line, create a separate SceneTree harness rather than running this Node script with --script. Run current TestLab scene in editor; assert reports a failed condition in Debugger. No external test framework or package is needed.

extends Node
func bounded_score(old_score: int, change: int) -> int:
    return clampi(old_score + change, 0, 999)
func _ready() -> void:
    assert(bounded_score(10, 2) == 12)
    assert(bounded_score(0, -3) == 0)
    assert(bounded_score(998, 9) == 999)
    print("3 score checks passed")

Checks to run in the editor

  • All three assertions pass.
  • Intentionally change expected 12 to 13 and observe a failure, then restore.

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.

Integrate the first final-game slice — evidence task

  1. 1. Build one complete route and connect the richer system.
  2. 2. Run the first slice against all twelve tests with honest statuses.

Deliverable. Final vertical-slice source and twelve-test status table.

Acceptance checks

  • VGC-L149-T1. The slice is playable from launch to ending.
  • VGC-L149-T2. The richer system has an observable role in the loop.

Understanding question. What makes an advanced system genuinely integrated?

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 placeholder shapes and one room. Keep all twelve acceptance tests visible, with honest not-yet-implemented statuses. Start with the first assigned task and re-run its acceptance test before adding the remaining feature.

Optional extra. Add one optional visual improvement only after the slice is playable end to end. 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.

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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