Week 1 packet

Student instructions, tasks, and checks. The answer key is not in this packet. Links stay as text. This page does not embed a clip or run a file.

# Week 01 — What makes a game?

## VGC-L001 — A goal the player can understand

**Objective:** Separate a goal, a rule, an action and feedback.

**Time:** 55 minutes

### Instruction
A game gives a player a goal and meaningful choices within rules. A story alone is not necessarily a game: the player needs an action whose outcome changes what happens next. For Paper Courier, draw a six-square path, start a token at square one, and deliver it to square six. A turn offers move one safely or move two while spending one energy. Begin with two energy. Feedback is the visible token and energy count, not a grade or reward purchase.

### 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.

### Assignment
1. Draw the board and write the goal, allowed actions, start state and win condition.
2. Play three turns, recording position and energy after every action.

### Acceptance checks
- A second person can identify the goal without explanation.
- Energy never becomes negative when the move-two action is unavailable.

**Submit:** One annotated board and a three-turn state table.

**Question:** Why is “make a pretty board” not the same as a win condition?

**Support:** 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 extension:** Compare two different rule choices without adding more components. Document one changed parameter, your prediction, and the observed effect; optional, not required for completion.

**Optional free reading:** [Godot 4.7.2 stable archive and platform downloads](https://godotengine.org/download/archive/4.7.2-stable/), [Godot step by step: nodes, scenes, GDScript, input, signals](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/getting_started/step_by_step/index.html)

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## VGC-L002 — Model a turn before using a computer

**Objective:** Write and execute an unambiguous algorithm.

**Time:** 55 minutes

### Instruction
An algorithm is an ordered set of steps with enough precision for another person to follow. Give a paper “computer” only the instructions you wrote; it must not guess your intention. In Paper Courier, decide first whether the requested move is legal, then spend energy if needed, then move the token, then check delivery. The order matters: moving before checking energy allows an illegal action. Use numbered steps and explicit if/otherwise branches instead of vague words such as “handle the turn.”

### Assignment
1. Write a turn algorithm for the two movement choices.
2. Ask a parent or act as a literal computer and execute safe move, affordable fast move, and unaffordable fast move.

### Acceptance checks
- Unaffordable fast move changes neither position nor energy.
- The algorithm says exactly what happens at or beyond square six.

**Submit:** Numbered algorithm and three traced examples.

**Question:** Why should validation happen before changing position?

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## VGC-L003 — Iterate a paper prototype

**Objective:** Use evidence to improve a rule instead of adding features blindly.

**Time:** 55 minutes

### Instruction
A prototype is a cheap way to test one design question. It does not need finished art. Play Paper Courier twice with the same starting energy and note which choices actually matter. If the fast move is always best, try adding one blocked square that forces a safe approach. Change only one rule, then replay. Record observations rather than saying merely “fun” or “bad”: for example, the player paused at square four because the fast-move rule was unclear.

### Assignment
1. Run two baseline plays and record turn counts and one confusing moment.
2. Change one rule and run two more plays using the same board.

### Acceptance checks
- Only one rule differs between baseline and revision.
- The revision note cites an observed action or turn count.

**Submit:** Before/after rules and a four-play comparison table.

**Question:** What can you conclude if you change three rules at once?

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## VGC-L004 — Create a private development workspace

**Objective:** Plan safe storage, identity and asset use.

**Time:** 55 minutes

### Instruction
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.

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

### Acceptance checks
- No plan asks for public publishing or real personal data.
- The backup plan identifies a separate copy and a restore check.

**Submit:** Workspace map and safety checklist.

**Question:** Why is a desktop shortcut not a backup?

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## VGC-L005 — Set up the free editor and record a baseline

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

**Time:** 55 minutes

### Instruction
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.

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

### Acceptance checks
- The main scene launches without a missing-scene warning.
- Reopening project.godot shows the saved Lab scene.

**Submit:** Baseline project ZIP or private downloadable ZIP link and a setup note.

**Question:** Why choose GDScript instead of the C# tab in linked tutorials?

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