Pedagogy¶

Goals¶

Have students trace inheritance chain of classes, list method instances.
Have students trace call execution through class methods
Have students implement subclasses using method hooks
Observe default behavior of existing framework and tracing the codebase to find where
Make trivial changes via subclassing. Each can be achieved by adding a single property. - change the player sprite filename - scale the player sprite to be larger or smaller. - change the player speed
Make small changes by overriding methods (with low task complexity) - change the input keys - add a “run” mode: the character goes faster while spacebar is pressed - load a different map (eg load a Maze map but change the number of stars)
Plan possible implementation strategies - Give students a list of possible game mechanics (eg an enemy chases you; add an inventory; moving between maps; a way to win the game; a key unlocks a door) and have them write a plan of what could be overridden/extended to make it happen.
As groups start developing games, brainstorm needed features as a class, and collaborate on implementing them. (This will reward good design, as we want an inventory system or an enemy behavior system that can work for everyone.)