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Stage 9: Tune the Game Feel

Course progressStage 9 of 10
~55 min
One game, one Trinket

Keep building in the workspace on the right.

This stage is part of the same Crewmate Task Dash project you started in Setup. Type each new code block into the Trinket rail and keep building on the last stage.

Open Setup
Build

balanced speeds, positions, and colors

Learn

how tuning changes difficulty more than new code does

Ship

a game another student can understand and finish

The big idea

Polish is a coding skill. Small values decide whether the game feels fair, chaotic, slow, or exciting.

New words
tuning
adjusting numbers until gameplay feels right
playtest
let someone play and watch what happens
readability
how easily a player can tell what is happening
difficulty
how demanding the game feels
Finished game target
Tasks 2/4Score 80
Crewmate playerTask stationShadow chaser

The player moves through the ship, collects tasks, and avoids the chaser. All playable shapes are drawn with Python Turtle code.

Build it

Your turn

Type, run, test

Read the code aloud before you run it. The goal is to understand what changed in the game.
Need a hint?

Add the new code to the same Trinket project. Keep previous stage code unless the stage says to replace a function.

Python code task
Write this part

main.py

Add this to your current Trinket file.

PLAYER_STEP = 20
CHASER_SPEED = 4
TASK_RADIUS = 28
CAPTURE_RADIUS = 28

# Use these names inside your movement and collision code.
# Changing the game should now mean changing these values first.
Trace it

Trace the idea

  1. Named constants keep tuning values in one place.
  2. Small changes are easier to compare than random edits everywhere.
  3. Playtesting tells you which number to change next.

Try this

Learning beat

Try this

Three short experiments. Predict before you run, then test your guess.

Predict first
Before running, predict which line will visibly change the screen first.
Compare
Change one number, run, then change it back. Which version feels more playable?
Connect
How does this stage make the final game more like a real project?

Test your stage

  • The game is possible to win.
  • The chaser is visible and threatening.
  • Task stations are not too close together.
  • A new player understands what to do.