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Stage 9: Tune the Difficulty

Course progressStage 9 of 10
~35 min
One game, one Trinket

Keep building in your saved Python Arcade project.

This stage is part of the same game you started in Setup. Do the work in your own remixed Trinket — it’s the workspace on the right of this page.

Open Setup
Before you start

Your game should have scoring, lives, a timer, and a win or lose screen.

Build

difficulty settings and playtest notes

Learn

how designers balance challenge and fairness

Ship

a game that feels fair enough for someone else to play

What we are building​

Difficulty is a design choice. A good arcade game starts easy enough to understand, then gets harder as the player improves.

Step 1 - Group your tuning values​

Find your settings and make them easy to change:

CANNON_STEP = 20
LASER_SPEED = 18
MAX_LASERS = 3
ALIEN_SPAWN_CHANCE = 0.03
ALIEN_SPEED = 2
GAME_SECONDS = 60

These are your balance knobs.

Step 2 - Add a difficulty ramp​

Inside the game loop, after seconds_left is calculated, add:

    time_played = GAME_SECONDS - seconds_left
    current_alien_speed = ALIEN_SPEED + time_played // 20

Then change alien movement to use current_alien_speed:

        alien.sety(alien.ycor() - current_alien_speed)

Step 3 - Playtest with a partner​

Ask someone else to play for one minute. Do not explain everything. Watch what they do.

Write down:

  • Did they know how to move?
  • Did they know how to shoot?
  • Did the game feel too easy, too hard, or fair?
  • Did they understand why they won or lost?

Step 4 - Make one balance change​

Pick one thing to adjust:

  • Faster or slower cannon.
  • More or fewer lasers.
  • Faster or slower aliens.
  • More or fewer lives.
  • Longer or shorter game timer.

Run the game again after the change.

Why this works​

Playtesting is how game designers find problems. If the player is confused, that is not their fault. It means the game needs clearer feedback or better balance.

Test your stage​

  • Another person can start playing without a long explanation.
  • The game gets slightly harder over time.
  • Your tuning values are easy to find near the top.
  • You made exactly one balance change after playtesting.

Debug checklist​

  • If alien speed jumps too much, use time_played // 30 instead of time_played // 20.
  • If speed never changes, print or write time_played temporarily and check the timer.
  • If the game is not fun, change one setting at a time.